Kittery Historical & Naval Museum

05/26/2026

USS Constitution at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard ⚓

Constitution hauled up on the marine railway at the Portsmouth Navy Yard in May 1858. The wooden balanced floating dry dock can be seen to the right of the ship. Constitution was being converted into a school ship for midshipmen. The photograph, attributed to Albert Gregory is one of the earliest known images of Constitution.

An entry in the shipyard’s daily logbook reported, “May 27-28, 1858 Constitution pushed into the dock and refloated.”

05/23/2026

On May 23, 1939, the USS Squalus went down off the Isles of Shoals. After a catastrophic failure during a test dive, the sub came to rest at the bottom of the ocean.

According to Harold Preble, civilian architect aboard "we struck bottom, we knew it was only a matter of time before a rescue would come if we were once located."

Thirty-three men were spared from that fateful dive. The first thirty-three ever to be saved by the Diving Bell. Twenty-six of the crew are on Eternal Patrol.

05/21/2026

On May 23, 1939, during sea trials off the Isles of Shoals, USS Squalus (SS-192) sank 242 feet to the bottom after a failed main air induction valve flooded the aft compartments — killing 26 crewmen. USS Wandank (AT-26) joined the rescue, helping save 33 survivors.

05/20/2026

05/19/2026

05/18/2026

Join us Monday, May 25th to honor all those who have served and sacrificed.

05/14/2026

After serving many years as president of the Kittery Historical and Naval Society, Bob Gray has decided to step down. I would like to welcome our new president, Dean Gallant.

Dean retired as Assistant Dean for Research Policy and Administration from Harvard University after 36 years. He and his wife, Lauren moved to Kittery Point in 2008 and are both passionate about local history and old house preservation. He has served as president of the Kittery Art Association and volunteers at the Portsmouth Athenaeum. He has been a volunteer at the Kittery Historical and Naval Museum for several years and became a trustee in 2024.

We would also like to welcome our two new trustees to the board. David Kaselauskas and Linda Wentworth join our current board which includes Steven Webber, JeanneVoorhees, Ken Schoman, Duncan McEachern, Barbara Estes, Janice Farmer, Bob Gray, Shea Gray, Karen Longcrier, Doug Cole, Ann Pierce, Susan Pendery and Lauren Gallant.

05/12/2026

May 12, 1964 - Keel was laid for USS GRAYLING (SSN 646) by Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Kittery, ME.

USS Grayling (SSN-646), a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the fifth ship of the United States Navy to be named for the grayling. Her keel was laid down in 1964, and she was launched just over three years later, and commissioned in 1969. She was involved in the submarine incident off Kola Peninsula on 20 March 1993, when she collided with the Russian Navy submarine Novomoskovsk. She was decommissioned in 1997, and disposed of a year later.

Grayling was deactivated on 1 March 1997, placed in commission in reserve a week later as she entered the Ship and Submarine Recycling Program, then decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 18 July 1997. Her scrapping via the U.S. Navy's Ship and Submarine Recycling Program at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington, was completed on 31 March 1998.
Grayling's sail is now a memorial on the grounds of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard at Kittery, Maine, and her anchor and chain are on display as a memorial in downtown Grayling, Michigan.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Grayling_(SSN-646)

Photos: http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08646.htm

Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster.Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

05/10/2026

The museum will be opening for the season on May 13. Our hours will be 10-4 on Wednesday and Saturday until after Memorial Day. Then we will be open from 10-4 Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. If you’ve never visited Kittery’s hidden gem, stop by and learn about the history of Maine’s oldest town.