Curacao Maritime History Museum / A treasure chest full of history — Attraction in Curaçao

Great museum, one of the best I’ve ever visited. It is privately owned and run with passion by the director and his wife. The director served three decades in the Dutch Navy, and you can feel his expertise in the meticulous reconstruction of explorers’ and conquistadors’ routes, as well as in the detailed displays of ships and vessels on the ground floor. His wife contributed by translating old German diaries, adding even more depth to the collection.

The museum takes you on a journey through 500 years of Curaçao’s maritime heritage. Highlights include ancient canoes of the Arwak people, 17th-century ship models, nautical charts and maps dating back to the 1500s, exhibits on harbor development and shipbuilding, a detailed model of the Shell oil refinery, and interactive displays about the Dutch Navy’s role in the Caribbean.

A standout piece is a massive bronze cannon recovered from the explosion of the Alphen frigate in 1778 — a rare artifact weighing over 1,600 pounds, decorated with dolphins, and linked to a tragedy that claimed more than 250 lives.

A visit here is an absolute must if you want to understand Curaçao’s history and its deep connection with the sea, in the past, the present, and also a little...

Honestly the best museum of Curaçao! Despite the modest size of the museum, the information and collection is of high quality. The ground floor provides information on the origins of Curaçao, various models of 16 century sailing boats and about the gruesome slavery history with the West Indische Compagnie. Furthermore, room is allocated for the special relationship between Curaçao and the USA. The second above tells the story of how important the oil trade has been for Curaçao (including how oil refineries actually work) and contains information on various ships for transporting mail and other goods. The small top floor is allocated to the Dutch navy and Curaçao coast guard. The exposition does not only consist of text, objects and models but also of good video and audio material. The information in the museum is generally available in English, Dutch and Papiamento - thus catering to a...

Leonard Burlington Smith, creator of the Queen Emma bridge and American consul to Curacao, was born in Orrington, Maine 10 Sep 1839. His parents were Leonard Smith and wife Mary A. Mill Creek was a small village in the town of Orrington where the Smith family lived. Mill Creek is not the name of the town where L.B. Smith was born; he was born in Orrington, Maine. Leonard Burlington Smith and Edrannah E. Cobb, both of Orrington, Maine were married 23 Dec 1863 by George W. Snow, Justice of the Peace. Source: Vital Record of Orrington, Maine by David Livingstone Swett, published by Picton Press, Camden, Maine and copyright 1995.

Submitted by Judith Frost Gillis, President Orrington, Maine...