This talk is in anticipation of the Connecticut River Museum’s spring 2024 exhibition, “The Searchers: Wayfinding on the Water in the Pre-Modern Age.” Museum Curator Amy Trout will give a preview of the new exhibit that recounts the risk-taking voyages of Connecticut Valley mariners over time. Crossing the seas evolved from being highly hazardous in the seventeenth century; to being quite routine by the mid-nineteenth century due, in great part, to improved methods of navigation.

From Indigenous people to trans-Atlantic immigrants, there were dangers and challenges in transportation by water. Developing technology and improved navigation tools assisted in the safe and successful search for raw materials, for new markets, for trading partners, for new opportunities, and for some, freedom. Learn more by visiting our exhibition “Charting Your Course: Cutting Edge Navigation and Seafaring,” on view through May 11. This exhibition and related programs are sponsored by Connecticut Humanities.