Update August 20, 2024: See all NLMS postings on our new Facebook page: facebook.com/NLMS.CustomHouseMaritimeMuseum
The NL Maritime Society temporarily has lost access to all it's previous Facebook pages, listed below: Facebook Custom House Maritime Museum, Facebook New London Maritime Society
Facebook New London Ledge Lighthouse, Facebook Ledge Light Foundation, Facebook Sentinels on the Sound, Facebook MUSEUM SHOP,
NLMS is in the NEWS Read about us HERE
The program encourages those receiving food assistance (SNAP) benefits to visit the Museum for free. There is no limit to how many times a person can visit, and the free admission is good for up to four people per visit with the presentation of a SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) card.
We Stand With Black Lives Matter
New London Maritime Society stands with others for equity and justice, and in denouncing racism, intolerance, and exclusion. We will pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and transparent policies. We will dismantle any inequities within our policies, programs, and services; and we will commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
The Custom House Maritime Museum strives to be a place where the entire community can learn from our shared history in order to build a more just & compassionate future.
NLMS acknowledges that the land, Nameeg, meaning fishing place, is the territory of the Western Nehântick, Mohegan, and Pequot, who have stewarded this land for generations.
To quote Joseph Pierce: A land acknowledgment is not enough. The land exists regardless of settler acknowledgment, which can only ever be the first step toward meaningful action. Next steps involve building relationships with that land as if it were your kin. Because it is.
Our monthly OpenMic welcomes performers of all kinds. Share your original music, poetry, prose, stand-up, or just say what is on your mind. Bring your bongos. Perform, join in, or just enjoy. Admission by donation.
Marcus Milukas
Northeast Aerial Imaging
Saturday., September 14
Take our excursion to Fishers Island to view the 2019 exhibitions 'Against the Tide: Prohibition on Land and at Sea, 1919-1933', and 'The English Springer Spaniel on Fishers Island', both curated by Pierce Rafferty, at the Henry L.Ferguson Museum. A light lunch will be provided.
We thank our Friends and Sponsors
Anthony and Elizabeth Enders Fund - Charter Oak Credit Union - Chelsea Groton Foundation - Community Foundation of Eastern CT - Eleven+ - Frank Loomis Palmer Fund - Kozmik Music Services - Maco Family Fund - Robinson+Cole - Veolia/NL Water Authority - Yankee Remodeler. Thank you!
New London Maritime Society (NLMS) CUSTOM HOUSE MARITIME MUSEUM l 150 Bank Street l New London, Connecticut 06320 l 860-447-2501 l email
The Custom House Maritime Museum - your local, independent, community museum - open year-round - telling the stories of New London's waterfront!
WHAT'S UP at the CUSTOM HOUSE ?
EVENTS
SUPPORT US
Keep in Touch
Read our 2024 AUTUMN Newsletter
Volunteer at the Custom House - we need you!
Seafood WATCH - What seafood to buy now.
FISHWATCH Database on sustainable seafood
For all events going on in the region, visit the
New London Maritime Society is a New London-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. You may make a donation online (above), or by mail.
New London Maritime Society - open year-round
your local, independent, community museum,
telling the stories of New London's waterfront.
150 Bank Street, New London, CT 06320
Admission $10. Youth to age 16 - $6. Families $25.
Free for NLMS members, New London residents (with local ID), USCG cadets, active-duty military & their families, visitors with SNAP EBT card. If you require accommodations due to a disability please email us to discuss your needs. The request should be provided with enough time to reasonably set up the accommodation.
HOURS are Thursday through Sunday 1 to 5 PM
& on Saturdays we open at 10 AM!
RECORDINGS
Dive exploration at Race Rock Light, August 2023, Andy Champagne and Kennedy Marine.
The History of Race Rock Lighthouse This video
directed by Marisela La Grave and Pierce Rafferty
chronicles the remarkable story of how a lighthouse came
to be erected in the 1870s on a dangerous submerged
ledge amidst some of the most unpredictable and swiftest
moving tides on the East Coast.
made by her father Wesley Akin Hotchkiss.
Louis & the Gulf Weed. Claudia's family has been on the
water for generations -- both in New London and the French West Indies -- one relative working for the TA Scott Company at the time of the infamous Deutchland submarine incident. The story of the Deutchland.
The US Lighthouse Service and Women Lighthouse Keepers, Illustrated Lecture with historian Mary Rasa. March 28.2021.
SHIPWRECKED, Coastal Disasters and the Making of The American Beach,with author Jamin Wells. January 31, 2021
AMISTAD: A True Story of Freedom -- a permanent exhibition at the site of the original Amistad events of 1839.
Kids Ahoy! Tracing the Nautical Influence on Children's Clothing, Toys, and Entertainment
Vintage Dive Helmets
from two private collections: Jay Kane and Ed Uditis
View Online Exhibitions
of New London Maritime History
local friendly authentic
EXHIBITIONS
Our MUSEUM SHOP offers all kinds of unique gifts & toys. We have an extensive selection of books on maritime, local history, Freedom, and lighthouse topics.
Below: We've a new shipment of Harbor Sweets!
There are four types of chocolate lobster:Milk chocolate, dark chocolate, milk or dark with surprises inside!
Visit the shop whenever the museum is open!
NLMS members always receive 10% off.
Climb to the lantern in New London Harbor Lighthouse!
Meet at the lighthouse, then climb 116 steps to the lantern room -- all the while learning about the 261-year history of Harbor Light, one of the oldest lighthouses in the country, and the tallest on Long Island Sound. The views at the top are spectacular!
Sunday, July 27, 6-9 PM
Open Mic at the Museum!
Open Mic meets on the last Sunday of the month at the beautiful Custom House Maritime Museum. Co-hosted by Kenny "Doc" Frazier and Christina Corcoran, our monthly open mic welcomes music, poetry, prose, stand-up or just say what is on your mind. Open to all ages and abilities for fun and camaraderie! Free.
In the NEWS
- The Day, October 6, 2024: A gem on the waterfront by Carol Sommer - a history of the Custom House building
- The Saturday Evening Post, September 24, 2024: A New Generation Stewards America’s Lighthouses
- The Day, March 19, 2024: A New London foghorn could be heard on London stage
- The Day, January 13, 2023: New London group competes for Old Saybrook’s Lynde Point Lighthouse
- Episode 172. Grating the Nutmeg podcast, September 2023: Connecticut Lighthouses: Lifesaving Beacons Along the Shore
- The Day, September 3, 2023: To make it safe by day and night, by Carol Sommer, a history of Race Rock Light.
- The Day, August 6, 2023: For a safe harbor, by Carol Sommer - a history of New London Harbor Light.
Watch a TV report by Jim Altman on our July 20 visit to Little Gull Island.
The New London Maritime Society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization, tax ID #06-1086688. Thanks.
We're happy to report that the Museum has joined Museums for All to encourage people of all backgrounds to visit museums regularly and build lifelong museum-going habits.
Looking for a gift that's less about stuff and more about experiences?
A membership to the New London Maritime Society is just the ticket.
An annual membership to NLMS is a gift that will keep on giving through the next 12 months. Members receive discounted tickets to programs and 10% off purchases in the museum gift shop (we've got great stuff, too!).
Explore the waterfront, climb a 223-year-old beacon, try something new. Your membership helps NLMS purchase artifacts, run programs, and keep our lighthouses lit!
The NL HarborCam is our 24/7 eye on the waterfront.
Replacing the custom house roof and once-&-for-all keeping the water out is the most-significant repair we possibly can make!
The museum's most important artifact may well be the building, itself.
Built in 1833 as New London's U.S Custom House, designed by architect Robert Mills, opened in 1835. The
building has been the museum's home since 1983.
CH COMMUNITY CASE
Opens March 1
Photo: at Little Gull 2023. Andy Champagne.
Thank you, Louise Novitch, for this beautiful gate at Harbor Light, installed September 16, 2024
Thank you Richard Rowe for the donation of this wonderful whaling letter -- a family heirloom -- dated November 10, 1845, written by Captain John H. Williams while a seaman on board the whaler India out of
please DONATE
Saving our local maritime heritage sites through education, advocacy, & preservation.
From all of us at the New London Maritime Society, thank you for supporting our work to preserve history for the future.
Please #StandUpForScience #Museums4Science
Photo policy: NLMS may photograph or record video of visitors for educational and promotional purposes. Attendance on museum property is implied consent for the use of visitors’ likenesses for marketing purposes. Visitor photography without flash, for personal use only, is permitted, except where noted. Flash photography, video and the use of tripods and selfie sticks are not permitted by the general public.As of January 1, 2025, New London Maritime Society has left facebook.
Keep up with our activities on this website or on Instagram!
Get NOAA weather from Ledge Light -- just offshore.
NLMS owns three lighthouses NL Harbor, NL Ledge, & Race Rock, and you'll be able to visit all of them this summer.
Do you have a collection you'd like to share? Our new Custom House Community Cases offer local groups/individuals an opportunity to showcase collections that are important to them. Send us an email.
Picturing Us at the Beach:
Vintage Photography in the Studio and on the Sand
The vintage photography is from the collection of Lisa Kereszi, a critically acclaimed fine art photographer and
educator at the Yale School of Art. She is based in the Shoreline
town of Branford and has been collecting vintage photographs
as well as marine and seaside-related objects and ephemera
since she was a child, having grown up outside of Philadelphia with regular visits to the Jersey Shore.
Now on view Laurie Deredits's annoted map of the Shore Line Railway along the NL waterfront 150 years ago. Dating to around 1874, the map is labeled with the owners of the properties abutting the railway including the wharfs built along the shoreline.
New London under the command of Captain Albert Miller. This letter covers India’s 1844-1847 voyage to the NW Pacific whaling grounds via the South Atlantic, Indian and South Pacific Oceans.
our Annual Seal Watch
took place Sunday afternoon, May 18, we boarded the Black Hawk in search of seals. But the winds were against us, so we did not travel out to Little Gull Island but east to New London
Ledge lighthouse and around the harbor.
No seals this trip! But we had a relaxing, dramatic cruise.
Thanks to everyone who came along.
this Saturday June 21
Make Music Day Join us at the Custom House Maritime Museum on June 21 and join a worldwide celebration of music! We'll have live music at the museum from 11 AM to 5:30 PM -- with free performances all day long!
Want to perform on Make Music Day? Stop in at a break.
We're air-conditioned, bring your instrument.
We'll have cookies!
Visit inside Harbor Light! Get tickets HERE.!
We hope to start tours to Ledge Light in late-June and to Race Rock in mid-August.
NL harbor as seen live 24/7 on the NL HarborCam
Our thanks to all the talented generous musicians who performed at the Custom House. It was a great day.
See you again on June 21, 2026!