Bayshore Center at Bivalve

About

Who we are: Bayshore Center at Bivalve is an umbrella organization that operates the Schooner A.J. Meerwald and the Delaware Bay Museum It brings the rich maritime heritage of the region to life through hands-on experiences, sailing adventures, and educational programs that connect people to the environment and history of New Jersey's Bayshore and the Delaware Bay. 

Here, you’ll explore the deep connections between the environment, the oyster industry, and the hardworking communities of the 1920s through today, all of which shaped the region’s heritage and economy.

Nestled along a working waterfront, the Maurice River, a designated National Wild and Scenic River, and surrounded by the stunning wetlands of Historic Bivalve, New Jersey, the museum is located in the historic 1904 Oyster Shipping Sheds & Wharves and features a 1917 Central Railroad of New Jersey boxcar (repurposed as restrooms). This unique setting offers an immersive experience into the maritime history and cultural legacy of the Delaware Bay. 

Guided tour: The tour starts with the 12-minute orientation film, Changing Tides. Through interviews with people who worked in the oyster industry find out what made the Delaware Bay's Maurice River Cove the "Oyster Capital of the World". On the 75-minute guided tour, the guide will use the Oyster Shipping Shed’s architecture and the museum’s artifacts and photographs to illustrate the area’s maritime history and present-day oyster industry with a focus on science, ecology, industrialization (boats and railroad), migratory labor and how the community’s  history was shaped by environment and resource dependency. Guided tour length: 1.5 hours including 12-minute orientation film. Ask about combining a tour and lunch from our Oyster Cracker Cafe. 

Getting Here: Located just 7.5 miles from the Route 55 terminus at Route 47, with ample free parking for motor coaches, making group visits easy and accessible.

Accessibility: Our facility offers accessible restrooms, ramps, flat surfaces, and an elevator to the second floor for ease of navigation. Visitors can also engage with tactile displays, closed-captioned orientation films, and audio listening stations for an inclusive and immersive experience.

Add-on: Book a two-hour sailing adventure aboard New Jersey's Official Tall Ship, the A.J. Meerwald, when the vessel is in port. The vessel holds up to 49 passengers. Sails are two hours long - passengers can help raise the sails, listen to a history talk about the oyster industry and boat and, of course, just relax and take in the sights. It is BYOB. During family sails, we present a hands-on lesson such as our watershed station. The vessel is not ADA accessible, but accommodations can be offered on a case-by-case basis. There are two steps down from the dock to the deck of the boat. 

https://youtu.be/1iVtblP_NzI?si=34tYlDsztVazaC0g