About Us

Our mission is to tell the Coast Guard story from a regional Cape Cod perspective. We are one of only two free-standing museums in the country dedicated to celebrating U.S. Coast Guard history. It is very appropriate that we occupy the 1856 U.S. Customs House in Barnstable.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the birth place of the Coast Guard and both Customs and Coast Guard have 18th century origins under the Treasury Department.