Founded in 1966, the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in Savannah is just a few blocks from the Savannah Visitor’s Center and City Market. At 41 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the museum is on the west edge of the historic city of Savannah.
The Ships of Sea Maritime Museum
Housed in the historic William Scarbough House, the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum has nine galleries of maritime
artifacts, paintings and ship models. The collections focus on ship travel between America and Great Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the models were commissioned by the museum. The models include the steamship “Savannah” (the first steamboat to cross the Atlantic Ocean), the “Anne” (in 1732, this ship brought the first 114 colonists to America), the “Wanderer” (an elegant yacht used to ship slaves illegally), “City of Savannah” (the flagship of the Ocean Steamship Company of Savannah) and the Titanic.
The museum also has several online exhibits that provide additional information and background. Some of the exhibits include “Slavery, an Institution that Divided a Nation and the Trial of the Slave Ship Wander”, “Charting a Course: the Quest of Girl Scout Mariners” and “Wish You Were Here! Views of the Savannah River during the Golden Age of Postcards”.
William Scarbough House
And the William Scarbough House itself is worth the visit. Built in 1819, for one of the owners of the steamship “Savannah”, the house was designed by William Jay, and is the earliest example of domestic Greek Revival Architecture in the Deep South. The Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum restored the house in 1996-97, adding a rear portico and expanding the gardens.
The Gardens
The garden at the Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum in Savannah is the largest private garden within the historic district of Savannah. The design of the garden takes its direction from a typical 19th parlor garden, only on a much larger scale. Parts of the gardens are open to the public at no charge.
The gardens are a perfect location for weddings, dances, parties, conference events or other private events. There is a vine-covered pergola, and an open-air assembly space with state-of-the-art AV and lighting.
Educational Opportunities
The museum offers several educational programs that include the tour of the museum. Programs offered include “Rogues and Rouge: Women Pirates of the High Seas”, “Scrimshaw”, and a program for Girl Scouts discussing Juliette Gordon Low’s connections to the ships in the museum.
Visit!
Visit the museum’s website for hours of operation, educational program availability and more information. If you are at all interested in ships and maritime history or Architecture or Landscape Architecture – you must put this museum on your list of things to see while in Savannah. Then, return to the comfort of a Savannah vacation rental from Southern Belle; contact us to book today!