Erie Maritime Museum

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Erie Maritime Museum
Brig Niagara behind museum.jpg
US Brig Niagara docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum.
Erie Maritime Museum
EstablishedMay 21, 1998
Location150 East Front Street
Erie, Pennsylvania
Type Maritime museum
Public transit access Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority
Website https://www.eriemaritimemuseum.org/

Erie Maritime Museum is a maritime museum located on Presque Isle Bay which rests on the waterfront in downtown Erie, Pennsylvania. It is managed by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC). [1] When it opened its doors on May 21, 1998, it became the first new Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission-affiliated museum in twenty years. [2] Alongside its extensive indoor exhibits, it serves as the homeport for the US Brig Niagara, a modern recreation of the 1813-US Brig Niagara which served as Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's relief flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie. While the museum focuses on the War of 1812 in the "frontier", it is designed to celebrate Erie's rich maritime heritage.

Contents

Administration

The Erie Maritime Museum is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and is partnered with the Flagship Niagara League, a 501(c) non-profit, educational associate which is chartered by the PHMC to facilitate the brig Niagara. [3]

History of the building

The Erie Maritime Museum is housed inside the former Penelec Front Street Station. From 1917 until the 1980s, the building was used to generate Erie, Pennsylvania's electricity and steam heat. [2] Inside were five coal-fired steam generators. Remnants of Penelec's presence on the property can be found to this day. Visitors to the museum can view the original smoke stack which rests to the west of the parking lot. Additionally, once inside, guests are able to view a General Electric steam-powered generator and the station's original crane, which still works today. [4] When Penelec decided to shut down their Front Street operation, the goal was to tear down the structure. Plans changed after local officials convinced Penelec to save the building for future use. [2]

When the current version of the US Brig Niagara was completed in 1990, it needed a new home. In 1993, Niagara was berthed at the end of Holland Street, just to the east of its current location. [2] Finally, in 1997 the Erie Maritime Museum began constructing its exhibits and displays. [2] In May 1998, Niagara was moved to her current home and the Erie Maritime Museum opened its doors.

Permanent exhibits

The Live Fire section of the brig Lawrence illustrates damage from various types of 19th-century naval artillery Lawrence - Live Fire .jpg
The Live Fire section of the brig Lawrence illustrates damage from various types of 19th-century naval artillery

The museum offers a wide range of multimedia and interactive exhibits coupled with interpretive programs that illustrate the region's maritime heritage. When in homeport, the Niagara herself is the major "exhibit". Berthed within yards of the museum, Niagara is visible from the building's bay side picture window. The present-day Niagara is a sail training vessel, meaning she is not always present at the museum for deck tours. Oftentimes during the warmer months, she can be found in ports across the Great Lakes.

Indoor exhibits

Former General Electric steam-powered electricity generating station from the Pennsylvania Electric Company's Front Street station. [4]

Julian Oliver Davidon's epic painting of the Battle of Lake Erie is on display on the main floor. The 54-by-102-inch (1,400 mm × 2,600 mm) masterpiece focuses on the climax of the Battle of Lake Erie. Painted from 1885–87, the artwork captures the Brig Niagara, "Crossing the T" and opening fire on both HMS Detroit and Queen Charlotte thereby leading to the British surrender at Put-In-Bay, the first time in world history that an entire British squadron surrendered to their enemy. [5] [6]

The Battle of Lake Erie exhibit covers a thematic background, featuring information about the issues behind the War of 1812, size differences between the American, British, and Canadian forces, Uniforms, and why Erie, Pennsylvania was chosen for building the American Great Lakes fleet. [7]

Located on the main floor, this exhibit depicts the gun deck of the brig Lawrence. Gun Deck Exhibit.jpg
Located on the main floor, this exhibit depicts the gun deck of the brig Lawrence.

The centerpiece exhibit on the first floor of the museum features a reconstruction of the midships section of USS Lawrence. The replicated Lawrence, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's first flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie, comes complete with mast, spars and rigging to foster hands-on learning in the ways of sail handling. Another display is the adjoining section of the Lawrence' replica that has been blasted with live ammunition from the current Niagara's own carronades at the National Guard training facility in Fort Indiantown Gap, near Harrisburg. This "live fire" exhibit of Lawrence recreates the carnage inflicted upon both ships and men during the Battle of Lake Erie and throughout the Age of Fighting Sail. [7]

Fighting Sail presents a life size upper-portion of a working mast taken directly from the current iteration of Niagara shortly after the Museum's opening in May 1998. This exhibit focuses on the construction of wooden sailing vessels, shipboard life, 19th Century Navy medicine, a gun deck recreation from Lawrence, shipbuilding tools, knots, and more. [8]

On the second floor of the museum is an exhibit dedicated to the crew and officers of USS Wolverine (formerly USS Michigan), the United States Navy's first iron-hulled warship and 19th-20th century Navy. [9] The ship's original prow serves as the exhibit's centerpiece, and includes models of the vessel, armament, uniforms, and personal articles.

Other exhibits inside the museum include: Model Making, Lighthouses and Lifesaving in Erie, Lake Erie Fishing Industry, Joe Divell's Lake Diving, Maritime Archaeology, US Brig Niagara Reconstruction, etc.

Location

The museum, which adjoins the Raymond Blasco Erie County Library, is located at 150 East Front St.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Hazard Perry</span> United States naval commander (1785–1819)

Oliver Hazard Perry was an American naval commander, born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. A prominent member of the Perry family naval dynasty, he was the son of Sarah Wallace Alexander and United States Navy Captain Christopher Raymond Perry, and older brother of Commodore Matthew C. Perry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erie, Pennsylvania</span> City in Pennsylvania, United States

Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 at the 2020 census. The Erie metropolitan area, equivalent to all of Erie County, had a population of 270,876 in 2020. Erie is located approximately 80 miles (130 km) from Buffalo, 90 miles (140 km) from Cleveland, and 120 miles (190 km) from Pittsburgh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brig</span> Sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts

A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the latter part of the 19th century. In commercial use, they were gradually replaced by fore-and-aft rigged vessels such as schooners, as owners sought to reduce crew costs by having rigs that could be handled by fewer men. In Royal Navy use, brigs were retained for training use when the battle fleets consisted almost entirely of iron-hulled steamships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Lake Erie</span> 1813 battle during the War of 1812

The Battle of Lake Erie, also known as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10 September 1813, on Lake Erie off the shore of Ohio during the War of 1812. Nine vessels of the United States Navy defeated and captured six vessels of the British Royal Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the rest of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover Detroit and win the Battle of the Thames to break the Indian confederation of Tecumseh. It was one of the largest naval battles of the War of 1812.

HMS <i>Detroit</i> (1813)

HMS Detroit was a 20-gun sloop of the Royal Navy, launched in July 1813 and serving on Lake Erie during the War of 1812. She was the most powerful British ship in the Lake Erie squadron until the Americans captured her during the Battle of Lake Erie on 10 September 1813. Detroit was commissioned into the United States Navy as its first USS Detroit. However, she was so damaged that the sloop took no further part in the war. Postwar, Detroit was sunk for preservation at Misery Bay off Presque Isle until 1833, when she was refloated and converted for commercial service. In 1841, Detroit was reduced to a hulk at Buffalo, New York, where she was purchased with the intent of sending her over Niagara Falls. The plan went awry and Detroit ran aground on a shoal before the falls and broke up.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lawrence</span> American naval officer (1781–1813)

James Lawrence was an officer of the United States Navy. During the War of 1812, he commanded USS Chesapeake in a single-ship action against HMS Shannon, commanded by Philip Broke. He is probably best known today for his last words, "Don't give up the ship!", uttered during the capture of the Chesapeake. The quotation is still a popular naval battle cry, and was invoked in Oliver Hazard Perry's personal battle flag, adopted to commemorate his dead friend.

USS Niagara may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy:

USS <i>Trippe</i> (1812) Sloop-of-war of the United States Navy

USS Trippe was a sloop in the United States Navy during the War of 1812. She was named in honour of John Trippe.

USS <i>Lawrence</i> (1813) United States Navy brig

USS Lawrence was one of two 493-ton Niagara-class brigs built at Erie, Pennsylvania, by Adam and Noah Brown under the supervision of Sailing Master Daniel Dobbins and Master Commandant Oliver Hazard Perry, for United States Navy service on the Great Lakes during the War of 1812.

Daniel Turner was an officer in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Niagara</i> (1813) US Navy wooden-hulled snow-brig

USS Niagara, commonly called the Brig Niagara or the Flagship Niagara, is a wooden-hulled snow-brig that served as the relief flagship for Oliver Hazard Perry in the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812. As the ship is certified for sail training by the United States Coast Guard, she is also designated SSV Niagara. Niagara is usually docked behind the Erie Maritime Museum in downtown Erie in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania as an outdoor exhibit for the museum. She also often travels the Great Lakes during the summer, serving as an ambassador of Pennsylvania when not docked. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973 and was designated the official state ship of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1988.

USS <i>Caledonia</i> (1812)

USS Caledonia was a brig, formerly HMS Caledonia, that the United States Navy captured during the War of 1812 and took into American service. The brig played an important role with the American squadron on Lake Erie, and was sold at the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Hambleton (naval officer)</span> 18th-century U.S. naval officer

Samuel Hambleton was an officer in the United States Navy who served with distinction during the War of 1812.

USS Somers was a schooner, formerly Catherine, purchased by the United States Navy in 1812. She was purchased for $5,500 from Jacob Townsend, a pioneer and one of the first settlers of Lewiston, New York and purveyor of goods on the Great Lakes. She fought in the War of 1812 under the command of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry on Lake Erie and Lake Huron, and took part in the capture of the British Squadron on 10 September 1813. She was captured by the British in 1814, and taken into service as HMS Huron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jesse Elliott</span> United States Navy officer (1782–1845)

Jesse Duncan Elliott was a United States naval officer and commander of American naval forces in Lake Erie during the War of 1812, especially noted for his controversial actions during the Battle of Lake Erie.

USS Lady Prevost was a schooner captured from the British during the War of 1812 and pressed into use in the United States Navy.

USS <i>Porcupine</i> (1813) United States Navy ship

USS Porcupine was a gunboat schooner built by Adam and Noah Brown at Presque Isle, Pennsylvania, and commissioned in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 as part of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s Lake Erie Fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Dobbins</span>

Daniel Dobbins was a sailing master in the United States Navy and captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service. He fought in the War of 1812 and was in charge of the building of the ships at Erie, Pennsylvania, that Oliver Hazard Perry commanded in the Battle of Lake Erie.

Thomas Breese was an American naval officer. Best known for his service under Oliver Hazard Perry during the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie, he served in the United States Navy for another 33 years, including as a paymaster for over two decades.

The second USS Ariel was a clipper schooner built on Lake Erie at Presque Isle Bay, Pennsylvania, in 1813, by Adam and Noah Brown. She was launched in April 1813 and commissioned sometime during the ensuing summer, Lt. John H. Packett in command.

References

  1. ↑ "Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission". PHMC.gov. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Magoc, Chris J. (2001). Erie Maritime Museum and U.S. Brig Niagara. Stackpole Books & Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. p. 33. ISBN   0-811727564.
  3. ↑ "About the Erie Maritime Museum". Flagship Niagara League. Archived from the original on February 17, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  4. 1 2 "General Electric Exhibit". Flagship Niagara League. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ Bloom, Loren (2008). "Information about the epic battle painting by Julian O. Davidson". The Battle of Lake Erie: Julian Oliver Davidson's Painting. Erie Maritime Museum. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  6. ↑ Curtis., Skaggs, David (2006). Oliver Hazard Perry : honor, courage, and patriotism in the early U.S. Navy. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   1591147921. OCLC   70122382.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 "Battle of Lake Erie Exhibit". Flagship Niagara League. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ "Fighting Sail!". Flagship Niagara League. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ "USS Wolverine". Flagship Niagara League. Retrieved February 16, 2019.

42°08′12″N80°05′12″W / 42.1366°N 80.0867°W / 42.1366; -80.0867

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