In part 1, we shared a few photos and the history of 5 of the museums taking part in the Summer Museum Adventure. We’ll share the other 4 museums taking part and also the rest of the potential 15 museums in Havre de Grace. We have many reasons to be proud of our fine city, and the museums are a perfect highlight!
To view PART 1 for a reminder – CLICK HERE
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.
Additional 4 museums include:
Bahoukas Beer MuZeum and HdG History MuZeum
In our c. 1880 historic building, we celebrate the history of our community. BAHOUKAS Beer MuZeum offers 2200 sq. ft. of fantastic BrewMania on the second floor. You’ll never see such a sight anywhere! The area’s largest collection of beer and alcohol-related items. A must-see! Great gifts for that ManCave!!!
Bahoukas Antique Mall
If you’re reading this blog post, then you already know about our “casual historian’s” goal of turning the front of his store at Bahoukas Antique Mall into a Havre de Grace History MuZeum. He’s well on the way. Offering great stories through the blog posts, and much of it can be viewed at the store.
Entertainment Museum at
Washington Street Books
Known for its large assortment of Books, Music, and Comics, Washington Street Books has expanded its vision to bring Hollywood to Havre de Grace.
During the Summer Museum Adventure the Hunger Games is the focus of John’s collection of movie costumes, props, scripts, and costume designs on display throughout the store. Enjoy the movie magic behind the films you love. Don’t miss this one!
The Havre de Grace Colored School Museum
and Cultural Center
Celebrating the legacy of those that advocated for equitable access to education for African American students in Harford County, the 100-year-old Colored School began as a 2-room structure serving primary grade students, later expanding to become the first school in Harford County for African American students.
Did you know Earl Christy
graduated from the HdG Colored School?
Explore the rich and diverse history of the African American community in Harford County and Havre de Grace.
Hosanna School Museum
Just minutes away from downtown Havre de Grace in Darlington is the Hosanna School Museum, a restored Freedmen’s Bureau School built in 1867. It served as the first public school for African Americans in Harford County. Its mission is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Harford County, MD through the lens of the African American experience within national contexts. It is known for its annual regional Juneteenth Festival and Underground Railroad Tours.
The above museums combined with the 5 highlighted in the part 1 blog post, make up the 9 (10 when you include Bahoukas’ 2 muZeums = 1 sticker) participants in the Summer Museum Adventure.
Though not presently part of the Summer Adventure promotion, the
The Havre de Grace Maritime Museum
is open and offers a 10,000 square foot, three-story modern building, which includes two galleries on the main floor. Their CURRENT EXHIBITS offer a variety of topics related to life on the water where the Susquehanna River meets the Upper Chesapeake Bay. From stories of the Underground Railroad, Capt. John Smith’s expeditions, to Commercial Fishing, Navigation, and Old Conowingo Village, there’s much to enjoy in this beautiful museum.
(courtesy museum website)
The non-profit organization was formed in 1988. We believe the building began around 2000. In 2015 they added an Environmental Center, offering classes, lectures and programs for the community to appreciate, understand, and protect their natural environment.
As we have stated before, the passion and perseverance of these organizations, their sponsors, donors, members, and volunteers are amazing. The city residents should take great pride in all of these efforts.
In addition to the HdG History MuZeum at Bahoukas, there are four others that are works in progress:
Havre de Grace Museum
at Harmer’s Town Art Center
To be located within the future Harmer’s Town Art Center’s regional art complex, this Museum will offer a unique and curated collection of antiques, archives, and ephemera spanning the city’s storied history.
Once complete, it will tell the story of the city and its heritage from its colonial days, when it was famously and infamously visited by the French and British, through its heyday as a gambling town with the Graw horse racetrack and numerous speakeasies, and up through more modern times as a vital hub for transportation, arts, and industry.
The Moore Family Homestead
This homestead, gifted to the City of Havre de Grace by Barry Burns, presently offers the amazing Heirloom Victory Gardens at the rear of the property. In the future, the Havre de Grace History Foundation would like to sponsor a “watermen’s” museum to reflect the lives of former Havre de Gracians involved with occupations of the RIver and the Bay, including families that lived in the Moore House: Moores, Hipples, and McGaws: ship captains, decoy carvers, watermen, shipbuilders, duck hunter guides.
First Call Paranormal and Oddities Museum
This 5,000-square-foot museum will offer a wide variety of oddities that include historic relics such as a lock of hair from Harford County’s own infamous presidential assassin, John Wilkes Booth, and a letter handwritten by Baltimore’s master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe – who, just days before his death, was found on a train passing through Havre de Grace.
Locally-tailored exhibits will allow visitors to learn more about Havre de Grace’s own poisonous resident – Hattie Stone – who purportedly killed five members of her family using Strychnine, the evidence for Chessie – our Chesapeake Bay sea monster, and the origins of the mysterious Ouija Board, which was patented by a Bel Air native and produced in Baltimore.
Located at 202 Congress Avenue in Havre de Grace, this museum is expected to open soon. Follow their website and Facebook page to learn the latest details. Along with the museum, they will have events including paranormal tours.
Skipjack MARTHA LEWIS
The MARTHA has been a part of Havre de Grace’s museum scene for many years, offering evening sails and educational programs for schools. For a decade a handful of hardworking and determined volunteers have been diligently working to get MARTHA back in the water. This summer (2023) the boat is now water-worthy and the new mast will be installed in July. We look forward to having the Skipjack MARTHA LEWIS return to the waters around Havre de Grace offering education and tourist tours, and sharing the legacy of the skipjacks!
We encourage you to take part in the Summer Museum Adventure, with the opportunity to discover the heritage of Havre de Grace, to appreciate those that came before and had a dream, and to realize the many hands and hours that went into making those museum dreams come true.
Our Museums Should Make You Proud
of Our Past, Present, and Future
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.
