The CHMM has multiple galleries, each focused thematically on historical narratives unique to the Custom House and its collection. In addition to those long-term exhibition spaces (below), the museum also features in-depth, changing annual exhibits in our Bushee Gallery. The Marquand Library room, named for the Marquand family whose familial roots connect directly to the Custom House, is currently housing the Newburyport Road to Revolution exhibition in honor of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

This gallery invites you to explore a historical timeline of the greater Newburyport area from pre-historic times to the present.

In this gallery, visitors can grasp a brief history of the Lower Merrimack Valley, beginning approximately 12,000 B.C.E. when humans first inhabited the area around the mouth of the Merrimack River. The timeline spans major events such as the arrival of the first European settlers in 1635, Newburyport’s rise as a hub for international trade, and its role in founding the United States Coast Guard shortly following the Revolutionary War. The timeline also highlights the city’s renowned shipbuilding industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, and ends in 1975 when the Custom House Maritime Museum opened to the public.

Gallery Highlights

A model of a United States Coast Guard Response Boat, a ship designed for search-and-rescue, port security, and law enforcement. On loan from the US Coast Guard.

A model of a United States Coast Guard Response Boat, a ship designed for search-and-rescue, port security, and law enforcement. On loan from the US Coast Guard.

• An impressive collection of artifacts from the Coffin Stream in West Newbury illustrating Native American life and tool-making. Acquisition made possible through Jack Santos and Anonymous Donor, 2024.

• A four-foot replica of a surf dory built by Lowell’s Boat Shop.

• Saunkskwa of Survivance sculpture by Jeffrey Briggs, honoring Native American women.

The Brown Gallery explores the Custom House’s function as a federal office where ship captains declared cargo and paid tariffs before goods could enter the country.

The gallery illustrates how the federal Custom House system, created by Alexander Hamilton in 1789, helped fund the early US government and made Newburyport one of New England’s most profitable ports. You will learn about the day-to-day operations of the Custom House and how it connected Newburyport to global commerce.

Gallery Highlights

A scale diorama of the Newburyport waterfront as it appeared in 1850, built and donated by David Vine.

A mural of the Newburyport Waterfront as it might have appeared in 1791 by Willard Fitton.

• A 19th century statue of Justice by local craftsman Joseph Wilson.

• The original 1835 stand-up desk, designed for portability and used by Custom House personnel for dockside assessments.

• A safe originally in the office of Jacob T. Rowe, owner of the first shoe factory in Newburyport.

• A collection of 19th century whalebone and whale ivory canes.

This gallery explores the evolution of the U.S. Coast Guard and how the Life-Saving Service, Lighthouse Service and Revenue Cutter Service came together in 1915 under President Woodrow Wilson. Its origins began in Newburyport with the launch of the first Revenue Cutter.

Visitors are introduced to the Coast Guard’s life-saving missions, wartime duties, and daily operations. Experience the story of the Coast Guard’s maritime service, including its presence today at the Merrimack River station.

Gallery Highlights

This French-made Fresnel lens once guided ships safely past Coney Island. From 1888 to 1986, it stood in the Coney Island Light. It is a fourth-order Fresnel lens. On long-term loan from the United States Coast Guard, 2025. The metal decorative base was donated by Merri Mar Yacht Basin.

George Washington’s signature on the Keeper’s Commission that named the first keeper of the Plum Island lighthouse. On loan from Friends of Plum Island Light.

A collection of SPARS uniforms and stories of women in the Coast Guard.

Other Highlights

• The Deck Rail from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eastwind signed by members of the crew. Donated by crew member Bob Harkins.

• A model of the US Coast Guard Cutter Eastwind, an icebreaker that, among other feats, ferried 200 US army troops who captured the last German weather station in Greenland in October 1944. Built from builder’s plans at the Coast Guard Historian’s Office

• Paintings and memorabilia illustrating the dangers of seafaring and the impact of ships and crews lost at sea on Newburyporters.

In the aftermath of the French and Indian War, Great Britain gained enormous territories from the French in North America. However, over the next 15 years, a shift from limited regulation to direct taxation to pay off war debt, disputes over frontier policy, a growing sense of self-identity and related desire for self-governance all led to increased colonial resentment, violence and ultimately to the American Revolution.

On the road to and during the Revolutionary War, Newburyport contributed greatly to the struggle for independence. The town also contributed immediately to the war effort, sending men to Concord and Bunker Hill and staging the ill-fated Quebec Expedition. An abundance of skilled shipwrights, seasoned sailors, savvy merchants, ardent spirit, and protected harbor made Newburyport into a hub for privateers, thus helping to disrupt enemy shipping and supply lines. It built one of the first thirteen frigates for the nascent Continental Navy. Many paid the supreme sacrifice and more were imprisoned.

President George Washington visited Newburyport in 1789. This visit underscored the role the town played in regulating maritime trade and collecting much needed revenue via the Custom House for the depleted Federal coffers.

Gallery Highlights

A model of the Privateer Dalton, commissioned in Newburyport and captured by the British. Serving on the Dalton were Captains Anthony Knap and Henry Lunt, members of the Newburyport Marine Society who later escaped from a British prison camp. Model by Mark C. Wilkins, 2025. Funded by the Newburyport Civic League.

A ship model made during the Napoleonic Wars by French prisoners-of-war who used animal bones from soup rations to craft the model. CHMM Collection.

Portrait of Mary Atkins Searle by Gilbert Stuart in 1825. Mary Atikins was married to George Searle, famous for his design and building of the Revenue Massachusetts. Gilbert also is famous for the portrait of George Washington on the one-dollar bill. On loan from Jane C. Shaffer and her husband, the late Timothy F. Marquand.

Portrait of Mary Atkins Searle by Gilbert Stuart in 1825. Mary Atikins was married to George Searle, famous for his design and building of the Revenue Massachusetts. Gilbert also is famous for the portrait of George Washington on the one-dollar bill. On loan from Jane C. Shaffer and her husband, the late Timothy F. Marquand.

The Moseley Gallery celebrates Newburyport’s golden age of sail, focusing on Donald McKay and the rise of the clipper ship. McKay experimented by lengthening the hull and sharpening the bow to produce sleek, swift ships. The Flying Cloud set the New York–San Francisco record in 1851 at 89 days, a record unbeaten for more than a century. Explore the age when Newburyport ships set the standard for naval architecture innovation.

Gallery Highlights

The Collision of the Gladiator, depicting a collision between two very different vessels, symbolizes the end of the Age of Sail. The iron-clad steamer in the background carries on relentlessly, leaving the de-masted tall ship to take on water. This painting is metaphorical, representing the end of Newburyport’s century and a half dominance in building wooden vessels. Gift of Newburyport Public Library. Restored by the Jeanette Isabella Conservation Fund.

Established in 1772 by ship captains, the Newburyport Marine Society advanced and preserved maritime knowledge and provided funding to families of those lost at sea. This large collection of portraits documents members of the society from 1772-1872. Gift of Jack Goethal, 1975.

One of the largest vessels built in Newburyport in 1853, the clipper ship Dreadnought made 31 roundtrips between New York and Liverpool. It held the record for the fastest run between New York and Cork, Ireland in just 9 days and 17 hours in 1859. Gift of the Newburyport Public Library, 1988. Restored by Robert Napier.

Other Highlights

• A painting of the Great Republic, one of McKay’s extreme clippers. McKay got his start in large ship design in Newburyport. On loan from the Boston Marine Society.

• An ⅛ inch scale model of Currier Shipyard in Newburyport where nearly 100 ships were built between 1831 and 1844. Acquired by the CHMM and restored by David Vine.

In 1854, President Tyler sent Caleb Cushing of Newburyport to negotiate trade policies with China. Newburyport captains were soon traveling to Canton and Japanese ports returning with rare and beautiful objects that offered a glimpse into the “mysterious, mythical East”. The Bushee Gallery displays this “exotic cargo” along with other artifacts collected by sailors.

Gallery Highlights

The Yangtze river junk transported goods from American vessels to markets ashore. This model was bought in Shanghai by Pulitzer Prize author J.P. Marquand. On loan from Jane C. Shaffer and her husband, the late Timothy F. Marquand.

Delicate, hand-held ivory fans from 19th century Japan were brought back by Newburyport captains as gifts to loved ones after long sea voyages. Gift of Charlotte Bayley.

Curiosities from the Pacific Northwest including a Chinook skirt, and curiosities from Oceania including a stick chart and utilitarian objects. Gift of the Historical Society of Old Newbury.

Other Highlights

• A Japanese decorative longsword from the late 19th century, with depictions of rural life carved on the ivory bone handle and scabbard. Gift of Ellen S. Grant, 2018.

• A 1690 European-made chest of drawers with a “Japanned” lacquered finish; an imitation of exotic Chinese and Japanese styles. Gift of Florence E. Bushee, 1975.