ARTICLES

Minnesota decoys on display
March/April 2002

MUSEUM LINKS

Havre de Grace Decoy Museum, Inc.
215 Giles Street, Havre de Grace, MD 21078
Phone (410) 939-3739, Fax (410) 939-3775

The Havre de Grace Decoy Museum is a privately funded, non-profit organization, which exists to document and interpret waterfowl decoys as a uniquely American folk art, and to foster public awareness and support for the conservation and preservation of waterfowl and their natural habitats.

Each exhibit in the Museum, from individual decoys to room-size waterfowling displays, has been carefully designed to visually communicate the heritage of decoy making. Exhibits such as "What is a Decoy?" examine the various materials used in waterfowl decoy construction, the poses they strike, and the species they represent. The "Gunning the Flats" gallery uses actual boats, guns, calls and related items to help explain early hunting on the Chesapeake Bay. A diorama and audio program catches a moment in time in a local decoy shop. All of these exhibits vividly and accurately bring decoy and waterfowling history to life. An extensive research library with works on decoys, carving, waterfowl and the environment is available by appointment for in-depth studying.

The Decoy Museum is surrounded by quaint charms of Havre de Grace. Browse the antique shops, dine at a cozy seafood restaurant, stroll the promenade and enjoy the beauty of the Bay. We invite you to come and discover the folk art of decoy making and waterfowling traditions that make Havre de Grace the Decoy Capital of the World.

Barnegat Bay Decoy & Baymen's Museum / Tuckerton Seaport
PO. Box 52
120 West Main St.
Tuckerton, NJ. 08087
Office (609)-296-8868
Fax (609)-296-5108
Email: tuckcport@aol.com

Step back in time and see the Jersey Shore as it was in the days of yore. Inside Tucker's Island Lighthouse you'll find out about pirates, mooncussers, New Jersey lighthouses, the life of a lighthouse keeper, the origins of the U.S Lifesaving Service, Life Cars, Breeches Bouys, Shipwrecks, the Shore's actual "first resort" - Sea Haven, and Whaling off our shores. Learn to speak Lenape. Wander the winding boardwalks on our 40 acre site and meet decoy carvers, boat builders, clammers, oystermen, and baymen and women doing what they did way back when.

Stop in our museum gift shop or catch a bite in Skeeters Seafood Cafe. Take some time to browse Tuckerton's historic district shops, restaurants and art galleries too.

Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art
at Salisbury University,
909 S. Schumaker Drive,
Salisbury, Maryland 21804.
Tel. 410 742 4988
E-mail: ward@wardmuseum.org

Located on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, in Salisbury, the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art at Salisbury University, is nestled next to Schumaker Pond. Surrounded by wildlife in the heart of the Atlantic Flyway, the Museum features the world's largest and finest public collection of decorative and antique decoys. It provides visitors with a sense of how wildfowl art has contributed to American history and culture.

The Ward Museum was named in honor of Steve and Lemuel Ward, whose vision and artistry in carving decoys pioneered the transition in the role of the decoy from a working tool to an expressive wildfowl sculpture.

Visitors to the Ward Museum wilil see simple reed decoys used by Native Americans 2000 years ago, graceful working decoys of market gunners of the 19th century and intricate and expressive World Champion sculpture created by leading artists of the 20th century. Of the Museum's five galleries, three host permanent exhibits while two feautre exhibits that change several times annually.

Put the Ward Museum on your agenda for places to visit - enjoy the galleries, special events you can take part in, youth and adult educational classes (which include carving how-to's), group tours and seminars.

Page last revised on May 2, 2004
Site design and development by Karen O'Keefe, Chandler, AZ