Essex Shipbuilding Museum

The Essex Shipbuilding Museum documents shipbuilding in a New England harbor town through ship models, historical tools, and photographs. The collections show how craftspeople there built wooden vessels, many of which fished on the open ocean.

Essex was the center of American wooden shipbuilding from the 1600s through the 1900s, sending hundreds of vessels to sea. The town lost its prominence as industrial steel and steam ships took over the market.

The museum celebrates the craftsmanship of Essex shipbuilders who constructed wooden vessels over generations. Visitors see tools and techniques that remain in use at the adjacent boatyard today.

The location offers visitors a chance to learn traditional building techniques through interactive demonstrations and programs held from late spring through fall. Comfortable walkways connect the exhibition space with the workshops of the adjacent active boatyard.

A working boatbuilding shop run by the Story family operates right next to the exhibitions, practicing the same craft maintained for centuries there. Visitors can watch actual craftspeople at work from the pathways.