Please join the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum in its effort to save a historic 18th century barn and a piece of our community’s history. A premier example of pre-industrial workmanship, the barn features hand-hewn timbers and traditional mortise and tenon joinery. Once part of the historic Cogswell farm in the Town of Essex, MA, the barn has proudly served many generations, including the prominent female American architect Eleanor Raymond. It is a structure with both historic and architectural importance.

The barn is currently located on John Wise Avenue in Essex, on a site under municipal development. It was originally slated for demolition, but the Museum has an opportunity to disassemble and preserve the barn; however, the structure must be removed by mid-February 2020 or it will be demolished. There is a team of enthusiastic and skilled volunteers working at the site already, but your financial support is critical to the success of this effort.

Time is of the essence and we need your help!

“Speaking to their good stock and helpful demeanor, the contractors hired to construct the new Town Safety Building have no appetite for driving their steel buckets through the still sturdy, quite entirely intact original roof and walls of this long serving, still ready, good friend.” -David Brown, Vice President of the ESM Board of Directors

It is the Museum’s intent that the legacy of this historic structure not come to an end, and that – once successfully disassembled and removed – the barn be re-erected and preserved at the Museum’s shipyard, a National Heritage Site, where it can be used for desperately needed boatbuilding, educational programming, or interpretive space, and where the public can access and appreciate the craftsmanship and history of the structure for generations to come. The Museum has raised an initial $22,000 from private donors to kick off this effort, and has received generous donations of time and equipment from local firms.

However, additional funding is critical.

The Museum currently has a commitment to match dollar-for-dollar the next $20,000 of donations, to help reach an immediate goal needed to accomplish the removal of the barn from the site and avoid its demolition. Further funding will be needed to support the barn’s re-erection and re-purposing.For more information go to the EHSSM website: https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/barn-rescue or to make a donation go here: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/save-the-hay-barn and thank you!

Come and join the conversation with Dan Noyes as he talks about building and sailing his Centennial Dory up and down the Atlantic Coast.

Dan, an accomplished boat designer, builder and repairer based in Newbury, will entertain and engage with tales of boat building and seafaring.

Grab a friend and come enjoy the discussion.

January the 8th, 7:00pm at Essex Shipbuilding Museum, 66 Main Street, Essex MA 01929. Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance here: https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/museum-store/frame-up-to-fit-out-1

Come learn a new skill or craft to do by the fire this winter at our Solstice Celebration.

There will be activities such as log splitting in the yard and crafts from wood carving to knitting in the Waterline Center for kids and adults.

Activities range from $2 to $20. There will be baked goods and hot drinks!

December 21st from 11am to 4pm at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, 66 Main Street, Essex 01929

For more information go to the website: https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/calendar-of-events

Come join the conversation on the history of clamming in Essex, the build of an authentic clamming skiff by students from the Topsfield Vocational Academy and the making of clamming baskets.

The leaders of the project, Justin Demetri, Jeff Lane, Mark Webster, Chris Stepler, and Susannah Winder will host a conversational lecture where derailing the conversation is most definitely encouraged! Come with your curiosity and you won’t be disappointed.

The fun begins at 7PM on December the 18th at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum. Tickets are are available on our website: https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/museum-store/frame-up-to-fit-out-1 or at the door – $10 for non-members and $8 for members.

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You can find the original GMG article from the day the skiff went clamming here :https://goodmorninggloucester.org/2019/09/28/clamming-in-the-boat-we-built/

Did you enjoy the graveyard tour in Essex? Come and learn more about gravestones with the Essex Shipbuilding Museum President, Dr. David Driscoll. He is sure to have you on the edge of your grave, clinging on for dear life in the next installment of the “Frame Up to Fit Out Speaker Series”

November 20th, 7 pm at the Shipbuilding Museum. To purchase tickets and learn more follow the link : https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/calendar-of-events

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The perfect project now you have put the boat to bed! Come and get your ditty on at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum.

Join us in the Waterline Center for a Sunday morning workshop and make your own ditty bag. These bags have been used by sailors for centuries and have many uses from tool bags to produce bags. Please bring your own lunch!

Sunday, November 10th from 9am to 1 pm. All materials are provided and cost per bag is $40. For more details see the website here : https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/museum-store/ditty-bag-workshop

Saturday November 2nd from 6-9 pm
Come have a beer with us at our annual Biergarten
fall fundraiser. Tickets include a colorful mix of
German food, a silent auction full of amazing items
(some made here in the shipyard) and a cash bar
with beer donated by the Great Marsh Brewing
Company.
Tickets can be purchased on our website or at the
door.

18th Annual Fall Fundraiser on Saturday, November 2nd, 6 to 9pm

For more details and advance tickets please follow the link below: https://www.essexshipbuilding.org/museum-store/biergarten

The Essex Shipbuilding Museum took a group of students, from Topsfield Vocational Academy,  that built the clamming skiff on a  trip last Friday.  They left from Conomo Point and rowed the clam skiff, with two of the museums fleet of Sharptown barges to two clam flats (Seal Bank and Town Nub), where the students learned how to clam with a fork and by hand. Their teacher Mark Webster and professional clammer and project partner Ian MacDougall, of Hermit Crab Industries, showed the students how to harvest the clams.  When they had dug enough clams (soft-shell and razor), they had a clambake on the flats followed by a row back to Conomo Point. A great way to end a tremendous project, they built the boat and then put it to work.