Erie Maritime Museum in Erie, Erie County, United States | Museum

The first new PHMC museum in twenty years, Erie Maritime Museum opened its doors May 21, 1998. As homeport of United States Brig Niagara, Erie Maritime Museum presents the story of Niagara as the reconstructed flagship of Pennsylvania and the warship that won the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812. Offering a wide range of multi-media and interactive exhibits and coupled with lively interpretive programs, Erie Maritime Museum vividly illustrates Niagara's history and the region's rich maritime heritage.

When in homeport, the ship herself is the major "exhibit". Berthed within yards of the museum, Niagara is visible from the building's bay side picture window. Inside, the centerpiece exhibits of the museum are a former steam-powered electricity generating station and a reconstruction of the mid-ship section of the Lawrence. The replicated Lawrence, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry's first flagship during the Battle of Lake Erie, comes complete with mast, spars and rigging to foster hands-on learning in the ways of sail handling.