Explore Our Exhibits

2022 Door County Lighthouse Festivals

Spring: June 10-12 & Fall: September 30-October 2. The Festival weekends include air, land-based, boat, and adventure tours that together reach all 11 of the treasured lighthouses of Door County! Many of the tours are unique to the Lighthouse Festival, and provide visitors exclusive access to lighthouses not typically open to the public – Chambers Island, Kewaunee, Plum Island and Sherwood Point Lighthouses.

Classic and Wooden Boat Show: August 5-7

Bring your crew, friends and family for boating and fun on Sturgeon Bay’s historic working waterfront! Vessels range from historic canoes to kayaks, sailboats, fiberglass classics, and glorious mahogany runabouts.

THANK YOU!!

It is our great pleasure to announce that the $9.2 Million Capital Campaign for the Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower is officially CLOSED!!

Make a Difference at the Door County Maritime Museum – Volunteer Today!

A bigger museum means we need more help – Volunteer Today! DCMM is actively recruiting volunteers who are excited to learn about maritime history and share it with our museum visitors!

Merry-Times in 2021

The annual DCMM Merry-Time Festival of Trees fills the Museum with extraordinary trees, wreaths and decorative displays adorned with ornaments, gifts and special surprises, all decorated and donated by local businesses, organizations and residents. The Festival runs now through Sunday, January 2, 2022.

Sturgeon Bay Museum CLOSED 10/4/21

In order to complete some major facilities and artifact preservation projects, the Museum in Sturgeon Bay will be CLOSED to the public on Monday, October 4th. We will reopen at 10am on Tuesday, October 5th. We appreciate your understanding.

COVID Closure 8/21/21

Live Video Feed

Live video feed from the Baumgartner Observation Deck, atop the Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower. Video courtesy of the City of Sturgeon Bay.   

Mariner & USCG Person of the Year – 2021

The public is cordially invited to an award presentation and dinner honoring all nominees for the Mariner Award and the Sturgeon Bay Area Coast Guard Person of the Year. This special event is scheduled for Tuesday, August 10, 2021, at the Sturgeon Bay Yacht Club, and is hosted by the Door County Maritime Museum, Sturgeon Bay Coast Guard Committee, and SBYC.

DCMM and Door County Library Announce New Partnership!

To provide greater access to museum exhibits and programs for ALL Door County residents, DCMM family membership cards are now available for checkout at all branches of the Door County Library.

From Net To Table

The Death’s Door Maritime Museum in Gills Rock hosts a new exhibit entitled From-Net-To-Table. The photography exhibit highlights the people who are part of the contemporary Door County commercial fishing industry, Door County’s contribution to the culinary and cultural landscape of Wisconsin.

Float Your Boat Challenge

Bring Door County’s maritime history and technology to life, even during this time of quarantine, and build boats for the new online competition! In partnership with the Peninsula Pulse newspaper, DCMM is launching the “Float Your Boat!” paper and cardboard boat-building challenge.

Last Two Days of Tower Matching Challenge!

During the May 22nd Christening of the Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower in Sturgeon Bay, DCMM Executive Director Kevin Osgood announced a matching challenge grant to jump-start the final phase of fundraising for the $7.2 Million construction capital campaign. HELP US REACH OUR GOAL and unlock the $50,000 matching grant by the end of August!

Rent Space at DCMM

Host your next meeting or event overlooking Sturgeon Bay’s working waterfront, at the Door County Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay. DCMM also offers the option for you to host your small wedding at the Cana Island Lighthouse.

Maritime Speaker Series

The next edition of the DCMM Maritime Speaker Series takes place in-person and on-line on Thursday, March 3 at 7pm. The presentation on Wisconsin Shipwrecks will feature Tamara Thomsen, maritime archaeologist with Wisconsin Historical Society’s Maritime Preservation and Archaeology program. She recently discovered a 1,200-year-old dugout canoe in Madison’s Lake Mendota!

Open for the 2021 Season!

DCMM is pleased to announce that the tugboat John Purves in Sturgeon Bay, the Death’s Door Maritime Museum in Gills Rock, and the Cana Island Lighthouse in Baileys Harbor are all open for the 2021 season as of Saturday, May 1st. All DCMM locations are open seven days a week. 

Container Wars: The Contentious Claim to the Commercial Shipping Revolution

On Thursday, April 8 at 7pm for the DCMM Maritime Speaker Series, Curator Rhys Kuzdas will tell the story of the shipping container’s inventor, Leathem D. Smith, the process of its design and plans for implementation, and eventual legal battles over its patents and legacy.

Ladies of the Lights

They were women before their time, taking on the romantic, yet dangerous and physically demanding job of tending to the lighthouses and beacons that protected the shoreline…they were the Ladies of the Lights! Thursday, March 4 at 7pm (CST) online.

Lighthouse Photo Contest 2021

Love in the water…The mysteries and love life of the Burbot

Join fisheries specialist Titus Seilheimer for a special edition of the Door County Maritime Speaker Series, on Thursday, February 4 at 7pm, to learn more about the only freshwater member of the cod family, the burbot a/k/a the lawyer fish.

Ladies of the Lights – Maritime Speaker Series

They were women before their time, taking on the romantic, yet dangerous and physically demanding job of tending to the beacons that protected the shoreline. In all, some 40 women have been identified who excelled in this profession over the years…

History of Bay Shipbuilding – Maritime Speaker Series

Learn the history of Door County’s largest employer when Theresa and Stewart Fett present the History of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding Company for the Maritime Speaker Series.

Merry-Times 2020 with Door County Maritime Museum!

Bring your family and friends to the 9th annual Merry-Time Festival of Trees, now through January 3, at the Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay. The Festival turns the Museum into a winter wonderland with uniquely decorated trees, wreaths and decorative displays. Visitors can purchase raffle tickets for chances to win a display and take it home!

19th Century Shipbuilding in Northeast Wisconsin

Informational banners, and quizzes to test your 19th century shipbuilding knowledge.

DCMM Announces 2020 Mariner Award Winners

DCMMis pleased to announce the recipients of the annual Door County Mariner Awards and Coast Guard Person of the Year Award. William C. “Bill” Parsons is recognized with the Mariner Award…

Built for Battle: Sturgeon Bay Ships in WWII

#MaritimeHonors – A National Maritime Day Salute

For National Maritime Day (May 22), DCMM organized a maritime signal of appreciation for healthcare workers fighting against the pandemic. At Noon, the ship’s horn on the tug John Purves sounded a “Master’s Salute” to those working the front lines against COVID-19.

Maritime Scavenger Hunts

Have some fun while learning with your (household) crew. Figure out the Scavenger Hunt clues and answers to questions.

DCMM Online Museum Store

The DCMM Museum Store features a variety of carefully curated items inspired by Door County’s rich maritime history, lighthouses and museum locations. Featured Collections in the online store include Books, Art Activities, Apparel, Home Decor, Puzzles, and DCMM Exclusives.

DCMM Built for Battle Exhibit Online

Shipwrecks of Door County – Online!

As we transition to a “new normal” during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Door County Maritime Museum (DCMM) wishes to continue to fulfill our mission to preserve and celebrate the rich maritime history of Door County and the Great Lakes.

Built for Battle: Sturgeon Bay Ships in WWII

DCMM is pleased to make our newest exhibit – Built for Battle: Sturgeon Bay Ships in World War II – available online. We want to continue to educate and engage our community, especially our area school-age population, currently dislocated from their classrooms and teachers.

The “Berylune”

Designed by it’s original owner, Walter F. Koken, as a pleasure boat for his family, the “Berylune” was built in 1917 by the Jepson Boat Works on Washington Island.  

Dive Exhibit

Visitors can see artifacts from various dives and wrecks including W.L. Brown, Riverside, R.J. Hackett, Niagra, Amoit, Berwyn, Sardinia, Plymouth and Carrington. 

Engines

Shipwrecks

Plum Island Fresnel Lens

Wagon Rides

Help has arrived for those who would prefer not to get their feet wet! The museum has now implemented a tractor-drawn hay wagon with seats and sides to traverse the causeway.

Visiting Cana Island

The lighthouse is located at the end of a narrow rustic road that runs through a residential area. A parking lot is located at the end of Cana Island Rd.

Explore the Cana Island Grounds

Cana Island is a unique little island that’s bounded by the waters of Lake Michigan on just three sides. To reach the island, visitors walk across the dry lake bottom!

Climb the Lighthouse Tower

When the lighthouse was originally constructed in 1869, it was the tallest brick structure in Door County. Today, thousands of visitors climb the spiral staircase for a birds-eye view.

Fish Tug Hope

Visitors have a rare opportunity to explore, inside and out, the 45-foot-wooden fish tug Hope.

John Roen Asher Gallery

This gallery is packed with drama, adventure, ingenuity and boating fun. Delve into the Great Lakes’ most spectacular ship raising.

Baumgartner Gallery

The Baumgartner Gallery houses a complete Door County lighthouse exhibit, as well as a wide-ranging collection of model ships.

Sentinels of the Shore

Investigate a full-size 4th order Fresnel lens replica of the Door County Sherwood Point Lighthouse lantern that’s typically 61 feet in the air.

Peterson Gallery

The amazing accomplishments of Sturgeon Bay shipbuilders come to life in the rich Peterson Gallery.

Horton Gallery

Step into an actual wheelhouse of a 1907 steamship. Put your hands on the large wooden wheel and sound Elba’s horn.

Tug John Purves

Enjoy an all-access, 40 minute guided tour of the John Purves, an immaculately restored 1960s era Great Lakes tugboat. Explore the entire 149-foot tug, from her engine room to crew cabins and wheelhouse.

Wooden Boatbuilding Class

Each year the Museum hosts a wooden boatbuilding class, keeping this maritime tradition alive. The class is open to beginners as well as experienced woodworkers.