Exhibits
The Tuckerton Seaport invities you to join us as we celebrate our tenth anniversary and the history of New Jersey surfing. Upon entering the exhibit, you will see large canvases with pictures and text of New Jersey surfers past and present. These artfully tell the story of surfing in New Jersey's past (beginning in the 1940's), present and future. This will include stories of those involved in the beginning and growth of surfing in New Jersey.This exhibit will also explore and discuss the unique tie of clamming and surfing as well as the surfer's conscience on conservation of our natural resources and the conservation efforts of the New Jersey beaches. The exhibit displays an extensive surf board collection, memorabilia from such organizations as the Eastern Surfing Association and the Long Beach Island Surfing Association. Also on display are clothing, magazine articles and photographs all while surfing music is being played in the background.
New Surf Museum T-Shirts on Sale! Come in or get them online today!
This newest , biggest 10th anniversary exhibit explores the reason for the Seaport - the people of the bay and pines. Taste, smell, touch how and why the residents of the area used "just enough" so that there always was enough. Clam, rake, sail, tong your way through this exhibit on seasonal occupations
In the Beginning
Begin your visit to the Tuckerton Seaport at the "In the Beginning" exhibit on the first floor of the Visitors Center. It tells the story of how this grassroots museum was founded and continues to flourish. This outstanding story comes alive under the creative expertise of exhibits chair Kathy Conrad and volunteer Linda Salmons.
Patriot Pirates Tales of Plunder and Privateers of Coastal NJ
Landlubbers and Loyalists Beware! Weigh anchor for an afternoon of discovery and swashbuckling fun in this hands-on exhibit sure to entertain children of all ages. Not all pirates pillaged on the high seas. Armed with a whaleboat, guns and sometimes ‘Letters of Marque’, privateers staged coastal raids on Britain’s Royal Navy during the Revolutionary War. Visitors can explore real pirate treasure from sugar to silk or take turns at the helm and imagine navigating the Jersey Shore. Patriot Pirates: Tales of Plunder and Privateers of Coastal NJ is based on the Revolutionary War Privateers of the Jersey Shore who disrupted British trade, commandeering ships, cargo and munitions in support of the war effort.
VISITOR’S CENTER
The visitor center is the museum entrance and gift shop. The building is
ADA compliant and has four wheel chair accessible restroom facilities. The
Visitor
Center also serves as for Tuckerton Seaport’s partner organization, Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve. On the third floor, JCNERR’s state-of-the-art Life on the Edge exhibit introduces visitors to the diversity of the Barnegat Bay Estuary. The lower floor of the Visitor’s Center features the Walk on the Wildside exhibit interpreting the four habitats of the
Jersey
Shore with a three wall mural and taxidermied animals.
Square Footage: 10,752
SKINNER/DONNELLY & PERIWINKLE HOUSEBOATS
Both historic houseboats are preserved on site at the Tuckerton Seaport. Visitors can view through the windows a way of life all but forgotten – house boating at the turn of and during the 20th century. Houseboats interiors are not open to the public.
Square Footage: 750
JOE
DAYTON ’S SAWMILL
This is the new location of the Tuckerton Wooden Boat Building and Restoration School. The
Wooden
Boat
Building and
Restoration
School provides the Seaport the chance to expand upon this history with the preservation and restoration of many styles of boats so that we may fully represent the long maritime tradition boating building techniques of the
Barnegat
Bay region. These building techniques and time honored traditions came to personify the residents of the small towns along the bay’s coastline as these boats were built by the average man rather then manufacturers. Today the construction of these boats represents the recreation of times gone by. The Tuckerton Seaport and the
Wooden
Boat
Building and
Restoration
School are working together as collaborative partners for the preservation of maritime history and the environmental awareness of the
Barnegat
Bay . Mr. Tim White is the schools director and shipwright.
Square Footage: 672
PERRINE BOATWORKS
A working boatworks and exhibits on the evolution and history of traditional boat building include vintage and newly constructed
Barnegat
Bay sneakboxes and garveys. Docents and traditional artists are available during scheduled times. Behind the Perrine Boat works is the Heinrichs Marine Railway currently under reconstruction. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 3140
PARSON’S CLAM & OYSTER HOUSE
Discover why Tuckerton flourished as “Clam Town” and learn the intricacies of clamming the traditional way: tonging, treading and raking. Parsons is a recreated structure based on the Parsons Seafood building still standing. The oyster house also features the fascinating history of
New Jersey ’s oyster industry, from methods of catching shellfish to shipping them to market. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 936
JERSEY
SHORE
FOLKLIFE
CENTER
Kelly’s Oyster House is the new home of the JSFC. The JSFC researches, documents, supports and presents the diverse communities and traditions of the
Jersey
Shore and the Pinelands. Visit the Center to see exhibits on the art and occupational folklore of
New Jersey , including exhibits on our Traditional Artists in Residence. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 360
HURLEY CONKLIN’S DECOY SHOP
Exhibits feature the art and craft of Hurley Conklin and depict the Hurley Conklin Award recipients – those individuals who have lived their lives in the
Barnegat
Bay tradition. Traditional artists are available during scheduled times. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 216
JAY C. PARKER’S DECOY SHOP
Recreated structure based on Jay C. Parker’s decoy workshop. Showcases decoy carving tools, working decoys in various stages of completion. Rotating exhibits on contemporary carvers and carvings are interpreted by traditional artists on a daily basis. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 280
HESTER SEDGE GUN CLUB
Visitors get a taste of life in a gun club. An interpretive display of the gun club as it would have looked in 1950s includes collectible shotguns, period furniture, decoys, and bunk rooms. Docents are available during scheduled times. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 720
TUCKER’S
ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE
The Tucker’s Island Lighthouse is a recreated structure built in 2000. The showcase of the Seaport, it faces Main Street in the small historic town of
Tuckerton . The lighthouse features exhibits on the history of New Jersey lighthouses, navigation, the U.S. Life Saving Service, pirates, whaling, and life at the first seaside resort along our coast, Tucker’s
Islandand rotating exhibit space. The building is
ADA compliant and has two wheelchair accessible restroom facilities.
Square Footage: 5872
CREST FISHERY
Scale recreation of the popular LBI pound fishery Crest Fishery houses the Pound Fishing in NJ exhibit and interactive fish market. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 360
HOTEL DeCRAB
Representing the hotel industry during the early years of the
Jersey
Shore , this re-created building is host to a photographic display and houses examples of antique and vintage furniture. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 640
MARSHELDER GUN CLUB
This facility holds the Marshelder Gun Club and the
Wildfowl
Art
Gallery. This exhibit is the location of rotating exhibits and event space, beginning on May 31, 2010 this exhibit will home to the New Jersey Surf Museum @ Tuckerton Seaport. The building is
ADA compliant.
Square Footage: 1380
HUNTING SHANTY
The Hunting Shanty is the Seaport’s meeting, lecture and classroom facility. It also serves as home to the Alexander and Naomi Coyle Memorial Library and
Research
Center and open space for Tuckerton Seaport's decoy collection. The structure is the original building of the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen’s Museum Inc. which opened in 1997 and it was moved to its current site in 2000. The structure design represents a typical hunting shanty found along
Barnegat
Bay and surrounding waters. The building is
ADA compliant and has two wheelchair accessible bathrooms.
Square Footage: 1392
SUNNY BRAE SALT BOX
The Salt Box’s original structure dates from the early 1700’s, but extensive reconstruction and additions to the home were made during the 1960’s. The historic building serves as a colonial education facility. The Saltbox is open to the public on a limited basis.
Square Footage: 760
SEA CAPTAINS HOUSE
The Sea Captains House is a c. 1835 historic structure. A refurbished Victorian porch and parlor is open to the public on a limited basis and is used for Victorian interpretation and education programs. The building is opened on a limited basis.
Square Footage: 3518
ANDREWS BARTLETT
HOMESTEAD
Built circa 1709 for one of the original founders of the Tuckerton Community, the Andrews Bartlett Homestead is considered the oldest home in
Ocean
County . Architectural survey indicates the structure is mixed Dutch and English built. The additions to the structure were in 1835 at the same time as the construction of the Sea Captain’s House. The Andrews Bartlett Homestead is not open to the public.
Square Footage: 1080
Directions By Car or Boat
