The Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum is a cultural maritime museum that showcases historical displays related to Essex's history of wooden shipbuilding. Between the 17th and 20th centuries, the city was known as America's top producer of wooden fishing schooners. Today, the museum displays ship models, half hulls, and other maritime artifacts throughout its lovely facility, including exhibits and artifacts on loan from the Smithsonian Institution. Photography, shipbuilding tools, and shipyard dioramas are showcased in exhibits, along with preserved ships such as the Evelina M. Goulart, which was constructed in 1927. Visitors can also explore an adjacent boatyard, which still constructs ships according to historic area traditions.

66 Main St, Essex, MA 01929, Phone: 978-768-7541