Posted Thursday, March 9, 2017 by Katie MeyersinMary E

This spring, the historic schooner Mary E, believed to be the oldest Bath-built wooden schooner still afloat, is coming home to Maine Maritime Museum.

Built in Bath in 1906 by shipbuilder Thomas E. Hagan, and restored in Bath in 1965 by William R. Donnell II (on the grounds of what is now Maine Maritime Museum), Mary E is a two-masted clipper schooner with a sparred length of 73 feet. This is the last of 69 vessels built by Hagan and representative of the type of vessel that would have been seen all over the coast of Maine in the 1900s. She is now the oldest wooden fishing schooner built in the state of Maine that is still sailing.

Mary E will be arrive at the museum in spring 2017, and she will be restored on the museum’s campus this summer, giving visitors the opportunity to witness historic shipbuilding techniques first hand.

Following completion of the work, Mary E will be docked at the museum, serving as a historic vessel accessible to everyone. Mary E will also serve as the ambassador of Maine Maritime Museum and the City of Ships, traveling to events up and down the coast.