H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego

05/22/2026

The Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary is a first of its kind for New York State, and will be featured in activities, underwater videos, and exhibits at the June 6, 2026 Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival organized by the H. Lee White Maritime Museum and New York Sea Grant. Here's a sample of what festival visitors will find at the event from noon to 4:00 p.m. along the 1 West First Street Pier near the museum in Oswego's Historic Maritime District.

See underwater videos of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary at the Upstate Freshwater Institute's "Seeing Below the Surface" booth, and learn how weather and water conditions data are collected from buoy's deployed along Lake Ontario's southern shore as part of the Great Lakes Observing System to support the work of researchers, boaters, anglers, beachgoers, water resource managers, and water rescue operations.

The New York State Divers Association will be showing underwater videos of dives in Lake Ontario and other New York lakes and rivers, natural landscapes and shipwrecks, with information on membership and activities.

Recreational boating clean, safe, and environmentally-friendly information that helped support the designation of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary will be available at the New York Sea Grant booth. Learn how to properly equip a boat and size floatation devices for all family members.

Lake Ontario's maritime history and fisheries, maritime-theme activities, and Lake Ontario trivia will be found at SUNY Oswego's Great Lakes Institute booth.

Oswego County families with students in grades 4 and 5 can learn about the Center for Instruction, Technology & Innovation (CiTi) BOCES summer camp with activities focused on the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary and projects to inspire stewardship of the local waterfront.

The Friends of the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary will be highlighting the educational, cultural, and above- and below-water recreational tourism opportunities across the Sanctuary's four-county region of Oswego, Jefferson, Cayuga and Wayne counties.

Local tourism organizations will have 2026 Oswego County Visitor Guides highlighting the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary available to take home.

H. Lee White Maritime Museum Director Mercedes Niess, Curator Michael Pittavino, and Museum Board Vice-President Robert Morgan, and New York Sea Grant Associate Director Katherine Bunting-Howarth and Great Lakes Literacy Specialist Nate Drag serve as members or alternates with the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council. The H. Lee White Maritime Museum is a treasure trove of maritime history told in artifacts, art, models, and exhibits. The museum and its Treasure Chest gift shop will be open during the festival.

The Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival is sponsored in part by Eagle Beverage and Adventure at Burritt's Marine and Powersports in Oswego.

Image Credit: Diving the St. Peter Shipwreck, courtesy of NOAA

For more on this event, visit hlwmm.org!

05/21/2026

Yesterday, the H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego welcomed representatives from American Patriot, an American Cruise Line ship currently docked at the Cahill Pier in Oswego Harbor.

Pictured left to right are:

Mercedes, Maritime Museum Executive Director
Bailey, Shore Excursions Coordinator
Mark, Regional Manager
Rick, Excursion Director
Karis, Cruise Director
Robert Morgan, Maritime Museum Vice President

05/19/2026

Oswego Harbor is busy place this morning! American Patriot is docked at the Cahill Pier and Algoma Innovator is inbound for the Port of Oswego Authority!

Come check out all the action!

05/18/2026

The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego's Schooner Ontario crew has been hard at it this spring - prepping and installing the remaining portholes, applying new coatings to the bulwarks and more! 2026 is going to be an exciting year for the Schooner Ontario.

Ontario's crew will be on deck during the Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival, at the Maritime Museum on June 6, 12-4pm. Be sure to check out all of the improvements. For more on this event, visit hlwmm.org

05/15/2026

The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego and New York Sea Grant have announced a full slate of family fun for the 2026 Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival on Saturday, June 6th in Oswego! The festival will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. in the City’s Historic Maritime District along the 1 West First Street Pier. Admission is free. The children’s activities at the festival are sponsored in part by Oswego Elks Lodge 271.

The Happy Pirates theatre troupe with Captain Gully, Scuttle and Sharkbait invite festival visitors to laugh, sing, and dance along with their seafaring songs. Costumes are encouraged! Under the big tent, children may create a maritime themed t-shirt (one per child).

Sailboat Sprint! races will take place with prizes for different age groups. Free kits to make and decorate a wooden toy sailboat to race in a water tank on the pier at the festival are available at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum (daily 1:00-5:00 p.m.), the Oswego Downtown Visitors Center (Wednesdays-Fridays 12:00-4:00 p.m.) or at the Children’s Museum of Oswego (Tuesdays-Sundays). Boats may be available to build and race on festival day, as supplies allow. The Sailboat Sprint! is sponsored by Raby’s ACE Home Center, the Oswego Middle School wood shop, the Children’s Museum of Oswego, the City of Oswego Visitors Center, and H. Lee White Maritime Museum.

The story of “Colonel Meacham’s Giant Cheese,” as written by H. Lee White Maritime Museum founder Rosemary S. Nesbitt, will be read at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. in the historic Derrick Boat No. 8. The first 100 families participating in the “Giant Cheese” activity will receive a free copy of the book.

The first 50 families or teachers to visit the New York Sea Grant booth will receive a free copy of Enviro-Time Storytime: Recommended Environmental Reading Lists for Children Pre-K to 12. New York Sea Grant curated the lists with assistance from the Park School of Buffalo, the University at Buffalo, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and Wisconsin Sea Grant. Environmental-theme coloring pages will also be available at the booth.

New York Sea Grant will also have information on how to properly size a flotation vest for every member of the family and the family dog, and on how to reduce exposure to harmful algae by dogs. Beach and boating safety tips will also be available.

The Great Lakes Institute will have festival activities that include making origami boats; coloring pages of ships, fish, and lake depth levels pages, and knot tying to make a key chain to take home. The Institute is housed at SUNY Oswego.

“Ronny Raindrop” coloring books will be available at the Oswego County Soil and Water Conservation District booth for take-home fun.

If not called into service, the U.S. Coast Guard and Oswego Fire Department Marine One unit will be at the festival with their water rescue units.

Celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary! The National Historic Landmark World War II U.S. Army Large Tug, LT-5, one of the last vessels of its type that participated in the D-Day June 6, 1944 landing of Allied forces in France, will be featured in an activity for children. Those completing the activity will receive a free giveaway item. On and near Derrick Boat No. 8, amateur radio operators will be talking with “hams” on historic museum ships around the world.

The Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival is sponsored in part by Eagle Beverage and Adventure at Burritt’s Marine and Powersports in Oswego, and hosted by the H. Lee White Maritime Museum with assistance from New York Sea Grant.

05/06/2026

The Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival to be held at the H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego on Saturday, June 6th.

Occurring on the 82nd anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 2026, the Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival coincides with International Museum Ship Weekend, featuring amateur ham radio operators communicating aboard museum ships worldwide.

Join us as we welcome ‘ham’ radio operator Fred Legawiec (W2LGA), where he’ll be broadcasting from Derrick Boat No. 8 alongside the National Historic Landmark WWII vessel and D-Day veteran LT-5.

Ham operators are welcome to join in along the pier, and visitors can learn more about the LT-5’s incredible history.

This free, family-friendly festival celebrates maritime history, science, and life on Lake Ontario from 12–4 PM in Oswego’s Historic Maritime District. For more on this and other Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival offerings, visit hlwmm.org.

The Lake Ontario Waterfront Festival is sponsored in part by Oswego Eagle Beverage, Adventure at Burritt's, New York Sea Grant, Port of Oswego Authority, City Of Oswego and more!

04/30/2026

Home More News ‘Ham’ Operators Around the World Connect During Oswego Event June 6 ‘Ham’ Operators Around the World Connect During Oswego Event June 6 April 30, 2026 Fred Legawiec built his first amateur (ham) radio and passed the Novice Class ham operator’s license test at age 8. Ever s...

04/02/2026

The H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego is proud to announce that our project, Depth & Discovery: Access, Awareness, and Collaboration in the LONMS, received an award from National Marine Sanctuary Foundation's Sanctuary Community Fund to support our work in the Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary! The Sanctuary Community Fund invests directly in local communities and groups that will pilot the best ideas to support national marine sanctuaries in our ocean and Great Lakes. Read the full announcement and learn more about our project at www.marinesanctuary.org/sanctuarycommunity-fund

03/31/2026

03/25/2026

Today, on , the H. Lee White Maritime Museum at Oswego honors the life and bravery of James H. Lee (1839–1877), a Civil War hero whose story is one of resilience, courage, and sacrifice.

Orphaned at just 10 years old, Lee was adopted by the Clark family of Baldwinsville, NY. As a young man, he joined a whaling expedition before enlisting in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War.

Serving aboard the USS Kearsarge, Lee distinguished himself during the historic battle against the Confederate commerce raider CSS Alabama off the coast of Cherbourg, France, on June 19, 1864.
Acting as sponger of the No. 1 gun during the fierce engagement, Lee displayed remarkable calm and bravery under fire. His Medal of Honor citation praised his “marked coolness and good conduct,” noting that he was highly recommended for his gallantry. For his actions, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on December 31, 1864.

Lee married Julie Place of the Town of Oswego, but his life was cut short at a young age due to “brain fever.”

03/23/2026

A great opportunity presented by our friends at the NOAA's Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary! Free event, registration required (see below).

The Lake Ontario National Marine Sanctuary is bringing the world of cinema to New York State on April 2, 2026. The inaugural International Film Festival will be a memorable evening featuring inspiring ocean and Great Lakes films from around the world, a social reception, and opportunities to connect with sanctuary leaders and community members.

WHEN: Thursday, April 2, 2026, 6 to 9:00 p.m.
WHERE: Lake Ontario Event and Conference Center, 26 E 1st St, Oswego, NY 13126
HOW: RSVP and gather more information at: https://lonms.simpletix.com/