After leaving the harbor, proceed up Queen Street to the public library and the Bermuda Historical Society Museum. The museum has a collection of old cedar furniture, antique silver, early Bermuda coins (hog money), and ceramics imported by early sea captains. You'll see the sea chest and navigating lodestone of Sir George Somers, whose flagship, the Sea Venture, became stranded on Bermuda's reefs in 1609, resulting in Bermuda's first European settlers. You'll also find portraits of Sir George and Lady Somers, and models of Patience, Deliverance, and the ill-fated Sea Venture. The museum is in Par-la-Ville Park on Queen Street. It was designed by William Bennett Perot, the City of Hamilton's first postmaster (1818-62), who was a somewhat eccentric fellow; as he delivered mail around town, he is said to have placed letters in the crown of his top hat in order to preserve his dignity.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Bermuda 2009, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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