Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum

05/31/2026

Every shipbuilder starts somewhere.

Today it might be learning a bowline. Tomorrow it might be building a boat.

At the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, students learn real skills in a real working shipyard on the Essex River. From knot tying and rowing to woodworking and boatbuilding, hands on learning is at the heart of what we do.

Come see what’s happening on the waterfront.

Open Wednesday through Sunday
11 AM to 5 PM

04/27/2026

Spring time in the Shipyard!

Looking forward to our newest season kickoff party May 16th! Be there, be fare.

04/24/2026

We’re so excited to host the Waring School for this fun educational on-the-water program.

In conjunction with the Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum, Waring's Oceans and Climate Class is engaged in a pilot study to establish a long term study of the Essex River. During lab period, students row to a research station on the river and collect data on invasive green crab populations and water quality.

04/06/2026

Annual Meeting & Celebration
Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum
Please join us.

On Monday, April 13, 2026, we gather at the Story Shipyard to mark a meaningful moment in the life of this institution.

This year, we celebrate 50 years since the addition of the Shipbuilding Museum, and the recent acquisition of 44 Main Street, a milestone that opens the next chapter for our campus and community.

There is much to reflect on, and even more ahead.

Come for the meeting. Stay for the celebration.
There will be cake.

Monday, April 13, 2026
7:00 – 8:00 PM
Story Shipyard
66 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929

Members and friends are warmly invited.

RSVPs appreciated, email [email protected]

04/06/2026

The Cricket did a wonderful job capturing this story! We are so grateful!

After a whirlwind nine months of quiet fundraising, the Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum this week purchased a prominent downtown property at 44 Main St. in a move that will preserve the site for public use and expand the museum’s footprint in Essex.

03/31/2026

Big News! 🎉
🚨 We’re thrilled to announce that the Essex Historical Society & Shipbuilding Museum is purchasing the historic property at 44 Main Street! This iconic site will be preserved for the community and protected from private development.



Learn more 🔗 essexshipbuilding.org/44main

03/06/2026

We had a great time joining others in our local maritime community for the Gloucester High School’s Marina Day!

Great opportunity to share the diverse career paths available to these students.

02/11/2026

Are you a trunnel?

02/09/2026

OFT - TIMES Could I but look into your eyes once more and see the love light as in days of yore, To hear the music of your voice would make my lonely heart rejoice: Could I but kiss you as I did of old, and in my arms your gentle form enfold, Though for ever lost to me, I’ll love you through eternity chorus: Oft times since we chanced tp aprt. Oft times sadness filss my heart. I love you dearest, only you, I loved you better than you knew. Oft times in my dreams Isee your sweet face so dear to me: Though we’re apart, heart of my oft times I think of you, oft times sweetheart. words by permission of Shaprio Von Tilzer Music Co., LTD

Postcard from the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum archival collection.

02/05/2026

Winter has wrapped the shipyard in ice, and the river has gone quiet. Here on the estuary, the brackish water freezes more readily than the open ocean. That blanket of ice is more than a freeze. It shelters the clam beds below, part of the same working landscape that has sustained this place for generations.

It may look like nothing is happening, but this season is part of the cycle. Beneath the ice, life carries on. In the yard, plans are taking shape. Soon the thaw will come, boats will move again, and the river will fill with work and voices.

Until then, we hold onto the promise of steaming clams, warm days on the sandbar, and the return of another season on the water.