The Oldest Shipyard in the United States

In 1668, the Town of Ipswich set aside an acre of common land in Chebacco Parish, now Essex, “for a yard to build vessels and to employ workmen for that end.”

That land is still here, and it is still a shipyard.

The Municipal Shipyard of 1668 is the oldest shipyard in the United States. More than 350 years after it was set aside, it remains public land and continues to serve the purpose it was given all those years ago.

Shipbuilding had already taken hold along the Essex River by 1668. The land next door, now our historic shipyard at 66 Main Street, was part of that same working waterfront. Over the centuries, more than 4,000 wooden vessels were built in Essex, including the fishing schooners that made this little town famous.

And we aren't done yet.

Wooden boats are still built in Essex, and we are still adding vessels to the list. At the Museum, we build boats with students, volunteers, shipwrights, and community members in our yard at 66 Main Street. When they are finished, we move them across the Municipal Shipyard and launch them from the same piece of public land set aside for shipbuilding in 1668.

Think about that.

In 1930, the Massachusetts Bay Colony Tercentenary Commission put up a marker at the site noting that shipbuilding in Essex had continued uninterrupted since 1668. Nearly another century has passed since they put up that sign, and we can still say the same thing.

The scale has changed. We aren't launching fleets of fishing schooners anymore. But boats are still being built, skills are still being passed along, and the Municipal Shipyard is still doing the job it was given more than three centuries ago.

There aren't many places where you can stand on a piece of land and say that.

We are very lucky to have one here.