Coast Guard Heritage Museum

10/07/2026

Please note our new hours. Following Columbus Day we will only be open on Saturdays until 11 November (Veteran's Day), after which we will be closed for the season. However, on Veteran's Day we are offering free admission and plan to have a great sale in our gift shop! Hurs of operation are 10:00 AM to 3:00PM.

08/31/2026

We had a great presentation thispast Saturday by Russ Kramer, the artist behind the Coast Guard Memorial Painting recently installed in the Massachusetts Statehouse.
If you would like to see the video recording, please follo the link below. Note the volume is low, and the presentation does not start util just after minute 19.
Thank you to the Unitarian Church of Barnstable for letting us use their wonderful Warren Hall facility and helping us stream and record the event!
https://www.youtube.com/live/FU6LmuV4o24?si=zUB1ApTQtOZnHhXd

08/26/2026

We are pleased to announce that, thanks to the generous support of the Unitarian Church of Barnstable, we will be live streaming our presentation on the creation of the Coast Guard Memorial Painting, recently unveiled at the Massachusetts State House, this Saturday. The event will take place at Warren Hall, Unitarian Church of Barnstable, at 4:00 PM on August 29. For those unable to attend, a live broadcast will be available at https://www.youtube.com//streams at 4:00 PM EDT this Saturday. Join us for this special event!

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08/18/2026

Finally, a Coast Guard Memorial for the Boston State House!

So, exactly how does one go about creating an extraordinary piece of art that honors nearly 250 years of Coast Guard History and public service? Interested? Then here’s an opportunity to meet and hear the artist tell how he did it in his own words!
On Saturday, 29 August, artist Russ Kramer, in the Warren Hall at the Unitarian Church of Barnstable, will explain the processes he used to develop his large-scale oil painting "Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Birthplace of the US Coast Guard," now permanently installed in the Massachusetts State House capitol building on Beacon Hill in Boston. The work is the result of an over 20-year effort to legislate and fund a substantial memorial to the service with its foundational roots in the state. Russ will talk about his extensive research, conceptualization, sketching process, materials and techniques, and final installation in the State House. The presentation will take about 45 minutes and be followed by a question and answer session. In addition, attendees will be invited to tour the Coast Guard Heritage Museum across the street from the church and view our display about the painting and the Service’s history behind it.
Date & Time: Saturday, 29 August 2026 at 4:00 PM
Where: Warren Hall
Unitarian Church of Barnstable
3330 Main St, Barnstable, MA 02630
Cost: Free, but donations will be appreciated
Parking: Down the street from the Church and across the street at the Coast Guard Heritage Museum

07/16/2026

Join us for our annual Members’ Night at the Museum on
Saturday- 1 Aug from 6 to 8 PM.
As in the past, this special event offers an opportunity for members, donors, friends of the museum, and our staff and their families to help us celebrate the Coast Guard’s birthday. There will be refreshments (including a birthday cake!), a very entertaining talk about the rescue of the Pendelton crew off Chatham in 1952, an opportunity to view our exhibits in the early evening (a magical time for our displays), and a formal performance of “Evening Colors” by CGROTC cadets just before 8 PM.
We are particularly proud to show off our newest exhibit “Commonwealth of Massachusetts: Birthplace of the CG”, completed in June. We’ll be offering a special sale ($20 vs $35) of a poster of the new CG Memorial. It is a copy of the original painting added to the State House in April.

07/15/2026

Join us this Friday, July 17th, at 11:00 AM for story telling at the museum, including stories about Onyx, a legendary 13-year-old black Labrador Retriever who served as the official mascot and morale dog for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Station St. Ignace in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

07/05/2026

OUR SUMMER 2026 NEWSLETTER HAS BEEN POSTED
Read about the recent ceremony to unveil the historic painting depicting Massachusetts as the birth place of the Coast Guard! There are also great articles on the Cape and Islands Surfmen of the past, information on our upcoming Member's Only Night at the Museum and the USCG Barque Eagle's Summer 2026 cruise schedule. Just link to the Newsletter page of our web site!
https://coastguardheritagemuseum.org/newsletters