National Register of Historic Places

Steamboat Dock Site

Essex, Middlesex County, Connecticut
Listed
March 31, 1982
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
82003768

About this property

The Connecticut River Museum is a U.S. educational and cultural institution based at Steamboat Dock in Essex, Connecticut that focuses on the marine environment and maritime heritage of the Connecticut River Valley. The three-story Connecticut River Museum is located in a restored 1878 steamboat warehouse, which is now the only one of its type remaining on the river, and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum opened to the public in 1975, with Connecticut Governor Ella Grasso as its first paid member and ex officio patron. The core of its collection came from the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut, which provided the museum with a loan of nautical artwork, navigation equipment and maritime-related artifacts. The museum's main and third levels offer changing exhibits, while its second level is home to a permanent exhibition on shipbuilding, which includes historical maps and models of steamboats and exhibits on the piscine species in the Connecticut River. The museum's collection also includes a full-scale replica of Turtle, the first American submarine, which was constructed in Essex in 1776 for use against the British in the American Revolution. The museum property also includes a boathouse and a research library. In December 1995, the museum was given a triangular 1-acre (4,000 m2) waterfront property, valued at US$910,000, in the neighboring village of Old Saybrook, Connecticut, by Bill and Victoria Winterer, who were among the museums co-founders. The property is used as a waterfront park managed by the museum. In 2011 the museum caught fire. They had to rebuild part of it.

Location

Essex, Middlesex County, Connecticut
41.35119, -72.38441

Categories

TRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

CHRISTEEN (oyster sloop)
Industrial
0 mi
Pratt House
Industrial
0.2 mi
Hill's Academy
Industrial
0.5 mi
Essex Freight Station
Industrial
1.1 mi
Centerbrook Congregational Church
Industrial
1.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Steamboat Dock Site listed on the National Register?

Steamboat Dock Site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 31, 1982.

What type of historic resource is Steamboat Dock Site?

Steamboat Dock Site is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Steamboat Dock Site?

The period of significance for Steamboat Dock Site is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Steamboat Dock Site?

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