Arts & Inspiration Tour - Tuckerton Seaport Museum - Tuckerton, NJ - Self Guided Walks and Trails on Waymarking.com

Even before early settlers came to this area in 1698, the indigenous Lenni Lenape Indians frequented this area for fishing and clamming. Settlers were attracted to this area by the vast protected waters of Barnegat Bay and the bounty it provided. The town, which sat along the Tuckerton River, beared many names before officially being renamed Tuckerton in March of 1789. Some names included "Andrew Mills", "Middle-of-the-Shore", "Clamtown", "Quakertown", and "Fishtown". On March 21, 1791, Tuckerton became the Third Port of Entry of the United States.

This 40-acre open-air museum, once known as the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen’s Museum, includes 17 historic and recreated buildings reflecting the nature, people and maritime history of the area. Exhibits include displays, recreations, demonstrations and media. Take a self-guided tour along the boardwalk connecting these buildings.

You will receive a brochure with a map of the property, and information about each building. Also available is an audio tour, which will provide additional information about each stop along the way. Each stop has an informative sign, which will teach more about period tools, crafts and trades. Each of the crafts and stops have a volunteer working period trade demonstartions and will answer questions.

Still need another way to learn from each exhibit? Each stop has a cell phone number you can call for information. If you can't learn here, it's not for a lack of information.

Begin your tour at the Visitor Center and Gift Shop. The third floor of the Visitor Center houses the "Life on the Edge Exhibit" and Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research\Reserve (JCNERR) Visitor Center. These informational displays highlight the Pinelands, Great Bay, Barrier Island and open ocean ecosystems that make up the South Jersey marshlands.

Purchase your Seaport entry ticket in the Gift Shop. Entrance is down the stairs in the Visitor Center. Before actually entering the Seaport, visitors will learn about the various trades of the seaport era, as well as a diorama of local wildlife.

Two examples of houseboats utilized by fisherman, bay-men and hunters along the Jersey Shore. The first, the Skinner-Donnelly Houseboat, from the 1880s, is visible just outside the Visitor Center. The second, the Periwinkle, was a tin-roofed houseboat built in 1930, made of Jersey cedar from Double Trouble State Park.

Joe Dayton's Sawmill was operating here, turning the south Jersey forests into lumber for ship building since 1699. The sawmill now houses the Wooden Boat School, offering demonstration of the craft to visitors, as well as professional repair services.

Next to the sawmill is the site of Heinrichs Boat Works and Marine Railway, now housing the Perrine Boatworks, reknown for its sailing "sneakboxes" of the 1920s and 1930s. J. Howard Perrine's original location was just 10 miles away in Barnegat. Here, visitors to the Seaport can see live demonstrations of traditional boat building and repair, as the builders make and restore sneakboxes. The sneakbox was an important factor in the history of southern Jerseys' port towns.

Next, follow the boardwalk passing duck blind exhibits and even a miniature golf course, until you reach Parsons Clam & Oyster House. Parsons is a replica of the clam house built by E. Walter Parsons, Jr. in 1935. Parsons once shipped five truckloads of clams five nights a week to the Campbell's Soup Factory in Camden. Now, this building houses displays of tools from this quintessential Tuckerton trade.

Decoys are a unique American folk art, and primary hunting tools of the 19th and 20th century. The role decoys played in the Barnegat Bay area warranted this re-created building of Hurley Conklin's Carving Shop. Conklin is one of the last old time Barnegat Bay carvers. Visitors will see exhibits of various decoys and their role in history. Jay C. Parker's Decoy Shop stands next door. This recreated shop is based on Parkers original, and now houses examples of Parkers award winning decoys.

The Hester Sedge Gun Club was built on Hither Island in 1926. Now located in the Tuckerton Seaport Museum, this elite gun club shows how members relaxed on hunting trips.

Tucker's Island Lighthouse is a reproduction of the lighthouse built on Tucker Island in 1868. On October 10, 1927, the Tucker's Island Lighthouse fell into the Ocean. This iconic piece of the museum offers exhibits of New Jersey maritime history and its people: including pirates, lighthouse keepers and the US Lifesaving Service.

The Crest Fishery is a re-created pound fishery from Long Beach Island. This hands-on exhibit lets you buy seafood as it was sold in the 1920s! Next door is the Hotel deCrab, a dockside hotel, frequented by local captains and hunters to the area. This was not your luxury resort-style accomodation,a s guests slept on iron cots just feet from one another.

Finish your day with a nature trail walk, just a 1/2 mile over south Jersey marshlands. A visit to the Seaport really brings the maritime history of Southern New Jersey to life and perspective.

Fee?: 8.00 (listed in local currency) Approximate Time to Finish: >2 hours Addtional Website URL: [Web Link] Brochure or Interpretive Signs: Interpretive Plaques/Signs Rate the Walk: Wherigo Cartridge: Not listed

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