{"id":4245,"date":"2023-10-13T12:04:10","date_gmt":"2023-10-13T16:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivahguide.com\/stage\/?p=4245"},"modified":"2023-10-13T14:17:36","modified_gmt":"2023-10-13T18:17:36","slug":"interesting-history-presentations-offered-at-watermens-museum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivahguide.com\/stage\/interesting-history-presentations-offered-at-watermens-museum\/","title":{"rendered":"Interesting history presentations offered at Watermen\u2019s Museum"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Watermen\u2019s Museum main building was moved from across the river in Gloucester County to Yorktown in 1986. The building is a replica of Colonial Williamsburg\u2019s Raleigh Tavern. Photo by Larry Chowning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Larry Chowning –\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Everything from a recreated colonial tavern, to boats and canoes, to a vintage cannon bring the past alive at Yorktown museum, grounds<\/em><\/p>\n

Yorktown is not just about the American Revolution, its Watermen\u2019s Museum is one of the finest such museums around and a must \u201csea\u201d for those who have an interest in Chesapeake Bay culture.<\/em><\/p>\n

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This cannon was found on the bottom of the Rappahannock River and donated to the museum. Photo by Larry Chowning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The museum was founded in 1981 and initially occupied the buildings left behind when Hornsby Oil Company closed. In 1986, co-founders Marian Hornsby Bowditch and Nancy Laing Cole Laurier were responsible for acquiring the current buildings and moving them from Gloucester. The main building is a replica of Colonial Williamsburg\u2019s Raleigh Tavern.<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s displays educate visitors on the diverse history of Yorktown, York River and the Chesapeake Bay. Its indoor exhibits provide a timeline showing how people made their living on the water, including the Algonquin-speaking people, European colonists, military and professional civilian sailors, and commercial fishermen.<\/p>\n

There is a three-log canoe and a one-log dugout canoe on the grounds along with tools and artifacts that speak to the culture of log canoe building. Just down the road, Poquoson was a center of Virginia log canoe building on the bay before deadrise and cross-planked boats came along.<\/p>\n

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Visitors enjoy the numerous displays in the main museum building. The York River Maritime Heritage display is of the Virginia protests against the Townsend Act of 1767 when the Virginia House of Burgesses voted to boycott all English made goods. Photo by Larry Chowning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The museum\u2019s modern exhibits include the evolution of workboats and the importance they played in the local economy. In its newest exhibit, you can get a sense of how climate change is negatively affecting the Chesapeake Bay watershed. It features \u201cThe Resiliency Project,\u201d which are three ceramic vases that explain the threats, hope, and solutions regarding human impacts on the environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to have at least one new exhibit every year to keep the locals coming in to see us,\u201d said president of the museum Steve Ormsby, who provided a walking tour of the museum.<\/p>\n

There is an active boatbuilding crew at the museum and inside the boat shop is a completed flat-bottom skiff. The skiff will be raffled off at the Urbanna Oyster Festival on Nov. 3 and 4. The Watermen\u2019s Museum is an annual attendee of the Urbanna Oyster Festival\u2019s Thursday Education Day conducted at the Urbanna Town Marina.<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s latest acquisition is an original gunning sneak boat used in duck hunting. Sneak boats were used to sneak up on a raft of ducks and geese in the days when market hunting for waterfowl was legal on Chesapeake Bay. The 1918 Migratory Bird Act made it illegal to hunt wild ducks and geese for commercial markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe plan to build an outside, roofed facility for the new boat,\u201d said Ormsby. \u201cThis is a unique and unusual acquisition and we are real excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This flat-bottom skiff was built in the museum boat shop and will be raffled off at the Urbanna Oyster Festival on Nov. 3-4. The tickets are $10 each or 6 for $50. Photo by Larry Chowning<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A cannon of colonial vintage that was dredged up from the bottom of the Rappahannock River in the 1920s is mounted on a carriage built by volunteers.<\/p>\n

The 2.5-acre grounds of the museum include a working boat shop, the Yorktown gristmill, a performance stage, pier and natural beach areas, which give students and adults the opportunity to experience the past through docent-led discussions.<\/p>\n

Other outdoor artifacts include a tobacco press, The Virginia State Navy Gunboat Henry, a stockyard and pillory, as well as a Navy Coast Guard lightship bell.<\/p>\n

The museum hosts school field trips, in which students are taught how to make canoes, burn logs, and experience maritime trades like rope making, blacksmithing, and woodworking. They offer one-week pirate, archaeology, boatbuilding, environmental, and maritime trades camps for kids.<\/p>\n

Musicians are also often docked on the museum\u2019s outdoor boat stage throughout the year to sing folk music and popular sea shanties to guests.<\/p>\n

The museum\u2019s carriage house \u2013 an event space overlooking the York River \u2013 can be reserved for weddings, birthday parties or company retreats. Educational programs are also held in the carriage house.<\/p>\n

The Watermen\u2019s Museum is open from April to December. \u201cWe have tried over the years to present an accurate and diverse history of Yorktown and York River,\u201d said Ormsby.<\/p>\n

If You Go<\/strong><\/h3>\n