The Hunting Shanty, the original building that began the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen's Museum, was first located across Route 9 at Tip Seaman County Park. It opened in 1993 and soon became too small. The founders purchased 40 acres on the other side of Route 9 and launched the Tuckerton Seaport. In the winter of 1999, the Hunting Shanty was moved to its current location. The Seaport eventually expanded from one small building to a campus of 18 buildings with a quarter-mile boardwalk and a quarter-mile nature trail. The Hunting Shanty now houses most of the Tuckerton Seaport's Decoy Collection in open storage, focusing on the Barnegat Bay carving style and including representative decoys of the Delaware River and Chesapeake carving styles. It also serves as a community center for classes, workshops, meetings, and nonprofit community groups. Members of the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymen's Museum funded and constructed the Hunting Shanty.