Temporary and Changing Exhibitions

The Museum develops temporary exhibitions to highlight special parts of Wellfleet’s history. One room in the house section of the Museum has changing displays of period clothing. Another features objects of special interest to children and young students. Presently, the second floor rooms feature a temporary exhibition of items related to Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker, a Wellfleet native (1840-1908) who pioneered in importing  bananas and other tropical fruit from the Caribbean. The works in this exhibit are on loan from Baker’s descendants. 

Wellfleet’s Railroad

Visit our railroad exhibit and learn how the train opened Wellfleet to the outside world and gave birth to the tourist industry. This permanent exhibit features local train memorabilia and a working O-scale model train authentic to the period.

Permanent Exhibitions

The Museum currently displays the majority of its permanent collection in its original building, a former store. Floor to ceiling shelves and various display cases around the room are “stocked” with hundreds of objects from the collection. This is a relatively fixed display with materials grouped by subject. The second section of the museum is a house with various sections dating from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. It was renovated by the Society and opened in 2008. Some rooms, including a parlor, are furnished to suggest how the house might have looked in the 1890's. One room was renovated to display outstanding examples of tools dating from the 17th century to the present. 

Special exhibitions 

Special exhibitions are also organized in conjunction with special occasions and on a rotating basis for the summer season. To celebrate Wellfleet’s 250th anniversary in 2013, an exhibit of photographs, paintings, maps, and objects were presented in the public library.  Currently several objects from the WHS&M collection are on loan to the Sandwich Heritage Museum & Gardens. The objects are part of their special exhibit, Creating Cape Cod. The Museum also presents special exhibits in conjunction with the local Blossoms festival in April, OysterFest in October, and the winter holiday tour in December.  

Working the Water

Our permanent maritime exhibit, which examines Wellfleet’s seafaring past, looks to the present and future with a new addition: a model and video of a ropeless lobster buoy, designed to save marine animals from deadly entanglements. See how new technology can help conservationists and those in the fishing industry work together to save the whales.