About The Marine Museum
Port Burwell Marine Museum
Located at the mouth of the Big Otter Creek on Lake Erie, the Marine Museum reflects upon the era when Port Burwell was at the height of its fame as a shipbuilding community. The Big Otter Creek has been a major factor in the history of this port. The timber boom also led to a thriving ship building industry. Seventy-one sailing ships are recorded to have been built at Port Burwell during the 19th century.
The arrival of the railroad around 1900 increased the importance of the harbour for the shipping of coal from Pennsylvania. Present in the museum collection is the most accurate model ever built of the rail car ferry the Ashtabula, which made routine trips between Port Burwell and Ashtabula, Ohio for the purposes of transporting coal. This ship was a mainstay of the Port Burwell shipping experience until the 1950s and played an intricate role in the development of Southern Ontario through its supply of coal energy.
Today, thanks to the efforts of volunteers of the Port Burwell Historical Society, the Port Burwell Marine Museum has one of the largest collections of Lighthouse Lenses in Canada, as well as numerous other lighthouse and nautical artifacts: original Fresnel lenses, finely detailed model ships, a vast assortment of tools, photographs, and artifacts dating from the 19th century. The majority of the artifacts on display in the Marine Museum were acquired through the efforts of the Port Burwell Historical Society.
Picturing Port Burwell: 150 Years of Photography
Each year the Marine Museum creates a temporary exhibit based on current issues. The showcase exhibit for the 2026 season is,
" Picturing Port Burwell: 150 Years of Photography "
A big thank you to the Elgin County Heritage Centre for the loan of a selection of their cameras and accessories
Canada Day 2026
During the Port Burwell Canada Day Festivities, the Marine Museum offers children's activities for our younger patrons.
On Wednesday, July 1st 2026 the Museum hosted a bird craft activity that include an information session from the folks at Otter Valley Naturalists.
The George Barnes Wheelhouse
The George Barnes Memorial Wheelhouse (SS Fernglen) is in place at the Marine Museum. The Port Burwell Historical Society (PBHS) acquired the Wheelhouse in 2019 and placed it at the Museum for refurbishing and restoration
The PBHS has been given Municipal approvals to resurrect the restoration project. We engaged Eximius Engineering to conduct a structural review.
PBHS achieved our goals for 2025; the structure has been upgraded to reflect the drawings prepared by Eximius Engineering, we repaired issues with the artifact's envelope, installed solar panels and electrical components, spray-foamed the interior and opened the ground floor for Santa's visit with the community.
With the transfer of the Lighthouse to the PBHS, the Wheelhouse is slated to be the restoration and construction office
Lighthouse Lenses
The Marine Museum has an extensive and impressive collection of lighthouse lenses.
The most prominent of the collection are the Fresnel lenses.
The Fresnel lens has been called "the invention that saved a million ships".
In addition, the Museum's collection includes extraordinary examples of Beehive Lens, Crouse-Hinds Rotating Beacon, Bull's Eye Lens and Box Lens,
The Ashtabula
The Ashtabula
Present in the Marine Museum's collection is the most accurate model ever built of the rail car ferry the Ashtabula, which made routine trips between Port Burwell and Ashtabula, Ohio for the purposes of transporting coal. This ship was a mainstay of the Port Burwell shipping experience until the 1950s and played an intricate role in the development of Southern Ontario through its supply of coal energy.