Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum

About

Location of the Museum - The Maritime Museum sits on the banks of the Tchefuncte River in Madisonville, Louisiana about three miles before this historic stream flows into Lake Pontchartrain. Its attractive, modern main building has available over twelve thousand square feet of interior exhibit space plus a four thousand covered exterior area that houses the Museum's wooden boat building activities. The Museum also includes the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse Station (built in 1837) at the mouth of the river, the 1880s era lighthouse keeper's cottage, which has recently been moved to the Museum grounds for renovation and a modern concrete dock on the river. The site is located about four miles, or a 10-minute drive, from Exit 57 on Interstate 12.

Mission of the Museum - The mission of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Maritime Museum is to “bring Louisiana 's unique maritime history to life.” While most Americans are familiar with the historical significance of the city of New Orleans, the Mississippi River and the Louisiana Purchase, most local residents and visitors alike know little about the role that Lake Pontchartrain and the other rivers, marshes and bayous of southeastern Louisiana played in our country's development. Yet, for most of recorded history, these watery routes, and not the lower reaches of the mighty Mississippi River were the “front door” providing access from the Gulf of Mexico to the vast, rich interior of North America . First, Native Americans, then the great European colonial powers, fought for control of these waterways. Naval battles were fought during the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. A local culture unlike any other developed to exploit the treasures of our wetlands, and special craft were designed and built to traverse the generally shallow waters of the region. This boat building tradition has continued for over three centuries – from pirogues, luggers, schooners and steamboats, to submarines and ironclads for the Civil War, to 300' long wooden cargo ships for WWI, to the fabled Higgins boats of WWII, to the cutting-edge military ships that are being built at local shipyards today. All of this makes for an incredibly interesting story, one which when the telling is complete, will make our museum one of the premier maritime museums in the country.