This Ohio River Town Has a Museum Dedicated to Boats Made of Cardboard
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New Richmond’s Cardboard Boat Museum preserves the town’s playful boat-racing tradition through full-size craft made from cardboard. It suits visitors who enjoy local history, hands-on design, or seeing an everyday material put to an unexpected test.
Waterproofing means sealing cardboard against water with tape and latex paint. That practical step lets racers take their creations onto the Ohio River, where a boat’s shape and seams matter as much as its looks.
For a trip through New Richmond, the museum offers a close look at a tradition built by local people. You can see how a familiar material became a source of invention and community pride. The unusual craft turn an ordinary material into a vivid record of local ingenuity.
Key Takeaways
- See full-size cardboard craft in a small Ohio River town.
- Admission is free, with donations appreciated.
- Regular hours fall on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday.
- More than 30 boats are on display.
- The annual regatta draws thousands of spectators.
How to Visit the Cardboard Boat Museum New Richmond Ohio
A Tuesday visit fits an evening window, while weekend visitors can come during the day. Tickets are free, and donations are appreciated at the Cardboard Boat Museum in New Richmond, Ohio.
The museum stands at 311 Front Street, New Richmond, Ohio, 45157. The schedule for the Cardboard Boat Museum in New Richmond, Ohio, covers only Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday, at the hours below.
| Day | Hours | Admission |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesday | 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. | Free |
| Saturday | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Free |
| Sunday | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Free |
Plan around the posted hours; this boat museum is not open every day.
Opening days and free admission
Those limited hours can shape your plans if you are fitting the attraction into a drive. The museum’s phone number is (513) 403-1675. If New Richmond is part of a wider route, these small-town travel ideas may help you plan other stops.
Classes, tours, and private gatherings
The museum offers boat-building classes and student tours. A class gives participants a chance to build, while a student tour brings a group to see the collection.
Rentals serve a different purpose: you can ask about reunions, off-site meetings, graduation parties, and birthday parties. The museum is a local attraction with options for both learning and gathering, so check which setup fits your group.
Call (513) 403-1675 to confirm a visit or ask about a class, tour, or rental.
What Makes New Richmond’s Cardboard Boats Worth Seeing?
Team Lemon’s collection began with a practical problem: racers needed somewhere to keep boats after the regatta. The solution grew into a museum, and more than 30 boats are now on display for visitors to see up close.
How Team Lemon turned racing into a museum
The New Richmond race began in 1993. Team Lemon formed in 2001 with Tom Lemon, Ed Lemon, Kenny Smith, and Tim Young.
The group established the museum in 2007 inside a former gas station. The station had been abandoned after a 1997 flood, giving the collection a home in a building tied to the town’s river history.
The collection of more than 30 boats shows how racers turned the same basic material into many shapes. Local reporting also describes a replica Island Queen riverboat in the Ohio Magazine regatta feature.
From simple hulls to imaginative designs
Each cardboard boat must use cardboard for its hull. Builders can use tape and latex house paint to seal it, but the rule leaves plenty of room for creative forms.
The display includes a dragon, a whiskey bottle, and an egg carton. These designs make the boat museum feel more like a parade of ideas than a row of matching vessels.
Look past the bold shapes to see how each racer solved a practical design challenge. The paint can hide some of the work, but seams and joins reveal how the hull took shape.
Look closely at the sealed seams and paint, the practical details that help make each design a working craft.
When Is the New Richmond Cardboard Boat Regatta?
The 2026 race is set for 1 p.m. on July 4. The annual New Richmond cardboard boat regatta is held every August, but the 2026 schedule is different: the race is planned for July 4 during Freedom Fest.
New Richmond Freedom Fest and the Cardboard Boat Regatta run July 3-5, 2026, along the Ohio River at 100 Susanna Way, New Richmond, Ohio, 45157. The event is free to attend, with over 70 cardboard boats expected.
The yearly event usually falls in August, while the 2026 race is scheduled in July.
- July 3-5: Freedom Fest and regatta
- July 4 at 1 p.m.: cardboard boat race
- July 4 at 10 p.m.: fireworks
The race course stretches 200 yards, and crews can include up to ten members. Thousands of spectators come to watch boats compete and sometimes sink.
The fireworks are scheduled for 10 p.m. on Saturday, July 4. Check the current race signup details before making plans to enter a boat.
Conclusion
For a traveler drawn to unusual local history, New Richmond offers a memorable stop centered on creative boat building. The museum suits visitors who like seeing how a town turns a shared pastime into a place worth exploring.
You can add the stop to a wider Ohio River trip or make it the reason to pause in town. Its boats offer a fun look at local skill, with designs that reward a closer look.
Use the museum’s visit-scheduling form to arrange a visit.
