h. lee white marine museum

We visited this museum last August. All of us liked the hands on exhibits and the tugboat. The guide on the tugboat knew a lot about the history of the tug and the area. All ages will like this. Our group ranged from 9 to 60.

This little treasure is well worth the time spent touring it and taking in the craft docked nearby. The museum is packed with good information on this historic Great Lakes harbor. It's never crowded, which is a shame as much time and thought have been put into the exhibits.

We planned a day trip to Oswego (from Rochester - 75 miles) mainly to visit this museum as my husband is an avid sailor and likes to check out marinas, etc. wherever we travel. This museum provides a wonderful overview of the town, Lake Ontario, the canal and even world events - all with a maritime slant that makes the history interesting even for non-sailors. The displays are well designed and annotated, arranged in chronological order, and full of "unexpected goodies" like a vignette with an actual captain's bed and desk, original artwork mixed in with photos and artifacts, a Fresnel lens used in the lighthouse, newspaper articles - just an amazing variety! It is not particularly "hands on" so little ones may be bored and/or need to be restrained in the actual museum building but will no doubt find roaming around the two boats - a WW II tugboat and a canal barge - fascinating. I loved the Fun Facts sheets that popped up on the boats and exhibits.Just across the canal from the museum is Fort Ontario. After a wonderful lunch at Port City Café and Bakery (less than 5 minute drive south on 1st St) we decided to check the fort out - a wise decision! You will gain an additional perspective of the vital role Oswego played in historical events like the War of 1812 as well as harboring refugees from Eastern Europe during WW II - the only place in the US to do so. There is actually a 3rd historical place to round out your Oswego experience - Safe Haven - located close to the fort, where most of the refugees were housed. We didn't get to visit Safe Haven but you could easily do all three places in one day, including having a leisurely lunch at one of the many great places to eat in town.Highly recommend spending a day in Oswego and visiting these places - fun and educational.

The location and views are great to start, but the tethered tugs and educational exhibits are worth stopping in with family or couples to enjoy a bit of history and marine environs. They hosted the 1st Annual Ontario Lighthouse challenge and did a good job. This is a fun stop!

After many, many years, I had to join the museum. IF you remember that this was nothing but a warehouse type building prior to the founder's interest in creating a museum dedicated to the maritime history of Oswego, you will be impressed. As a member, I get to go as often as I want in a year, and I DO! I also get a discount at the shoppe. But mostly, I get to take advantage of a lot of the wonderful activities such as the Canal Days weekend lectures. I get to visit the tall ships when they stop over in Oswego for a couple of days. And so many, many more things besides jus the displays.For visitors who stop just for the displays, maybe a bit underwhelming when COMPARING to large city museums (with a lot more money). But considering how short a time this museum has been active, it has developed into one of the best small museums in the state! Maybe even the nation. And why you will want to go more than once a year!

There is no underground railroad exhibit, very small and overpriced. The tour guide was not knowledgeful about the tugboat.

Not only fun for the family, but very rich in maritine history for the great lakes. They have an original tug on display from D-Day

If you are interested in the marine history of this area this museum has much to offer but for the short time we were there we felt the entrance fee was high. The exhibits inside are well done but the highlight for us was the tour of the LT-5 and learning that it had a part in the D-Day invasion. Interesting and awesome to stand on a vessel from such an historic event.

A veteran of D-Day, the LT-5 is a large army tug that was there for the invasion. Left England on June 6 with the invasion fleet. It has a kill insignia on the stack (swastika and downward pointing plane) indicating that the boat's gunners got a German fighter plane. IT HAS THE ORIGINAL CAPTAIN'S LOG!!! How awesome is that??? Entry on June 9, 1944, has this: "under attack, everyone shooting." It's like you're there. The reverence of the feeling is indescribable. Don't miss it.

Located on a pier on Oswego harbor. I learned so much about Oswego Maritime History from this museum. So glad that I went.

This is one of the better small museums we've visited. The collection is great and the docents are friendly and knowledgable. The 2 vessels add a nice peek into the past, too.

Wonderful exhibits and stories. Neat artifacts! A great place to visit! Learn about the Lake and the ships that sailed her. Take a tour of the boats and learn about the Oswego Harbor!

just so knowledgable about the lake info. everything around the museum is so pleasent. the park, the docks and parking just makes your visit very enjoyable. it truly is a great family outing and located in a very senic part of oswego. thake a lunch and sit in the park and learn so much more in detail of lake ontario and oswego.

Some great displays of local maritime history. Compact, well done displays with excellent materials. Decent gist shop.

The Displays are cool. but unless you book a school function or group tour, your left to your own devices