Founded in 1966 in West Sayville on the former Bourne-Hard estate, the Long Island Maritime Museum preserves and interprets Long Island’s maritime past through historic buildings, archives, and working vessels. Its collections center on the working life of the island’s bays and shores, including shipwrecks, the United States Lifesaving Service, boatbuilding, and shellfishing. Important resources include the Elward Smith III Library and archives, the Rudolph Oyster House, the Frank F. Penney Boatshop, and the Bayman’s Cottage. Two National Historic Landmark vessels, Priscilla, an 1888 oyster sloop, and Modesty, a 1923 scallop dredger, anchor the museum’s record of the region’s waterfront heritage.