Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art

Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art
	Location within Maryland Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art (the United States)
Established	1975 (building in 1992)
Dissolved	Re-positioned in 2023
Location	Formerly 909 South Schumaker Drive; Salisbury, Maryland
Coordinates	38°21′5″N 75°34′18″W / 38.35139°N 75.57167°W
Type	Art

Established1975 (building in 1992)^[1]

DissolvedRe-positioned in 2023^[1]

LocationFormerly 909 South Schumaker Drive
Salisbury, Maryland

Coordinates38°21′5″N 75°34′18″W / 38.35139°N 75.57167°W

The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art was originally a museum highlighting a comprehensive collection of wildfowl carvings, from art sculptures to working hunters' decoys,^[2] and named after bird carvers Lem and Steve Ward of Crisfield, Maryland, who's work elevated the art of decoy carving.^[2] The museum existed as a partnership of Salisbury University and the Ward Foundation, the latter having transferred its assets to the University in 2000.^[3] It was located on Schumaker pond at a dedicated facility at Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland — and was a member of the American Alliance of Museums.

In 2024, the museum was renamed the Museum of Eastern Shore Culture, its mission adjusted, and its collection relocated to the Powell Building at 218 W. Main St.,^[3] adjacent to Salisbury University. The move was expedited after a failure of the original building's HVAC system required remediation of surface mold on portions of the museum's collection.^[4] The museum's new mission is to continue highlighting the wildfowl art, while expanding broadly to highlight cultural aspects — folklife, traditional arts and regional heritage — of the Eastern Shore of Maryland and the Delmarva Peninsula.^[5]

In 1990, the Ward Foundation had conducted a design competition to select the architect for a 32,000 SF facility to be located on Schumaker Pond in Salisbury, Maryland. Working with noted exhibits' consultant Ben Kozak, the Salisbury firm of Davis, Bowen & Friedel, Inc., and lead design architect Michael Wigley, AIA, were selected for the commission. In 1992, Brohawn Construction of Cambridge, Maryland, completed the project.

The Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art closed its doors in 2023 at the Schumaker Pond location,^[1] and was relocated. The Ward Foundation, Inc. still continues to operate the Ward World Championship.

The museum included:^[2]

Welcome Theatre
Decoy In Time
Habitat Theatre
Art Lamay Gallery
Decoy Study Gallery
The Ward Brothers’ Workshop
Championship Gallery

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

v t e Museums in Maryland
Art	Academy Art African Art Museum of Maryland Albin O. Kuhn Gallery American Visionary Art Art Gallery at the University of Maryland Baltimore Museum of Art Brooke Whiting House of Art Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture Charm City Art Space Contemporary David C. Driskell Center Glenstone Havre de Grace Decoy Museum Janus Museum Maryland Art Place Maryland Institute College of Art Galleries Ratner Museum School 33 Art Center Strathmore Walters Art Museum Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art Washington County Fine Arts
Aerospace and aviation	College Park Aviation Museum Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum Goddard Visitor Center Hagerstown Aviation Museum Massey Air Museum Patuxent River Naval Air Museum
Entertainment	Chesapeake Children's Museum Port Discovery Radio & Television Museum Ripley's Believe It or Not! Museum
History and historic houses	Adkins Historical Museum Baltimore Museum of Industry Banneker-Douglass Museum Barbara Fritchie House and Museum Beall–Dawson House Belair Mansion Belair Stable Museum Benson–Hammond House Bowman House Button Farm Living History Center Clara Barton National Historic Site Carroll County Farm Museum Carroll Mansion Costen House Cray House Darnall's Chance Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum Evergreen Museum & Library Furnace Town Girdletree Barnes Bank Government House Great Blacks in Wax Museum Hager House Hammond–Harwood House Hampton National Historic Site Hancock's Resolution His Lordship's Kindness Historic London Town Historic St. Mary's City Homewood Museum J. Millard Tawes Historical Museum Jerusalem Mill Village Julia A. Purnell Museum Kennedy Farm Ladew Topiary Gardens La Grange Plantation Laurel Museum Marietta House Museum Maryland Center for History and Culture Maryland State House Miller House Museum Montpelier Mansion Mother Seton House Mount Clare Museum House Mount Harmon Plantation Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm Pemberton Hall National Colonial Farm Poplar Hill Mansion Riversdale Rose Hill Manor Park & Children's Museum Schifferstadt Architectural Museum Smallwood State Park Sotterley Plantation Star Spangled Banner Flag House Steppingstone Museum Surratt House Museum Susquehanna State Park Taylor House Teackle Mansion Thomas Stone National Historic Site Tudor Hall (Bel Air, Maryland) Tudor Hall (Leonardtown, Maryland) Union Mills Homestead William Paca House & Garden
Maritime	Annapolis Maritime Museum Calvert Marine Museum Capt. Salem Avery House Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum Concord Point Lighthouse Cove Point Light Havre de Grace Maritime Museum Historic Ships in Baltimore Joppa Wharf Museum Maryland Dove Ocean City Life-Saving Station Museum Point Lookout Light Richardson Maritime Museum Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse Tilghman Watermen's Museum Turkey Point Light Station Upper Bay Museum U.S. Naval Academy Museum Waterman's Museum
Military	Airmen Memorial Museum Antietam National Battlefield Bainbridge Naval Training Center Museum Fort Frederick State Park Fort George G. Meade Museum Fort McHenry Fort Washington Park Maryland Museum of Military History Monocacy National Battlefield National Cryptologic Museum Point Lookout State Park
Railway	B&O Railroad Museum Baltimore Streetcar Museum Boonsboro Trolley Museum Brunswick Heritage Museum Chesapeake Beach Railway Museum Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum Huntington Railroad Museum La Plata train station Marion Station Railroad Museum National Capital Trolley Museum Perryville Railway Museum Queponco railway station Stevensville train depot The Train Room and Museum Walkersville Southern Railroad Museum Western Maryland Railway Historical Society Museum
Science, natural history and medicine	Baltimore Public Works Museum Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge B. Olive Cole Pharmacy Museum Cylburn Nature Museum Deep Creek Lake Discovery Center Discovery Station Eden Mill Nature Center Lamar Heritage and Culture Center Maryland Science Center National Electronics Museum National Museum of Dentistry National Museum of Civil War Medicine National Museum of Health and Medicine National Wildlife Visitor Center at Patuxent Research Refuge Stonestreet Museum of 19th Century Medicine University of Maryland School of Nursing Living History Museum William P. Didusch Center for Urologic History
Sports	Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum National Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum National Sailing Hall of Fame
Transportation	Bob's Vintage Museum Canal Place C&D Canal Museum Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park Queen City Transportation Museum Thrasher Carriage Museum Wheels of Yesterday
Heritage	Banneker-Douglass Museum Jewish Museum of Maryland Latvian Museum National Slavic Museum Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture
Miscellaneous	Anne Arundel County Free School Christian Heritage Museum George Alfred Townsend Museum Mt. Zion One Room School National Museum of Language National Shrine of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton St. Martin's Episcopal Church Museum Phoenix Shot Tower Sturgis One Room School Wye Grist Mill

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States

Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art

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Related Articles

Location within Maryland Show map of Maryland Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art (the United States) Show map of the United States

Established	1975 (building in 1992)^[1]
Dissolved	Re-positioned in 2023^[1]
Location	Formerly 909 South Schumaker Drive Salisbury, Maryland
Coordinates	38°21′5″N 75°34′18″W / 38.35139°N 75.57167°W / 38.35139; -75.57167
Type	Art^[2]