Reedville Fishermen's Museum
Changing Exhibits
The RFM generally mounts three Changing Exhibits per year in the Frayne Gallery, highlighting varied areas of interest pertinent to the Chesapeake Bay and the Northern Neck. Past exhibits have included displays on lighthouses and lightships, local agriculture, and the menhaden fleet in wartime. Usually the Spring Exhibit features the art of local artists.
Spring and Summer Exhibits
March 15th • May 31st RFM Members Art Exhibit
Paintings, watercolors and sculptures produced by
members of the Museum will be on display in the party space.
June 15th • August 31st RFM Photo Group Exhibit
Favorite photographs taken by members of the Photo Group will be on display in the party space. Their work can also be found in our Photo Gallery. Click Here
Standing Exhibit - .through 2008
2007 marked 400 years since John Smith explored the Chesapeake Bay for the first time. His main objective was looking for that elusive passageway to the Orient.
Stimulated by the sight of the completed Smith barge replica which has drawn so much attention and praise, we thought it fitting to direct our major 2007 exhibition to the subject of Smith’s exploration. We decided to portray the environment that Smith found himself in as he visited native settlements in the lower Northern Neck. There seemed, also, a need to put his activities in perspective:
• What had produced the environment he became so enthralled with?
• What was going on elsewhere at that time in history?
• What was the Native American culture at that time and who were these people?
• And, since everyone, even then, was a “come- here”...Where did these “Native Americans” come from?These and a number of other questions arose while formulating the content of the exhibition.
The centerpiece of the exhibition is a 6’X8’ diorama of the lower Northern Neck. It shows where Native Americans settled, how they lived and what their environment was like. It displays models of the boats involved, not only in Smith’s adventures, but also relating to the coast of Virginia. Surrounding this diorama are displays relating to the lifestyle of both the settlers and the native Americans. The wildlife and the vegetation of that period, as well as, the abundant sea life that awed Smith and his crew, are illustrated.
To complete the exhibition visually we highlight the history of the construction of the replica of the Smith barge that now enhances the museum’s boat collection as well as a complete a re-enactment, on film, of what it was like to explore the Bay in this vessel.
Recent Exhibits
However, Hugh Haynie's artistic style did not spring forth, fully formed, in the pages of the Louisville paper. Haynie was born in Reedville, Virginia in February of 1927. His art was clearly rooted in his youth and developed during his youth on the Northern Neck.
This exhibit featured the work of local modelers Ray Rodgers, Porter Kier, Russ Burroughs, Gordon Winegar, Larry Fitchett and William Wright. Included in the display are models of typical Chesapeake Bay work boats.
Go Fish !
A Historical Exploration of Commercial and Recreational Fishing on the Chesapeake Bay
Fishing for pleasure. Fishing for survival. Fishing for commerce. All three forms of fishing have existed as long as there has been human interaction with the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. These ideas are examined in the museum’s latest exhibit that explores more than 400 years of history. The exhibit began with reproduction maps and illustrations documenting 16th-century European contact with the Bay and its inhabitants. Included is what is thought to be the earliest image of fishing in the region, a circa 1585 watercolor by artist and adventurer John White, provided to the museum by the British Museum in London. Also included in the exhibit is a series of 19th-century chromolithographs by Sherman F. Denton, an artist known for his illustrations of fish species; carvings of some of nature’s fishermen by local artist Penelope Mace; period photographs of fishermen working the Bay, courtesy of the Library of Congress; and folk art menhaden boat models from the museum’s permanent collection.
Some view the Bay as an unlimited source of income and sustenance. Others see it as a natural wilderness to be protected above human needs. While a third group believe it to be a recreational environment or opportunity. Go Fish considers these issues and more faced by today’s fishermen and others who live and work on the Chesapeake Bay.
One hundred years ago — on December 17th, 1903 — the Wright brothers ushered us into the age of powered flight. This historic event had a tremendous impact on the lives of every individual in every part of the world. As with many other museums and organizations, the RFM celebrated of this event with an exhibition that tied this region of Virginia to that monumental happening and its continuing consequences. The exhibit highlighted the history of the fish-spotter pilot program from its inception following WWI when a barnstorming pilot was diverted from taking Reedville residents up for sight-seeing trips to looking for schools of menhaden, on up to present day operations with sophisticated navigation devices and instant communications equipment in modern, hi-tech aeroplanes. The exhibit also featured photos and artifacts of those living and past from this area who have followed "in the footsteps of Wilbur Wright."
Summer Pleasures, Summer Fun:
Easy Living on the Chesapeake Bay
“Summertime and the living is easy…”
The exhibit looked back on recreational pastimes along the Bay during the early and mid 20th century. Area resort hotels in Fleeton, Irvington and White Stone were highlighted, as were the various church camps that operated in our region. Family memorabilia from the 1920s through the 1950s was displayed, along with a locally-made fishing skiff and items from the Kilmarnock Fireman’s Carnival. Numerous vintage photographs enliven the exhibit and present a picture of how both locals and tourists alike enjoyed what the Northern Neck had to offer.
A special treat was a study of the James Adams Floating Theatre that docked here in Reedville so many years ago. This 700-seat structure sat upon a barge and came to town once a year throughout the 1920s and 1930s, delighting young and old alike. Photographs, memorabilia and a scale model created by the RFM’s own model-making group provide insight into this unique construction which inspired Edna Ferber to write her novel Show Boat (1926) and transformed into a musical the following year.
Copyright 2002 - Reedville Fishermen's Museum PO Box 306 504 Main Street Reedville, VA 22539
(804) 453-6529 email: RFM Office