National Museum of the Great Lakes

Opened in 2014, the National Museum of the Great Lakes features a museum, the Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship, and a maritime park along the waterfront. It is operated by the Great Lakes Historical Society, which was established in 1944. The museum's exhibits explore the various aspects of Great Lakes history including exploration and settlement, industry, shipwrecks, lighthouses, and maritime technology.

The National Museum of the Great Lakes was founded in 1944 as the Great Lakes Historical Society in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1955, the organization opened its first museum in Vermilion, Ohio. In 2012, that museum was closed as the board and staff moved everything, and opened a new state of the art museum in Toledo, Ohio. The organization's purpose is to preserve and make known the history of the Great Lakes.

The National Museum of the Great Lakes conducts its business by running a museum; being home to two museum ships - Col. James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship and Museum Tug Ohio; publishing a quarterly journal, Inland Seas; organizing and participating in nautical archaeology through the Peachman Great Lakes Shipwreck Research Program; and creating learning environments and programs and people of all ages.

"Col. James M. Schoonmaker." National Museum of the Great Lakes. Accessed July 14, 2018. http://www.inlandseas.org/col-james-m-schoonmaker.

Accessed April 18th 2022. www.nmgl.org.