Charles W. Morgan, Mystic Seaport

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The Charles W. Morgan at Chubb's Wharf at Mystic Seaport.
© Mystic Seaport

Charles W. Morgan, Mystic Seaport

75 Greenmanville Avenue

Mystic, CT

Website:  Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea

The Treasure:  The Charles W. Morgan is the only remaining American wooden whaling ship.

Accessibility:  Currently, the Charles W. Morgan can be seen undergoing restoration in Mystic Seaport’s Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard. Hours at Mystic Seaport vary based on the season, with limited hours between Thanksgiving and Christmas and closed January through mid-February. Mystic Seaport is open daily through spring, summer, and fall. Check the Mystic Seaport website for the seasonal hour schedules.

The Charles W. Morgan as seen
in the 1922 silent movie
Down to the Sea in Ships.

Background:  With whale oil, baleen, and spermaceti in high demand, whaling emerged as a major industry in 19th century America. Throughout most of the 1800s, the oceans of the world were host to hundreds of whaling ships, many sailing out of ports located along the New England coast. Proudly exhibited at Mystic Seaport today, the Charles W. Morgan is the last remaining American wooden whaling ship in existence.

Whaling first became commercially viable as a source of lamp oil and candle wax. It may not be too far off the mark to say that whale oil illuminated the world through much of the 18th and 19th centuries. In later years, other uses were found for whale oil, including oiling wools for combing, as an ingredient in margarine, and as a base for rust-proof paints for metal––such as the original (though not modern) Rust-Oleum.

Built in 1841, the Charles W. Morgan fared very well in the whaling industry of its time. Over the course of its 80-year career, it is believed to have brought in over a million dollars in raw whale materials. At 133 feet long and nearly 30 feet wide, the Morgan could carry over 90,000 gallons of whale oil in a single trip. Sperm, right, and bowhead whales were the primary target species, although others were sometimes pursued.

The Charles W. Morgan was a true cultural melting pot for its crew, generally averaging about 30 sailors per voyage. Over the course of its 37 voyages, more than 1,000 crewmen drawn from over 50 countries visited 59 different ports of call under the command of a succession of 20 captains. The Morgan primarily traveled the Indian and South Atlantic oceans on voyages that could last from eight and a half months to nearly five years.

The Charles W. Morgan undergoing restoration in June 2011.
© Mystic Seaport

Notes from the Editor:  On July 21, 2013, the Charles W. Morgan will be officially relaunched and then in late spring 2014 the ship will embark upon a historic 38th voyage, its first since the ship was retired in 1921. In honor of these events, Governor Dannel P. Malloy and State Senator Andrew Maynard of Connecticut have declared the academic year 2013-2014 as the “Year of the Charles W. Morgan.”

This 38th voyage will also mark the finale of over five years of a major restoration of the Morgan done to exacting specifications, right down to the species of trees used in the repairs. When completed, not only will the ship have returned to its original appearance but it will also be seaworthy. As this is being written, one of the largest pieces of wood aboard the ship––a 2,000-pound transom timber––is being painstakingly replaced because of mold damage. This work must be done with great care to ensure that the ship doesn’t begin to sag or buckle as the major support is removed.

One of the more interesting sources of replacement wood comes from the Deep South: fallen trees that remained after Hurricane Katrina passed through Mississippi. The Live Oak of Mississippi is ideal for restoration shipbuilding, so rather than allow the precious trees to go to waste, Mississippi graciously donated large amounts of the fallen wood to the project.

The grand 38th voyage will begin in New London, then make its way to Newport, New Bedford, Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard, up the Cape Cod Canal to Provincetown, and finally to Boston where it will join the USS Constitution. Each stop will be marked by events tailored to the local heritage. Following this voyage, the Charles W. Morgan will return to her normal berth at Chubb’s Wharf in Mystic Seaport in late summer 2014, where she will resume her service as both an exhibit and flagship for the museum.

Quentin Snediker, Director of the Preservation Shipyard, with Live Oak
donated by the state of Mississippi.  Photo courtesy of Mystic Seaport.
© Mystic Seaport

Quentin Snediker inspecting the wood.
© Mystic Seaport

Wood for the Charles W. Morgan at the
Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard.
© Mystic Seaport

Installation of the first exterior plank on the Charles W. Morgan.
© Mystic Seaport

Other Recommended Sites:  The Charles W. Morgan is one of four National Historic Landmark vessels located at Mystic Seaport.  The others are the Emma C. Berry (a sloop smack used for fishing for mackerel that was launched in 1866), the Sabino (an excursion steamer that dates back to 1908), and the L.A. Dunton (a two-masted schooner from 1921).

The village of Mystic is a popular tourist destination not only for Mystic Seaport but also for Mystic Aquarium. Since its opening in 1973, Mystic Aquarium has served the area as both a fun place to visit and as an important oceanography institute and aquatic research center. Take advantage of a Mystic Pass Card for combined admission to both Mystic Seaport and Mystic Aquarium.

Live Oak tagged for Mystic Seaport.
© Mystic Seaport

1971 U.S. stamp commemorating the first restoration of the Charles W. Morgan.
Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Guest author for this entry:  Terry Price

Tour America's History Itinerary

Tuesday’s destination:  Avery Point Lighthouse

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price

Weir Farm National Historic Site

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Visit our Tour Destination: Connecticut page to see the entire tour of the state’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Weir House, Weir Studio, and Young Studio.
Photo courtesy of Weir Farm National Historic Site.

Weir Farm

735 Nod Hill Road

Wilton, CT

Website:  Weir Farm National Historic Site

The Treasure:  American Impressionist painter J. Alden Weir spent decades designing the landscape of his rural property to serve as an inspiration for both his own artwork and that of his artist friends.

Accessibility:  From April to November, the Burlingham House Visitor Center is open daily from 10 to 4;  from December through March, the Visitor Center is only open on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 to 4. The grounds are accessible daily from dawn until dusk. Three important historic structures—the Weir House, Weir Studio, and Young Studio—are currently closed for restoration.

J. Alden Weir.
Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Background:  Connecticut’s important role in American Impressionism began at Weir Farm where J. (Julian) Alden Weir (1852-1919) graciously welcomed fellow artists to enjoy a nearby and convenient retreat from the New York City art scene. Artists like Weir, Childe Hassam, and John Twachtman would set up their easels on the property and endeavor to capture the play of light across the varied landscape.

As a young man studying art in Europe, Weir’s initial response to the work of the emerging French Impressionists was one of disgust. “I have never in my life seen such horrible things,” he wrote in a letter to his parents after viewing an Impressionist exhibition. “They do not observe drawing nor form but give you an impression of what they call nature. It was worse than a chamber of horrors.” At the time, Weir’s allegiance was to the precision drawing of the Academic style, as well as the romantic plein-air work of the Hudson River School as practiced by American artists such as Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt.

Weir’s artistic views changed over time, particularly as he developed an intense relationship with the153 acres of land in Branchville, Connecticut that he purchased in 1882. As he designed his own property to create a pleasing variety of attractive views, he increasingly drew upon Impressionist-style techniques to capture these scenes on canvas.

Weir invited artist friends to visit, most notably Hassam, Twachtman, and the eccentric tonalist painter Albert Pinkham Ryder. The budding art colony nicknamed Weir’s home “the Land of Nod,” and the name stuck.

Weir put much time and thought into the ever-evolving landscape design of his property. Like the famous French Impressionist Claude Monet, Weir endeavored to surround himself with the color and beauty that he desired to celebrate in his paintings. In the decades following his death, first Weir’s daughter Dorothy Weir Young and then artist Doris Andrews conscientiously preserved Weir Farm’s landscape as a tribute to him. When Weir Farm was officially established as a National Historic Site in 1990, the property still appeared much like the bucolic “Land of Nod” that Weir had labored to create approximately a century before.

"Autumn Days" (circa 1900-1910) by J. Alden Weir.
Oil on canvas, 29.3 x 39.5 inches.
Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Notes from the Editor:  The Weir House, Weir Studio, and Young Studio are currently closed to the public for restoration, but don’t let that deter you from a visit. Weir Farm remains a busy and popular location because of the great importance of the grounds. The National Park Service has always approached Weir Farm—the only National Historic Site dedicated to American painting—as a place for celebrating the practice of art as much as the study of history.

As part of their Take Part in Art program, the National Park Service provides free art supplies to any visitors who want to follow in the footsteps of J. Alden Weir, Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, and Albert Pinkham Ryder. On some days (check the schedule), professional artists visit Weir Farm to offer guidance and instruction. Youth programs are particularly popular, and teachers are encouraged to capitalize on the park’s rich history, art, and nature to inspire their students.

Following years of planning and preparation, Weir Farm completed the conversion of the historic Caretaker’s House into a modern studio facility to serve the Artist in Residence program of the Weir Farm Art Center in May 2010. Launched in 1998, the Art Center’s Artist in Residence program has nurtured the work of 140 artists to date. With the opening of the Artist-in-Residence Studio, artists may now enjoy their one-month residencies at a comfortable studio located right on the historic property.

The Artist-in-Residence Studio during construction.
Photo courtesy of Weir Farm National Historic Site.

The exterior of the completed Artist-in-Residence Studio.
Photo courtesy of Weir Farm National Historic Site.

Interior of the new Artist-in-Residence Studio at Weir Farm.
Photo courtesy of Weir Farm National Historic Site.

Other Recommended Sites:  Approximately a half-hour drive north of Weir Farm, the city of Danbury was best known as the “Hat Capitol of the World” during J. Alden Weir’s life. During its peak years in the late 19th century, the city’s hat factories manufactured around 5 million hats per year, accounting for nearly a quarter of the hats sold in the country. The Danbury Museum and Historical Society uses the historic John Dodd House, built circa 1790, to interpret Danbury’s proud history of hatting.

"Road to the Land of Nod" (1910) by Childe Hassam.
Oil on canvas.  From the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum.
Source:  Wikimedia Commons

Tour America's History Itinerary

Tuesday’s destination:  The Charles W. Morgan at Mystic Seaport

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price

Hill-Stead Museum

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Visit our Tour Destination: Connecticut page to see the entire tour of the state’s Save America’s Treasures sites.

Aerial view of Hill-Stead Museum, the restored Pope Riddle house.
Photo by Jerry L. Thompson.  Image courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum,
Farmington, CT. 

Hill-Stead Museum

35 Mountain Road

Farmington, CT

Website:  Hill-Stead Museum

The Treasure:  Theodate Pope Riddle, one of the first American woman architects, built Hill-Stead, a masterpiece of the Colonial Revival style that served as both a country estate for her parents and a fitting home for their magnificent art collections.

Accessibility:  Hill-Stead Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 to 4, and the grounds are accessible from 7:30 to 5:30.

Painter scraping and caulking clapboard
on the Makeshift Theater exterior.
Photo by East West Builders.
Image courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum,
Farmington, CT.

Background:  The fourth registered female architect in the country, Theodate Pope Riddle (1867-1946) was self-taught in her chosen art, yet she quickly asserted her talents and skills. Throughout the 1890s, Theodate refined her architectural skills by rehabilitating and significantly expanding an old farmhouse in Farmington to serve as her home. She called it the O’Rourkery. Then she purchased land behind her house with the intention of creating a much grander estate for her parents, Alfred and Ada Pope.

To some degree, the architecture of Hill-Stead was a collaborative work, with initial plans and oversight by the prestigious firm McKim, Mead & White and advice from local master carpenter Hal Mason—but the guiding intelligence clearly belonged to Theodate right from the start. She tapped into the expertise of her collaborators to achieve her vision. Unlike a typical McKim, Mead & White building, Riddle embraced a somewhat rambling, asymmetrical look for the exterior which perfectly complemented the charming and gracious interior. Inside the house, her carefully chosen wallpapers and furniture set off the Impressionist paintings her father loved to collect.

Other buildings on the property received her attention as well. She designed a carriage garage and Arts and Crafts theater, stone garages, various barns and a sheep shed, a silo, a stone pump house, and a tool-and-carpenter shop. To top it all off, she worked with the landscape architect Warren Manning to place the mansion and the working farm within a varied and picturesque landscape.

When Theodate died in 1946, her will stipulated that Hill-Stead become a museum as a memorial to her parents. According to the will, the contents were to remain intact, never to be moved, lent, or sold. The main house, as well as the farm buildings and gardens, remain a lasting testament to the vision of this early female architect.

Carpenters rebuilding the servants' porch foundation
and floor.  Photo by East West Builders.
Image courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT.

Woodworker removing one of 174 five-foot-high
shutters.  Photo by East West Builders.  Image
courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT. 

Pair of restored shutters reattached to the exterior of the newly repainted house.
Photo by Cynthia Cagenello.  Image courtesy of Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT. 

"Fumette" (1858) by James McNeill Whistler
(1834-1903).  Etching, fourth state, from
"The French Set," a series of 12 etchings.
6 3/8 x 4 1/4 in.
Alfred Atmore Pope Collection, Hill-Stead
Museum, Farmington, CT.

Notes from the Editor:  While the building itself is a distinctly American treasure, the collections within the house widen its value to international importance. Theodate’s father Alfred Pope was a smart and discerning collector of art, with a preference for Impressionist paintings and Japanese prints.

Pope traveled throughout the United States and Europe, amassing a collection of important paintings from such artists as Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, and Mary Cassatt. He also appreciated European prints, with purchases that included three engravings by Albrecht Dürer and 17 copper plate etchings and lithographs by James McNeill Whistler. Among his Japanese woodblock prints are works by Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige, and Kitagawa Utamaro—artists among the most acclaimed of the Japanese masters.

"The Sea Monster" (ca. 1498) by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528).
Engraving, 9 15/16 x 7 1/2 in.
Alfred Atmore Pope Collection,
Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT.

"Kneeling Lady with Fan" (1790s) by Kitagawa Utamaro
(1753-1806).  Woodblock print from the series "Seasonal
Poems Composed by Famous Women."
10 7/16 x 15 3/16 in.
Alfred Atmore Pope Collection,
Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT.

Other Recommended Sites:  If you appreciate the architecture of Hill-Stead, you may enjoy visiting some of the other sites which Theodate Pope Riddle designed. The Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site in New York City was reconstructed by Riddle on the site where it was demolished in 1916. Two of her most important commissions were for educational institutions that are still flourishing:  the Avon Old Farms School (Avon, CT) and Westover School (Middelbury, CT).

"Grainstacks, in Bright Sunlight" (1890) by Claude Monet (1840-1926).
Oil on canvas, 23 x 28 inches.
Alfred Atmore Pope Collection, Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT.

Guest author for this entry:  Terry Price

Tour America's History Itinerary

Monday’s destination:  Weir Farm National Historic Site

© 2012 Lee and Terry Price