Courtney secures $142,800 grant to record restoration of Seaport ship, Sun Publishing

Courtney secures $142,800 grant to record restoration of Seaport ship

By Ryan Gainor

Special to the Press

August 20, 2008

MYSTIC – Thanks to a grant announced by U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney last Friday, the restoration of the Charles W. Morgan will be recorded for posterity in an exhibit at Mystic Seaport.

Courtney , who represents the state’s second Congressional District, said the $142,800 grant that will go toward “Restoring An Icon: The Charles W. Morgan,” an exhibit that will interpret the three-year rehabilitation project.

The exhibit will be part of the Seaport’s Museum Shipyard Gallery.

“I am pleased to announce this grant for the Mystic Seaport Museum because capturing southeastern Connecticut’s history will benefit our present and future,” Courtney said. “The Mystic Seaport Museum is far more than a rich collection of our seafaring traditions, but it is also an integral part of our region’s economic engine. This grant is well deserved and will benefit the many thousands of visitors to our region in the future.”

The Institute of Museum and Library Service’s Museums for American Program awarded the grant. Courtney advocated for it on the Seaport’s behalf.

“We appreciate the work of Congressman Courtney and his office to help us achieve the ability to tell the story of the Morgan and its restoration,” Seaport Spokesman Michael O’ Farrell said.

Plans have been ongoing for the upcoming restoration of the Charles W. Morgan – the last remaining wooden whaling ship and the signature piece of the Seaport’s collection.

The exhibit will include a cell phone audio tour, hands-on interactive elements and a live interpretation to provide understanding of the Morgan’s structure, history, and restoration.

“This will give people more in-depth knowledge of the boat, the people who worked her and the project to restore it,” O’ Farrell said. Signs, diagrams, and photographs will provide schoolchildren and museum visitors with additional context about the restoration activities and the traditional techniques and technologies of wooden boat restoration, as well as the forces that cause the deterioration of a wooden ship’s structure.