Naval Shipyard and Lightship Portsmouth Museums050

The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum, America's oldest and largest naval shipyard, is located on the Portsmouth waterfront. The museum offers a unique perspective on US history, from Colonial to Civil War times and beyond, and houses ship models, uniforms, military artifacts, and exhibits portraying life in 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century Portsmouth.

Like lighthouses and buoys, lightships were navigational aids. The lights atop their masts were similar to those in lighthouses, but their portability made them much more versatile. The Lightship PORTSMOUTH was built in 1915, and served for 48 years off the coasts of Virginia, Delaware, and Massachusetts helping mariners avoid dangerous shoals or enter safely into harbors at night. In 1989, the Lightship PORTSMOUTH was designated a National Historic Landmark. Now a museum, the ship's quarters are fitted out realistically and filled with artifacts, uniforms, photographs, models, and more.