Museums in Chatham, Cape Cod
Museums
Arconti American Museum
The Arconti American Museum, built and designed by Michael and Susan Arconti, was founded in September 2011 with the mission to bestow upon fellow individuals a new emporium of fine art, historical relic, and cultural artifact. With extensive collections of ornate early American currency, Native American talismans, Charlotte’s web illustration original sketches, Thomas Nast political cartoons, hand-carved engravings, and even antique motorcycles, the Arconti American Museum offers exhibition education to individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Seeking to inspire awe, camaraderie, and pride in the American Heritage, as well as to diversify the cultural experience for those individuals visiting Cape Cod, the Arconti American Museum exudes a palpable ardor, endearing reception, and personal authenticity rarely matched elsewhere. Welcome are one and all looking to celebrate and explore the life of an extraordinary nation.
OPEN June 14 - September 14, 2013. Museum may be open for groups after season closing by special arrangements. HOURS Daily 12pm-4pm. ADMISSION $6. adults; students $3. and children under 6 free. Donations accepted. Handicap and motorbus accessible. www.arcontiamericanmuseum.org
Caleb Nickerson House
Chatham's Caleb Nickerson House, on the Nickerson Family Association property at 1107 Orleans Road (Route 28) is open for tours every Wednesday from 9:00am to 1:00pm June 12 through September 25, 2012. Donations are accepted. Caleb Nickerson, great, great grandson of William, the founder of the town of Chatham, and his wife Elizabeth Mayo built their home on Stage Neck Road in 1772. The house stood on a bluff over looking the Oyster River for 230 years. In 2003 the house made a journey by land and sea to its present location. This pristine home of an American Revolutionary War veteran features three working fireplaces including a beehive oven and original iron cranes, period woodwork and random width wide pine floors. Experience colonial life in this restored antique cape resting on the original homestead land, within a few yard of the cabin site of the founder of Chatham.
Chatham's Old Grist Mill
Located near Chase Park, off Shattuck Place, this mill was built in 1797 by Col. Benjamin Godfrey to grind corn using only wind power. A wind speed of at least 20 miles an hour was necessary to do the job, and when the wind topped 25 miles per hour the miller had to either reef his sails or cease grinding that day. The mill was a gift to the town from Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Crocker. It was moved from its original location on Mill Hill, off Stage Harbor Road, in 1956, and was opened to the public a year later. The facility is under the supervision of the Park & Recreation Commission. Chatham’s windmill will once again grind corn—at least, on occasion! Visitors to the 18th-century wind-powered gristmill that has undergone a historic renovation and will be able to relive a bit of town history.
Museum is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays 11am-2pm from June 22-August 31, 2013. Open Chatham History Weekend June 22 and Weekend of Chatham Arts Fesival August 16-18, 2013. Please visit us at: www.chathamwindmill.com
Chatham Marconi Maritime Center
Seen on the Channel 5 Boston "Chronicle" news magazine and in the Boston Globe
In 2013, the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center will welcome visitors to its Museum and Education Center located at 847 Orleans Road (Route 28) overlooking Ryders Cove in the Chathamport area of North Chatham. The museum is located in the historic Operations Building built in 1914 by Guglielmo Marconi. The station was part of his visionary wireless network that was planned to link America with Europe and Japan.
Under the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and known by the call letters WCC, it was the busiest ship-to-shore station on the East Coast during most of the 20th century. Not only did WCC relay vital messages to ships around the world, it also provided communications to brave aviators and bold adventurers – Charles and Anne Lindberg, Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes. During World War II, the U.S. Navy operated the Chatham station as secret “Station C’ whose mission it was to locate and intercept coded messages from enemy surface vessels and submarines, helping to win the Battle of the Atlantic. Exhibits include videos about Marconi’s life and the role of WCC in world events, an authentic shipboard radio, artifacts from important periods in WCC’s history, and an opportunity for visitors to send Morse code as well as see an operational amateur radio station. For further information about the Chatham Marconi Maritime Center, visit www.chathammarconi.org .
On May 24 – June 23, we will be open Fridays through Sundays from 1-4 PM. During June 25 – Sept.1, we will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 AM to 4 PM and on Sundays from 1-4 PM. From Sept 4 through Oct. 13 we will be open Wednesday through Sunday from 1 -4 PM.
Mayo House
Just east of the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank building on Main Street is the Mayo House, which is an excellent example of a traditional Cape Cod house built in 1820. This antique home serves as headquarters for the Chatham Conservation Foundation, and is used by the group for its regular meetings. The Mayo House, beautifully preserved and restored, was donated to the foundation by the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank. It is furnished with period furniture and is open to the public from mid- June thru September. Open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, 11:00 am-4:00 pm.
Old Atwood House Museum
The Old Atwood House at 347 Stage Harbor Road is owned by the Chatham Historical Society. This house, one of the oldest in Chatham, was erected in the days (1752) when the men who engineered the job were all subjects of His Majesty, King George the III of England. Allow 2 hours to tour this complex, which includes the Durand Wing with its displays of shells, Sandwich Glass, and Parian ware. In the William Nickerson Wing, changing exhibits portray old Cape Cod life through artifacts, photos and maritime paintings. The New Gallery displays local sea captains and other individuals all painted in the 1930's by Frederick Wight, son of Alice Stallknecht Wight. Her nationally known Murals are housed in the annexed old Chatham Railroad freight shed. The Murals are in three large sections painted between 1932 and 1945 and include portraits of more than 130 townspeople pictured with a modern Christ. The Joseph C. Lincoln Room (famous Cape author) contains all his books, memorabilia and many personal objects of interest. An interesting Antique Tool Room has been set up in the basement; and now on the premises, with furnishings intact and saved from storm erosions, is an original North Beach Camp built in 1947. Hundreds of interesting antiques are included in the 14 display rooms...something for all art lovers, history buffs, students and lovers of Chatham. This Museum is a must see.
Railroad Museum
The Chatham Railroad Museum is located in the old Chatham Railroad Company station on Depot Road, and has parking space at the door. The building is now over 100 years old and on the original site. It served the Town for over fifty years from 1887 to 1937. In 1951, Mrs. Jacob Cox of Cleveland, Ohio and Chatham purchased the structure and land as a gift to our town. It was restored as a country depot and a museum in 1960.
During the season, it will open from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday from mid-June to mid-September. It is manned by an experienced group of volunteers from all Cape Cod. There have been over 100,000 visitors since the first season. It grows in size each year. The exhibits, starting with a relic of the first commercial railroad in the U.S. in 1826, include hundreds of factors of historical significance in the railroad field, plus models and objects which never fail to interest the visitors.
The 100-year old caboose of olden days, the gift of the New York Central System, has been fully restored and is open for all to enjoy the sounds of the rails. Young and old will enjoy the trip through this Home on Wheels of the railroad train crews. The diorama of the Chatham yards of about 1915 modeled in a scale of 1/8 inch to the foot is a new acquisition - a must see exhibit. Museum can be opened after season closing for groups by special arrangements. Donations are accepted. Handicapped accessible.
