The United States Coast Guard was born on August 4, 1790. Wait, what? Does that sentence seem to come out of nowhere? And what does this have to do with Alexander Hamilton? I’m glad you asked. Among Hamilton’s many feats, he is also recognized as the father of the US Coast Guard.

At The Mariners', one of our top priorities is serving school-aged children. In response to demand, we’ve recently expanded our focus to include PreK students by creating a new Early Childhood Educator position and implementing several enrichment programs crafted to engage our youngest learners.

Students become civil and electrical engineers as they consider environmental conditions and work collaboratively to design, build, and test their own working lighthouse model.

The museum would like to take this opportunity to share that May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. As May draws to a close, please take a moment to reflect on the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who have contributed to our understanding of the Pacific Ocean, ocean navigation, and maritime knowledge in general.

On December 31, 1862, USS Monitor was caught in a storm and sank 16 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in more than 230 feet of water. It is believed the vessel went down stern first, turning over so that its revolutionary 120-ton revolving gun turret separated and became pinned under the ship on the seafloor.

William Henry Irby was born on November 6, 1819, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to Thomas W. Irby and Ona Oney E. Thurman. William was one of 11 children born to the couple. Raised on a farm, he married Phoebe Ellen Hubbard, the daughter of the Reverend Joel Hubbard, in 1858. They settled on a farm in Pittsylvania County.

Nearly 75 years ago, the deck of battleship USS Missouri bore witness to the end of World War II.