Havre de Grace has a museum culture that is unique and varied. For the size of our community, it’s amazing the variety of museums, and the number of volunteers who support them. Learn of our history from colonial days before our country’s independence to the present day.
Much of today’s view of Havre de Grace -the beautiful waterfront, parks, museums, streetscapes, and festivals – was built on the shoulders of individuals who had a dream and the many volunteers and businesses who supported them … and continue to support them.
The complete list of museums includes:
Bahoukas Beer MuZeum
and Havre de Grace History MuZeum
HdG Colored School Museum
Concord Point Lighthouse and
Lightkeeper’s House
Entertainment Museum at
Washington St Books
HdG Decoy Museum
Hosanna School Museum
in Darlington, MD
Living War Museum at the
American Legion
This Summer Museum Adventure is sponsored by the Greater Havre de Grace Museum Association.
Download or open the Museums Brochure by CLICKING HERE for the hours, locations, websites, and focus of each of the museums.
It is difficult to highlight everything about the museums. But if you love our city, it’s worth the effort to spend some time visiting the museums and learning about the persistence, creativity, and entrepreneurialism of our citizens in growing our city into what it is today. Each of the museums has a unique point of view and each is a thread that weaves into the tapestry of Havre de Grace.
Summer Museum Adventure
It’s easy to take part in the Summer Museum Adventure and maybe even win a prize. Presently 9 museums out of 15 are taking part in The Adventure to Discover History in Your Own Backyard. June and July offer a wonderful opportunity to visit and collect stamps from at least 6 of the 9, fill out the form with contact info, and enter the raffle by turning in the card at the last museum visited or at the HdG Visitor’s Center at 450 Pennington Ave.
Participants for the June/July adventure include Hosanna School, Steppingstone Farm, Lock House, American Legion, Bahoukas Beer and History, Washington St. Books Entertainment, Havre de Grace Colored School, Concord Point Light House, and Havre de Grace Decoy museums.
Cards can be picked up at any of the participating museums as well as the Visitors Center and many shops throughout town.
In this part 1 video, we’ll share a few photos and the history of 4 of the museums.
1978 Steppingstone Museum
Preserves and interprets the rural heritage of Harford County. Learn of J. Edmund Bull whose love of collecting tools of the 19th and 20th century grew to over 6,000 hand tools. Since 1978 they have added a blacksmith shop, a cannery exhibit complete with a canning machine, a carriage house, and so much more. Discover how they make apple butter, weave cloth, and so many more farm skills of yesteryear. A living history museum with a variety of festivals and concerts as well.
1982 Lock House at the Susquehanna Museum
The original lock house was built in 1840 and restored in 1982. Through the years, they’ve created exhibits that tell the story of the value of the canal to our economy, what life was like working on the canal, and many grand exhibits. The canal lock was also restored in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here’s a photo gallery:
1984 Concord Point Lighthouse
The Lighthouse and Lightkeeper’s Dwelling is a long and storied part of our history. Built in 1827, it was active through
After years of neglect, in 1979 The Friends of the Concord Point Lighthouse became a non-profit and began serious efforts to restore the lighthouse, and later the lightkeeper’s dwelling. Lighthouse restoration began in 1981 and the lighthouse opened in 1984.
Havre de Grace Decoy Museum
If you’ve been following our blog posts, you’ll recall that we shared the story of the BAYOU HOTEL. The building that housed the pool (and the heated water used in the hotel), garage, and roof garden, is actually the site of the present-day Decoy Museum. In 1986 the non-profit was established to preserve the historical and cultural legacy of waterfowling and decoy making on the Chesapeake Bay. As you wander through the exhibits, you’ll soon realize that duck hunting was a major economic driver for Havre de Grace. Of course, it resulted in the wonderful folk art of decoy carving.
Take a look at the work that went into building the Decoy Museum.
Living War Memorial Museum at the American Legion Post 47
This museum is our newest at the time. It’s a great tribute to those who have served in the military from Havre de Grace. Definitely visit. But also, you might recall our post we published a few weeks ago on Joseph L. Davis and the American Legion.
Here are a few photos from when the building was the LaFayette Hotel:
You might enjoy reading articles from the Lockhouse to Lighthouse publication from 1998-2002 that has a number of articles related to our museum culture and more.
Finally, we want to share this photo that our ‘casual historian’ has. It’s a replica of the Lock House used in a parade, we think from the 1950s-60s. It was 2-stories and tall enough that people were sitting on the porch. If you have ANY INFO about this replica, is it still around, or who built it, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE contact George, our ‘casual historian.’
on a float for the Havre de Grace parade
REMEMBER, if you have any info or materials you want to share with us, please contact the ‘casual historian’ or the American Legion. We share materials and look forward to sharing the community veterans’ stories.
Don’t throw the Havre de Grace ‘stuff’ out when you’re cleaning out a home, settling an estate, or just ‘downsizing,’ without checking in with George. Don’t give him cause to cry!!!
Our ‘casual historian’ is always waiting for your stories and any memorabilia you may want to share.
Please SHARE these posts and SUBSCRIBE to his youtube channel.
