The National Museum of the Great Lakes is excited to announce our new virtual tour of the museum and the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship. This tour was created with a generous private donation and help from Google and Reach Media. The tour can be found on our website at: https://nmgl.org/museum-interactive-tour/ – or by searching on Google!
We hope that you will take a “walk” around the museum and Schoonmaker to see what we have to show you!
The National Museum of the Great Lakes is so excited to announce that the documentary that we produced in conjunction with Allied Media, A Good Ship and Crew Well Seasoned: The Fitzgerald and her Legacy, has been selected for screening and competition at the 7th Annual Chagrin Documentary Film Festival. This festival takes place October 5-9, 2016 in various venues around Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
This is an extraordinary honor for us and we hope that you will consider coming out to Chagrin Falls on Wednesday, October 5 at 4 pm to see the film and support NMGL.
A Good Ship and Crew Well Seasoned explores the less documented and overlooked history of the Fitzgerald and her crew before their tragic loss through unpublished manuscript material and photographs while at the same time reflecting on the impact of their loss on family, friends, and colleagues in the maritime community. The film takes a refreshing break from debating the possible cause of her loss in order to direct more time to those important historical questions not yet asked.
You can purchase the film on DVD by calling our store at 419-214-5000 x 200.
For more information on the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival and tickets to our screening on October 5 – please visit the Film Festival webpage here: http://www.chagrinfilmfest.org/
The National Museum of the Great Lakes is pleased to work with extraordinary shipwreck searchers in Lake Ontario as they announce the discovery of the 1803 shipwrecked sloop Washington.
The Washington was built near what is now Erie, PA in 1797. A sloop is a small, single masted vessel that was used mostly in coastal trading. The Washington was used on Lake Erie for several years, and then was sold to Canadian merchants in 1800. They wanted the vessel for use on Lake Ontario – so the Washington was pulled out of the water and dragged across the portage road around Niagara Falls.
On November 6, 1803, the Washington set sail from Kingston with five men on board and various cargos. She was never seen again.
In June, 2016 a group of searchers, led by Jim Kennard, discovered the remains of the Washington which is believed to be the oldest discovered commercial shipwreck in the Great Lakes. Their search was funded by a grant from the National Museum of the Great Lakes.
For more information, please visit www.shipwreckworld.com
Starboard side of the Sloop Washington Copyright Jim Kennard
Sloop Washington -looking bow to stern. Copyright Jim Kennard
Side scan sonar of the sloop Washington. Copyright Jim Kennard
The National Museum of the Great Lakes will be open on Monday, September 5, 2016 from 10 am – 5 pm. Current and retired members of unions will be admitted free of charge. This discount applies to the individual only. (Click here to find admission prices.)
Take this day to be with your family, and come down to see what we have to offer. Tour the museum and don’t miss the Col. James M. Schoonmaker museum ship!
Do you like to shop on Amazon? Do you like to donate and help the Great Lakes Historical Society/National Museum of the Great Lakes? You can do both at the same time! The Great Lakes Historical Society (owners and operators of the National Museum of the Great Lakes) is happy to partner with Amazon Smile. This program allows for you to direct 0.5% of your purchases directly to GLHS/NMGL. All you have to do is start at smile.amazon.com and search for Great Lakes Historical Society or you can access our page directly here. From there, all of your purchases will help give back to preserving and making known the history of the Great Lakes! (It really couldn’t be easier)
NMGL has worked with Toledo’s KnowledgeStream to record and publish online our ongoing lecture series. This is a great way to see the lecture if you happened to miss one. Also, you can check out the wide variety of lectures that we have at NMGL as part of your membership. To view a video, just click on the talk below.
April 13, 2016 – Joel Stone “Floating Palaces of the Great Lakes”
May 4, 2016 – Scott and Dave Ramsey “Resurrecting the Dart Boat Company”
May 25, 2016 – Ed Perrine “Great Lakes Ladies: A Social History of Prostitution in Great Lakes Ports” (Warning: This presentation may contain content unsuitable for all viewers)
The National Museum of the Great Lakes is pleased to announce the discovery of the Royal Albert. This shipwreck was discovered in Lake Ontario by Jim Kennard, Roger Pawlowski, and Roland “Chip” Stevens with grant assistance from NMGL.
The Royal Albert was a schooner that was built in 1858 in Oakville, Ontario by John Simpson. After 10 years in Canadian service, she was sold to H.C. Bolland in Oswego, NY. The schooner was 104′ with a beam of 23′. She was listed as a two masted schooner.
On August 9, 1868 the Royal Albert was loaded with railroad rails and left Oswego, NY, bound for Toledo, OH. The cargo of heavy rails shifted during the journey causing the sides of the vessel to split. Fortunately, the crew had just enough time to launch the yawl and escape the sinking ship.
The discovery of this shipwreck in June 2016 fills in another lost story of our Great Lakes history and ties together two countries as the railroad is expanding our countries. NMGL is proud to be partner with our colleagues in Lake Ontario.
For more information, please visit www.shipwreckworld.com
The National Museum is pleased to be the first location in Toledo to showcase the chairs from the Sit & Tell Project. This exhibition, put together by AIGA Toledo, in conjunction with MTS Seating and the Toledo Arts Commission, gathered stories about strong women and created a chair inspired by each story. One hundred chairs were created and we will be exhibiting 10 of them in our entrance lobby for the next two weeks. Come for a visit and learn more about these inspiring women.
The Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship will be closed for two hours on Saturday, June 18 from 11 am to 1 pm. This is to give our team a chance to honor two recently deceased long term volunteers. We are sorry for any inconvenience. The boat will be available for visitation from 10 am – 11 am, and then from 1 pm – 5 pm. The last boarding is at 4 pm.
The National Museum of the Great Lakes has been awarded a Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor for 2016. With this only being our second full year of operation, this is a huge accomplishment and we are very proud.
“With the Certificate of Excellence, TripAdvisor honors hospitality businesses that have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers,” said Heather Leisman, Vice President of Industry Marketing, TripAdvisor. “This recognition helps travelers identify and book properties that regularly deliver great service. TripAdvisor is proud to play this integral role in helping travelers feel more confident in their booking decisions.”
The Certificate of Excellence accounts for the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months.
Come down and see what all the fuss is about! Information about visiting National Museum of the Great Lakes can be found here.
