What's Up at the

Custom House?

March 9, 2025



The USCG Eagle came in to New London yesterday at 9 AM. If you are up early enough today, you can catch the ship's sail to the pier at Fort Trumbull on the NL HarborCam. Here's how:

• Go to https://nlmaritimesociety.org/NLHarborcam.html
• Hover the cursor at the lower edge of the photo to bring up the grey band. (see photo, above).
• Click on the filmstrip icon at left to bring up hour-by-hour videos from the last 24 hours, only.
• Click on 9 AM (Saturday) to watch the ship sail in yesterday morning!
• The Eagle leaves on April 11.

This week at the Custom House

Lots of visitors this week at the Custom House, including our friend Ben Ellcome, right, who's researching the NL waterfront.

Ben and friends have started a new nonprofit New London Community Boatworks. NLCB's mission statement is: To honor New London’s maritime heritage by connecting the community to the sea - through education, boatbuilding, and pathways into marine trades, fostering pride, place, and purpose for future generations. Sounds good, right? If you'd like to help, send Ben an email.

It's a big week. March marks the fifth-year anniversary of COVID being announced; we were closed for 62 weeks after that! It's the six-year anniversary of the end of the lawsuit brought against NLMS for bringing visitors to Harbor Lighthouse; we won, of course, but sheez! And it is the 17th anniversary of my tenure at NLMS. Things here are solid. We have plans to fix the roof in 2025, to replace the railing out at Race Rock, and to restart our lighthouse tours to Ledge after a long year off (for construction).

Visitors to the CH included Pikachu & family, a Coastie fresh off the Eagle, Navy veterans, Niantic students (photo: Joe Gaeris), a Naval nuclear engineer & his pup -- a brindle Great Dane, the Thames River Heritage Park Docent Academy, and StoneRidge seniors.

We got some things accomplished, too: Felix Orlando rehung our poster case on Bank Street, the pots out front are planted with pansies, and we started tidying up the garden!

Stop by soon and visit our three new exhibitions.

--Susan

Coastal Perspective Lecture Series

Tuesday, March 11, 2025; 7:30 p.m. Wellington Castellucci Jr., Ph.D. -- Whalemen Go Down from the North: The History of the North American Whale Hunt in the South Atlantic, Especially in Brazilian Cost. 1760 to 1850

Want to Join the Online Lecture? Click to sign on: https://uconn-cmr.webex.com/uconn-cmr/j.php?MTID=mf96ccc6cfb6b55a9878c80cd5fc05891

Meeting number (access code): 2863 991 6520  Event password: coastal

Tuesday, March 18, 1:30 pm

JIBBOOM CLUB #1

James Gallagher will talk about Irish born Commodore John Barry, who became known as the Father of the American Navy during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. 

Irish born and raised John Barry started at an early age to learn the ropes to become an astute sailor and an effective ships’ Captain. While trading many years between Philadelphia, PA and the West Indies, and later in the British Isles, he earned his first Ship’s command at the age of 21. Two hundred and fifty years ago in 1775, the Continental Congress created the American Navy. Barry volunteered out of a sense of justice and integrity. As a Naval Officer, his initial task was to oversee the construction of the first 13 vessels in the American Navy. He was also given command of two vessels.

At the onset of the Revolutionary War, in 1776,, he helped raise the morale of a struggling American military by capturing the first British naval ship. He had many more sea victories thereafter. On shore, he provided naval support for General George Washington’s crossing of the Delaware River. President Washington tasked Barry to create a system to train Midshipmen to become Ensigns as the nucleus of a new American Navy. Barry considered New London to be a possible critical port during the war. However, after his ship visited New London his impression of New London became less favorable. During the end of the Revolutionary War, he saved a cargo of silver bullion which was then used to establish a National Bank for the new Nation. At the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Barry led a group of citizens to help save the passage of the American Constitution. Barry’s on shore and at sea contributions were duly recognized, and in 1798, John Barry was commissioned Commander of the Flagship “United States”. He was also titled Commodore, serving as Squadron Commander of the entire American Naval Fleet.

Join us on Tuesday afternoon, March 18 to learn more about Commodore Barry. Generously sponsored by the Maco Family Fund!

Saturdays, Sundays, & by appointment year-round

a popular destination for more than a century.

Visit Inside NL Harbor Pequot Light

Visit Long Island Sound's oldest and tallest lighthouse.

Photo: © Jill Steinberg.

We offer Harbor Light tours every Saturday & Sunday at noon. Climb 116 steps up into the lighthouse lantern. The views are spectacular!​ Tours for up-to five people take approximately 40 minutes. Sign up today. To book a custom tour, send us an email.

Sunday, March 30, 6-9 pm

Open Mic at the Museum

Co-hosted by Kenny 'Doc' Frazier and Christina Corcoran, our monthly open mic welcomes music, poetry, prose, stand-up, or just state what is on your mind. Show up at 5:45 and get on the list! Open to all ages and abilities for fun and camaraderie. It's a friendly crowd!



Sponsored by Kozmik Music Services.  Admission is by donation. The evening is available on the Open Mic at the Museum Facebook page. The page also posts many of the individual performances from past sessions. Photo, above: February Open Mic.

Visit the Shop!

This week, we had a delivery of books!

Books for all ages, + Octopus ring toss, and rubber sea stamps.

Our new social media platform is Bluesky Social. Please share our account around so that we can find our people! We look forward to meeting you all! @customhouse.bsky.social

The NL HarborCam is your 24/7 eye on the harbor. We've had 7.1M views.

Photo, below: Saturday night's Northern Lights at honorary trustee Nick Korstad's Big Bay Lighthouse on Michigan's Upper Peninsula.