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Connecticut River Museum, Essex, CT
MuseumsHistory BuffLocal Gem

Connecticut River Museum

Connecticut River Museum is a museum in Essex, CT, part of the Mystic & the Connecticut Shore guide. Cost: under $25.

67 Main Street · Essex, CT

Why you should go…

Set in a restored 1878 steamboat warehouse on the Connecticut River, the museum traces the river's shipbuilding, steamboat, and Revolutionary War history. Its centerpiece is a full-scale operating replica of the Turtle, the hand-cranked submersible used against the British fleet in 1776.

  • #maritime history
  • #museum
  • #connecticut river
  • #essex
  • #submarine replica

What's around here?

The closest stops to Connecticut River Museum, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Tours
    Family Favorite

    Essex Steam Train & Riverboat

    $25–$50

    Ride a vintage steam train through the lower Connecticut River Valley, then board a riverboat for a cruise.

    1.1 mi awaySwitch it up: Tours

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Florence Griswold Museum

    Under $25

    Historic art museum on the Connecticut River celebrating American Impressionism and the Lyme Art Colony.

    3.5 mi awayMore like this

  • Sightseeing
    History Buff

    Gillette Castle State Park

    Free

    Tour actor William Gillette's fieldstone castle above the Connecticut River and hike the path of his miniature railroad.

    5.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing

  • Theatre & Events
    History Buff

    Goodspeed Opera House

    $50+

    See a musical in an 1876 Victorian-style opera house on the bank of the Connecticut River in East Haddam.

    8.0 mi awaySwitch it up: Theatre & Events

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Submarine Force Museum

    Free

    Home of the USS Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine, on the Thames River in Groton, CT.

    16 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Mystic Seaport Museum

    $25–$50

    Board an 1841 whaleship, walk a recreated 19th-century seaport village and watch shipwrights restore wooden boats.

    22 mi awayMore like this