Fun fact: The floor is bitumen to reduce any chance of a spark being raised by a nailed boot. Huge wooden racks that kept the gunpowder kegs dry and off the floor have left imprints in the bitumen floor from the excessive weight. See if you can also spot the circular marks left by the gunpowder barrels.
Why It’s a Must See: Bermuda’s earliest wrecks are featured, with more than 1,500 artifacts of international and local significance on display.
What to Look For: The beautifully carved war club that is one of only a few dozen similarly carved clubs that have survived in the world. It is considered the earliest example of first contact between Europeans and Indigenous Americans from the Orinoco River region in present day French-Guiana.
2. Hall of History
Located in Commissioner's House
Tracing the 500-year human history of Bermuda, local artist Graham Foster has painted a 1,000 square foot mural, the Hall of History, that has captured the imagination of all ages, telling the island’s story with vibrant detail, irreverent humour and poignant observations.
The Hall of History is located in Commissioner’s House, the first prefabricated cast-iron house built in the Western Hemisphere. Built in the 1820s, Commissioner’s House was first used as a home for the civilian head of Dockyard and then served as Royal Marines barracks, married quarters and barracks for naval ratings during WWI, and then as Allied headquarters for North Atlantic submarine radio interception during WWII. Left derelict in the 1950s, the house went through a 20-year award-winning restoration under the guidance of the Museum (then the Bermuda Maritime Museum), reopening to the public in 2000.