44 Main Street
We did it.
In March 2026, the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum purchased 44 Main Street, the property between the 1835 Schoolhouse at 28 Main and Historic Story Shipyard at 66 Main.
In less than a year, about 80 people committed almost $1 million to make it possible.
For a small museum in a small town, that is a big deal. Thank you.
Why 44 Main Matters
For 50 years, the Museum has operated from two properties just a few hundred feet apart, but with no real connection between them.
44 Main changes that.
For the first time, we can think about 28, 44, and 66 Main as one campus, connecting the Schoolhouse, archives, exhibits, working shipyard, and waterfront.
It also protects the relationship between the village and the shipyards below. Essex grew around shipbuilding. The town, the river, and the yards have always been connected. Now we can keep them that way.
What Comes Next
First, cleanup.
After decades as an antiques business, there is plenty to do at 44 Main. Volunteers, local businesses, and tradespeople are already helping us work through the property and get it ready for what comes next.
Big thanks to Mayer Tree, Dynamic Waste Systems, and Carter Roberts Construction for the in kind help with the first steps!
At the same time, we are beginning a master plan for all three properties.
We will look at education, exhibits, archives, visitor experience, accessibility, the working shipyard, waterfront, landscape, staff needs, and the long term care of the campus.
We have ideas, but we don't have all the answers yet. That is the point of planning.
One Campus
28 Main. 44 Main. 66 Main. The Essex River. And beside us, the Municipal Shipyard of 1668, the oldest shipyard in the United States.
Together, this little stretch of Main Street and waterfront holds an extraordinary amount of Essex history.
It is also still working.
We build boats here. We teach here. We care for collections and historic vessels here. We launch newly built boats across the Shipyard of 1668 and into the river.
Now we have the chance to think about the whole place together.
Invest in What Comes Next
Buying 44 Main was the beginning. Now we have to take good care of it.
Your investment in EHSSM supports the planning, programs, people, collections, buildings, vessels, and working waterfront that make this place what it is.
For gifts of stock, donor advised funds, IRA distributions, wire transfers, or other giving questions, contact Natasha Taylor at office@essexshipbuilding.org.
EHSSM EIN: 51-0185873
Want to be our biggest fish?
It took 80 fish swimming together to make the purchase of 44 Main Street possible. Together, they invested almost $1 million in the future of this place.
We did take on a modest amount of debt to get across the finish line, and we would love to retire it.
Want to be our biggest fish?
Contact KD at kd@essexshipbuilding.org
