Havre De Grace Decoy Museum — Attraction in Havre de Grace

The collection at the decoy museum illustrates the boom years of the decoy capital of the world from several perspectives. First floor exhibits describe life on the Susquehanna, with displays of boat parts, nautical rope work and a short film. Most notable is an exhibit on hunting practices in which patrons walk along an indoor pier past collections of guns and reproduced blinds.

The second floor exhibit focusses on Havre de Grace's most celebrated decoy makers and their work. Wax figures of the artisans in reproductions of their workshops accompany definitive collections of their decoys. Also featured are recorded interviews with some of the makers.

The decoy museum delivers on its promise and is an essential stop for decoy enthusiasts. For the uninitiated the decoy museum offers a thoroughly detailed look into a world they may not have known existed. With its sometimes wooden presentation (get it?), the museum is steeped in field trip nostalgia for adults, but may leave small children bored. Highly recommended nonetheless!...

I am usually not a small local museum type person, but I absolutely loves this one. The displays are amazing and there are so many different things to look at that are all well organized and detailed descriptions. The transitions between different exhibits and parts of the museum flows nicely and the upstairs gallery has FANTASTIC views! Everyone was just so awesome and the staff were polite and helpful. We had the special treat of getting to meet one of the gentleman that is featured in the videos in the first exhibit room; he was out in the back garage giving a lesson on carving the heads of the different decoys! He was so friendly and others there shared their personal experience with being in the garage as little kids and growing up in the area. Don't forget to head out to the old garage out back too because it truly is neat to see how they moved it over and are still using it today. If you are even thinking of going.....just do it!...

This place was far superior to what I had hoped for. I love the whole folk art aspect of decoys and this concentrated on that. The lineage of the great carvers. We had seen the work of some local carvers in Chincoteague last year and it brought back all of the fond memories of my embarkation on the journey of the lore.

From the early American Native reed decoys through to the current carvers still alive locally, you will find your fill. The layout of the exhibits is itself such a work of art. It is nice to see a museum so well thought out and designed. The staff members were very helpful and friendly.

The photographs and the recordings of the local population of carvers is just plain refreshing. The older I get, the more I realize that any good understanding of art comes from understanding artists. This place gets it. You should really stop and see these exquisite forms of folk-art if you are in Havre De Grace. This activity...