The Essex Historical Society was founded in 1937, rooted in a simple idea: that history matters, and that it is worth caring for, together. That work has never stopped.

In April of 1976, during the American Revolutionary Bicentennial, the Society formally became the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum. The museum began modestly, in the old schoolhouse on Main Street, as a way to share the shipbuilding artifacts, photographs, tools, and stories the Society had been gathering for decades. It was an expansion of purpose, not a departure… a new way of telling an old story.

At first, the museum lived in exhibits and archives, in memory and material. In 1993, the acquisition of the old Story shipyard brought the museum into physical alignment with its subject. The work moved onto the river’s edge, into a place shaped by tide, labor, and craft. What had been interpreted indoors became something practiced, taught, and experienced in real time.

For fifty years, the Shipbuilding Museum has grown alongside the Society. The scope has widened. The campus has expanded. The ways people gather here have changed. What has remained is a belief that history is not static. It is something you build, handle, question, and pass on.

Today, the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum stands as a cultural center for the town of Essex. A place of education and preservation, of environmental stewardship, of work and welcome. A place shaped as much by people as by things, where the past is present and the future is quietly taking form.

This anniversary marks fifty years of the Shipbuilding Museum. We are observing it with intention and care. Not as spectacle, but as a pause. Big things are brewing, and we can’t wait to share.

Public Tours will Resume in May 2026

Please see our Calendar for off season events, talks and classes - Students and volunteers are working on site year round

Booking requests can be made by emailing: office@essexshipbuilding.org

Step into a world shaped by salt marshes, shipwrights, and stories. The Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum invites you to explore centuries of craftsmanship, community, and connection to the Essex River. Join us this season to experience history where it is still being made.

Preserve the Past - Engage the Present - Build the Future