Mattapoisett Museum opens for the season with new artifacts and exhibits

MATTAPOISETT — The Mattapoisett Museum is now open for the 2025 summer season and will be open on Friday and Saturday afternoons from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Appointments to visit can also be made by contacting info@mattapoisettmuseum.org between now and Sept. 27.

Currently on display is “Wanderer 100: The Legacy and Afterlife of Mattapoisett’s Last Whaler.” This exhibit is an exploration of the last century that has seen the Wanderer grow from a shipwreck to an unofficial town mascot for Mattapoisett.

Also on display is a new mini-exhibit display, “This Just In: Recent Acquisitions of the Mattapoisett Museum,” which features a selection of artifacts and documents donated over the last year or two that haven’t been shared with the public yet. Among these artifacts are local property deeds, letters postmarked in Mattapoisett, Troop 53 memorabilia, a 19th century oil painting portrait and more.

Later in the summer, the museum will unveil a new, permanent exhibit about the Wampanoag, who inhabited Mattapoisett for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Consultant Linda Coombs is the primary curator and writer of this new exhibit and is an author of books illustrating Native American culture from a Native American perspective. This exhibit has been made possible through the Mattapoisett Cultural Council, the Rochester Cultural Council and the Marion Cultural Council and is expected to open in mid-July.