For about five years, Cold Spring Harbor's best-known artifact sat on a lawn under a heavy tarp. The whaleboat had come off the brig Daisy. Dr. Robert Cushman Murphy of the American Museum of Natural History bought it and tried to place it at the Brooklyn Museum first, then in the museum's new Hall of Ocean Life. Neither had room. So in 1936 Murphy offered it to his friend Dr. Charles B. Davenport, a prominent Cold Spring Harbor resident, as a gift from the American Museum of Natural History.
According to the museum's own written history, the boat got moving because of a trick. Murphy wrote to Davenport on museum stationery, saying another Long Island town wanted the whaleboat and had a good place to keep it. Davenport rallied his neighbors, and by 1942 they had raised money for a permanent home for the boat.
Ninety years after the Whaling Museum Society was founded, the museum at 301 Main Street still works the way it started, by signing up neighbors. You can see it in how the anniversary is being marked, in how the fall calendar is priced, and in who gets in free.
A local fundraising drive gave the boat its home
Davenport already owned a large collection of old Cold Spring Harbor whaling relics: harpoons, lances, guns, spades and papers. They came from a friend descended from one of the owners of the harbor's whaling fleet. Davenport and several other leading citizens incorporated the Whaling Museum Society in 1936, the same year the boat was offered.
Not everyone in town agreed. The museum's history records that one resident thought the boat was really a scientific landing boat, not a true whaleboat. Others objected because the Daisy had sailed out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, not Cold Spring Harbor, though the ship was launched at Setauket in 1872.
Today the museum describes the Daisy's 19th-century whaleboat as the only fully equipped whaleboat with its original gear on display in New York State. It anchors the current galleries, along with "Thar She Blows: Whaling History On Long Island," the hands-on "If I Were a Whaler," and parts of "Heroines at the Helm." The summer special exhibit, "Monsters & Mermaids," closed on Labor Day.
The 90th birthday is a membership offer
There is no anniversary gala on the calendar. The museum is marking its 90th with a membership deal: anyone who joins between October 1 and December 31 gets 90 extra days.
The anniversary year started the same way. In March, Huntington Now reported that the museum gave free admission to anyone named Robert or Roberta, in honor of founder Robert Cushman Murphy.
The offer counts for more this fall because nearly every program on the museum's events calendar has two prices. Here is what the gap looks like for one adult over the rest of 2026. General admission is $8 for adults and free for members.
| Date | Program | Nonmember | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Oct 16, 5 p.m. | Harbor Haunts walking tour | $15 | $10 |
| Fri, Oct 23, 7–10 p.m. | Ghosts in the Galleries, adults | $25 | $20 |
| Sun, Oct 25, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Haunted Boo-seum, adult ticket | $10 | Free |
| Thu, Nov 12, 6:30 p.m. | Crafts & Cocktails: Corn Husk Figures | $35 | $25 |
| Sun, Nov 15, 1 & 3 p.m. | Pickle Party workshop | $15 + admission | $10 |
| Thu, Dec 10, 6:30 p.m. | Crafts & Cocktails: Cookie Decorating | $35 | $25 |
| Dec 12, 27, 29, noon–2 p.m. | Drop-in workshops | Admission + $10 | $5 |
The three December drop-ins are a Sea Glass Ornament Workshop, Needle Felted Penguins with a hot cocoa bar, and a Candle Dipping Workshop that brings out whale blubber and oil from the collection. With general admission added, a nonmember adult pays $18 for each one, and a member pays $5.
The Haunted Boo-seum on October 25 runs its own early-bird deal. Children's tickets are $15 through October 15 and $20 at the door. Adult and senior members get in free.
A Huntington-area library card works as a ticket too
The founding story was about neighbors, and so is the most generous line on the calendar. The museum's two Beyond the Book discussions cost $15, but they are free for museum members and for patrons of the Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington and South Huntington libraries.
On Wednesday, October 28 at 6:30 p.m., the group discusses Daniel Kraus's novel Whalefall and the real sperm-whale anatomy behind it. On Wednesday, November 18, the book is John U. Bacon's Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
The library behind that card runs its own season. The Cold Spring Harbor Library at 95 Harbor Road is open Monday through Thursday 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m. through June 13, 2027. Its November–December newsletter lists:
- Monday, November 2 through Tuesday, January 5: a pastel exhibit by Marie Sheehy-Walker, open during library hours
- Monday, November 23: make-and-take apple pies, with sessions for children and families, teens and adults; registration required
- Saturday, December 5: gingerbread-house decorating, with sessions for adults, children and families, and teens; registration required
The museum keeps a four-day week, and the rest of Route 25A covers the other three
From now through winter, the museum's galleries are open Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It opened specially today, Monday, October 12. It will be closed Thursday through Saturday, October 22–24, to prepare for its Halloween events, except for Friday, October 23, when it opens 7 to 10 p.m. for the adults-only Ghosts in the Galleries. That evening promises a Victorian-style séance, a printed spirit photo, and a cocktail or mocktail.
Several of the adult programs fall on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, after the galleries have closed. Earlier in the week, the hamlet's other institutions carry the calendar.
The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery & Aquarium at 1660 Route 25A is open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with weekend hours running to 6 p.m. in June, July and August, and it closes only on Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for ages 65 and up, and $5 for ages 3 to 12. Children under 3 and members get in free. Its Fall Craft Time sessions for ages 4 to 12 also come with member pricing:
- October 17: Paint a Pumpkin, $6 members, $11 nonmembers
- November 7: Build a Wood Bird Feeder, $5 members, $11 nonmembers
- November 21: Decorate a Ceramic Turkey, $6 members, $11 nonmembers
- December 12: DIY Wooden Binoculars, $6 members, $10 nonmembers
Each fee covers the child's admission and materials. Spaces are limited, and you need to preregister at least two days ahead. December 12 is also the day of the museum's sea-glass ornament drop-in, so a family can do both on one Saturday.
Cold Spring Harbor State Park has no fee and is open year-round from sunrise to sunset. It is also the northern trailhead of the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt. Of all the places in this post, it is the only one that never asks whether you're a member.
Two countdowns to noon on December 31
The year ends with a scheduling overlap. December 31, 2026 is a Thursday, so it falls inside the museum's regular hours, though the museum's calendar lists the date as "Wed, Dec 31," so it makes sense to confirm with the museum before you go. The museum's Nautical New Year drop-in counts down to 12 noon, from 11 a.m. to noon, and is included with admission. It is built on the fact that the New Year's Eve ball drop comes from an old nautical timekeeping tradition.
That same morning, the Cold Spring Harbor Library holds a children's Noon Year's Eve Party from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., with games, crafts, music, dancing, a countdown and refreshments. The two events overlap by half an hour. The museum keeps self-serve crafts out all day during gallery hours, so a family could do the library countdown at noon and stop by the museum afterward.
Before then, a few dates are close. The Haunted Boo-seum early-bird price ends October 15. The 6:30 p.m. Harbor Haunts tour on October 16 is sold out, but the 5 p.m. tour, which meets at the museum, was still taking registrations when we checked. And anyone who joins the museum through December 31 gets the anniversary bonus of 90 extra days. For more about the hamlet beyond Main Street, see our Cold Spring Harbor neighborhood page and our weekend guide to Cold Spring Harbor.
Homes near Main Street and Route 25A have neighbors like the Whaling Museum, the Hatchery and the library, and we make sure buyers learn about them. If you're thinking about what your Cold Spring Harbor home could sell for, Batul Morbi will prepare a careful valuation based on more than three decades of North Shore experience. Request a Home Valuation and we'll guide you from there.
