U.S. Navy Seabee Museum
From its humble origins as a warehouse for Seabee memorabilia to the installation of major new exhibits and the restoration of artifacts, the Museum preserves the Seabee legacy and promotes the Seabee story to the public.
Seabees returning from the Pacific Theater left vast quantities of memorabilia in Port Hueneme. By 1946, the building known as Theater C was overflowing with abandoned war souvenirs. In October 1946, Theater C became the first official Seabee museum and the second official U.S. Navy Museum. It was made possible only through the volunteer energy and spirit of Seabee veterans.
Over the next five decades, the Museum was moved, rebuilt, and expanded repeatedly to keep up with the growing collection. In the 1960s, the “Father of the Seabees,” Admiral Ben Moreell, donated his personal collection to the Museum along with a new wing in which to display it. In 2011, the Museum moved into a new state-of-the-art building that was constructed to better preserve the Seabee legacy and to improve the visitor experience. This $12 million building was funded by the CEC/Seabee Historical Foundation through gifts from Seabee veterans, their families, corporations, foundations, and friends of the Seabee legacy. The U.S. Navy Seabee Museum is one of nine navy museums owned and operated by the Navy under the leadership of the Naval History and Heritage Command, which is responsible for all the museum’s day-to-day expenses, including the staff of Civil Service personnel that run the Museum.
The Museum’s new building, along with its contemporary, interactive exhibits and the professional museum staff, have propelled the Museum’s mission forward. It is now a destination for tourists eager to better understand the Seabees’ role in U.S. history and for veterans proud of their contribution to history. As the Seabee Museum has evolved, creating many high-quality exhibits, its need for Foundation support to achieve the grand vision has minimized. We are grateful for the successes we have helped the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum achieve in becoming the Navy’s premiere museum.
Seabee Heritage Center
The Foundation also supports the Seabee Heritage Center located on the base of Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, Mississippi, home of the Atlantic fleet. The exhibits at the Gulfport facility are provided by the U.S. Navy Seabee Museum in Port Hueneme.
Owned and operated by the U.S. Navy, the Gulfport Seabee Heritage Center is open to the public free of charge. However due to the current force protection levels, please call (Pass & ID (228)871-4271) to learn more about base access policy. The Seabee Heritage Center exhibits a priceless collection of artifacts from all the events in which the Seabees and the CEC have participated. A world of history and education awaits those who visit.
Seabee Heritage Center
NCBC Gulfport Marvin Shields Blvd Bldg 446
Gulfport, MS 39501
(228)575-3858
Seabee Museum and Memorial Park
The mission of the Seabee Museum and Memorial Park at Davisville, RI is to provide a memorial to the thousands of men and women who served at Davisville, Rhode Island from its inception in 1942 until its closure in 1994, to preserve this historical site and this significant period in Rhode Island history, the “Original Home of the Seabees’, to document the history of the US Navy Seabees, and to provide a learning site for the public.
It’s important to note that this is a Seabee Museum, built by Seabees, run by Seabees, for Seabees and their families, as well as for the public. The majority of physical support comes from volunteer former Seabees, the Seabee Reserves, and the wives, sons, and friends of Seabees in Rhode Island.
Seabee Museum and Memorial Park
21 Iafrate Way
North Kingstown, Rhode Island 02852
