Visit Us

The Block Island Historical Society Museum, Gallery & Shop is located at Bridgegate Square, which is the intersection of Old Town Road and Ocean Avenue. The street address is 18 Old Town Rd, Block Island, RI 02807. Look for a three-story building with red mansard roof.

In addition to the current exhibits in the Museum, the Society offers a variety of tours and special events. When you visit, don’t forget to stop by the Museum Shop!

Exhibits

Block Island’s Sailing Heritage, Past, Present, and Future

As profiled in New England Magazine!

This exhibit presents the long and storied history of sailing on Block Island.

Block Island Beginnings

Updated exhibits tell the story of the Manisses through a full size replica of a shell midden dating 500 BC that also includes displays of stone points and arrowheads to tools and ceramics. (Manisseans were the Indigenous coastal people who inhabited Block Island for over 4000 years.)

The summer exhibit focusing on the maritime history of Block Island encompasses the cultural significance of shell fishing, with their harvest becoming many families summer tradition in Great Salt Pond for visitors and Islanders alike. The quahog shells were traditionally offered as tokens of appreciation and represented as works of art. The Museum will be interpreting this iconic species through scavenger hunts, educational programs and new items in the Gallery and Museum Shop.

Other exhibits showcase printed maps, new information on the archeological surveys conducted around the island since Hurricane Sandy, newly donated artifacts and other memorabilia that give you a peek into daily life and industry on the Island over the past 2500 years. One of the most intriguing items is a sperm whale tooth found at a midden site and new objects and photographs related to scenes that have long disappeared. Not to miss is our postcard collection with images of North and Southeast Lighthouses, historic hotels, farm views with oxcarts, fishing scenes with the daily catch and other scenes of island life.