Southold Historical Museum debuts summer exhibits 

Summer at Southold Historical Museum is in full swing, and the season’s host of new summer exhibits and events rings true to the facility’s purpose: to serve as “a vehicle to share the history of Southold with the community,” said executive director Deanna Witte-Walker. 

Across the museum’s two locations there are four in-person summer exhibits, an online art gallery and sale and an upcoming arts and crafts fair. 

Its Maple Lane complex, at 55200 Main Road, offers three new displays, one of which “Southold Theater: Vaudeville to Jesus Christ Superstar,” traces local community theater productions that ran from the late 1800s to the 1970s. Spawned by a high school English project, Southold students performed “Jesus Christ Superstar” even before the musical opened on Broadway in October 1971. Open weekends from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Ann Currie-Bell House Mayne Gallery, the exhibit features old programs, cast photos, newspaper clippings and costumes. 

Also on view at the complex, in the Reichert Family Barn, is “This Land is Made for You and Me,” an exhibit of images and stories that explore the often underrepresented history of the laborers who worked the land and lived in Southold migrant camps. 

A third show on the main campus, at the Elfers Collection Center, is “Quilts of Bygone Eras,” showcasing the museum’s extensive and significant quilt collection. Volunteers from the Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild, who have been handling textiles, caring for the quilts and monitoring their condition for the past few years, are available to share their extensive knowledge as docents and guides. On Aug. 17 at 1 p.m., the museum will host a lecture on how quilts are appraised and what experts look for when judging them. Joyce Fisher of the American Quilter’s Society will also be on hand to appraise quilts by appointment. Call 516-376-8063 to schedule an appointment. 

The museum’s other location, the Horton Point Lighthouse Nautical Museum, is also home to a new exhibit, “Soaring over Southold: A Collection of Historic Aerial Photographs,” which provides a bird’s-eye view of Southold from the 1930s through the 1970s. 

Admission to all exhibits at both the Maple Lane complex and nautical museum is $5 per person or $10 per family. 

Following a post-pandemic pivot to online art exhibits, the museum is also featuring “Ten Squared,” a virtual art exhibit and sale offering 10-inch-square pieces by local artists. Following the theme “After the Peconic Bay Impressionists,” the works highlight the beauty of the North Fork in still life, portrait and genre paintings. The sale runs through Aug. 31. Each piece costs $100, with proceeds split between the museum and the artist. 

Coming up July 27 and 28, Southold Historical Museum will join with the Old Town Arts and Crafts Guild for a Summer Antiques, Fine Art and Crafts Fair at the main complex. The $5 adult admission includes a raffle ticket for prizes donated by local artists and businesses.

According to Ms. Witte-Walker, the goal of the exhibits is to maintain the community’s connection to its historical roots. 

“We’re the local museum. We’re in your backyard,” she said. “We’re supported by the community, but we’re also here for the community.”