Horton Point Lighthouse renovated and ready for summer

The recently completed four-month renovation of Horton Point Lighthouse Historical Museum has volunteers excited for the rush of summer visitors.

This year, the museum will look different to returning visitors. While retaining a few critical elements of prior exhibits, the renovation emphasizes local stories, including whaling, fishing on the bays, the history of the lighthouse and its keepers, and a scale model of the famous Holland Submarine.

There are several lighthouses on Long Island, but Horton Point in Southold is accessible from the mainland, making it an ideal locale for a historical museum and outdoor activities, including a nature trail and al fresco lectures.

The renovations have left the lighthouse looking more organized and given the displays a better structure, according to Deanna Witte-Walker, executive director of the Southold Historical Museum, which operates the lighthouse. “Museums are, historically, cabinets of curiosity,’” she said. “This museum was a collection of interesting stuff” with no organizational flow between exhibits.

To achieve a more structured vibe, volunteers decided to “bring artifacts together to help tell a story in a clearer, more interesting and logical way,” Ms. Witte-Walker said.

Volunteers added labels to each exhibit to help clarify the reinterpretations of events. Some labels have been printed in both English and Spanish to make the museum more inclusive. Their goal is to have all the labels translated soon. Daniela Menjivar, senior client support coordinator at Southold’s Center for Advocacy, Support and Transformation, translated the English panels.

Ms. Witte-Walker felt it was time to make the museum more accessible to those who speak Spanish as a first language, and in early June, a bilingual “Historical Event Night” was held at the museum as part of CAST’s Engage, Educate and Empower series. Throughout the evening, 35 CAST clients, all primarily Spanish speakers, got to explore the new exhibitions.

Accessibility has increased for children as well. There are more interactive exhibits, including a “fishing” station where kids use magnetic poles to catch magnetic fish from a bin. When they “catch a fish,” they put it into the fish nets next to the bucket. There are different fish options, along with crabs and lobsters.

The “Whaling Wheel of Fortune,” which lets visitors spin to “learn their fate as a whaler” according to a press release, has also proven to be a favorite among children. “Often, we are just looking and reading at museums. It’s nice to give kids something to touch; they get more involved,” said Ms. Witte-Walker.

More changes are planned as finishing touches are completed at the museum, and ideas for more interactive displays will be i mplemented, such as an informational touch screen in the room with the model of the Holland Submarine, the early sub that was tested by the U.S. Navy off New Suffolk in 1897.

Moving through the museum, one thing remains unchanged: the “Undercover: Stories of Rum Running in Southold” exhibit. This exhibition did so well in the past that volunteers decided to make it permanent.

The Nautical Museum at Horton Point Lighthouse (3575 Lighthouse Road, Southold) is open for the summer season on Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Sept. 17. Admission is $5 per adult, $10 per family. The entry fee includes a “passport” for admission to Southold Historical Museum’s Maple Lane complex and Prince Building shops on Main Road in Southold.