H. Lee White Maritime Museum | Oswego New York Skip to main content

H. Lee White Maritime Museum

  • Oswego County
  • Hours of Operation are between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm during the months of July and August, and open between 1:00 pm and 5:00 pm during the remainder of the year. Vessels are open mid-May through mid-October (weather pending).
  • Handicap Accessible

The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego was founded in 1982 under the auspices of the Port of Oswego Authority and led by Mrs. Rosemary Nesbitt - former SUNY Oswego theater professor and City of Oswego historian. Located on Oswego's West First Street Pier running adjacent to the Oswego River where it empties into Lake Ontario by way of Oswego's Harbor, the Museum's main facility was the administrative offices and freight-house of the grain elevator that formerly rested on the northern end of the structure.

Built by James Steward & Company, Inc. in 1925 the building's ground floor historically served as the machine shop, stock room, superintendent's office, heating plant and main switchboard room for the daily operations of the elevator. The second story contained welfare rooms for the workmen and two offices for administrative support. The structure is comprised of a steel frame, tile walls with a smooth stucco exterior finish, and a plaster finished interior - the floors are concrete in construction.   

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