Aha! You are referring to the Watermens' Museum in Yorktown. It is, indeed, located somewhat beneath the Coleman Bridge whch spans the York from Yorktown to Gloucester. www.watermens.org 
The museum is the work of a most delightful lady, Marion Hornsby Bowditch, who died last year after a lifetime of energetic community service. Mrs. Bowditch came from a long line of watermen and it was soley through her tireless efforts that this extraordinary museum which depicts many, many aspects of life and fishing and crabbing and oystering on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries was established back in the 1980's.
I vividly recall the day that the house in which the museum is now held was moved, by barge, across the York from Gloucester to Yorktown. The house was an old place that had been donated to the cause of the museum but it had to be moved. This move was made in 1987.
The Watermen's Museum is a first class museum that all of us here in York County are very proud of. For those of you who are planning to come to the Historic Triangle this year, I highly recommend a visit. Plus, I don't know if all of you Listers are aware of it but the waterfront in Yorktown has recently been totally renovated and it is a pure joy to go down to the water now and stroll around and see all that has been done there. There are shops and restaurants and the place has a lovely park-like area for folks to amble and rest.
I cannot do justice to describing the great job that the planners and implementers have done in this renovation project. They have not tried to imitate Williamsburg or recreate something as it may have been once before. But they have given honor to the past and created something that is historically pleasing if not historically accurate. There are some wonderful places off  the waterfront to visit as well. I highly recommend the Carrotree Restaurant on Main Street for a healthy and delicious lunch (I'm not sure if they're open for dinner).
It is located right across the street from the Nelson House. Period Designs http://www.perioddesigns.com/
is a fantastic shop also on Main Street where my daughter happens to work one day a week (Thursdays so tell her you know me if you go on that day...her name is Anne). Period Designs was started by three enterprising young people who had gone to William and Mary and been involved in a variety of  endeavors from the archeological to artistic. They started Period Designs about 15 years ago (I believe) and they sell historically accurate reproductions of household "niceties" which Michelle Erickson creates in her kiln in Hampton.
Rob Hunter and Virginia Lascara, the other two owners, sell old and rare maps and prints which they will also frame in Virginia's exquisite handmade frames to which she can apply gold or silver leaf .
You can see examples of their wares in such movies as Amistad, The Patriot and The New World. 
Some filmmakers who are interested in accuracy very often call upon Period Designs to supply them with information and artifacts.
Another place to visit would be Nancy Thomas' Studio www.nancythomas.com , if you are an aficianado of  what I think is called "primitive" art although her work is not primitive at all. She makes very fetching items for the house and garden and her paintings are collected by people from all over the world.
If you are in Yorktown do not miss a visit to Grace Episcopal Church on Church Street. It is a wonderful, ancient place. The following is lifted from their website:
The sturdy marl walls of Grace Church have been standing since 1697 despite the ravages of war during the two sieges of Yorktown (1781 and 1862) and despite the "great fire" of 1814. It continues, as it has for generations, to serve the York-Hampton Parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia.Our church celebrated its 300th anniversary in 1997. It bears witness to the living faith of our Ancestors and now supports members of a growing congregation who seek to know Christ more fully and to make Him known.

These are just a very few of the many things to do while visiting Tidewater Virginia.
What all of you can know is that those of us who live here are proud of the place and its heritage and are eager to show it to the world. Please come!

Deane F. Mills
York County, VA

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