Maine Maritime Museum

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine occupies a 20-acre campus on the banks of the Kennebec River, the site of the former Percy & Small Shipyard — the last surviving 19th-century American wooden shipyard still in its original location. Bath is known as the City of Ships and has launched more than 5,000 vessels over three centuries; the museum documents this history through eleven permanent and rotating galleries, more than 65,000 objects, and a fleet of historic vessels. The centerpiece of the outdoor grounds is the 1930 schooner Mary E and a steel outline sculpture marking where the six-masted schooner Wyoming — the largest wooden sailing ship ever built in North America at 329 feet — was constructed on this exact site. Visitors walk through the restored Percy & Small Shipyard outbuildings, including the rigging loft, pitch house, and paint shop, where costumed interpreters explain the shipbuilding process. Inside the main gallery building, exhibits cover the history of Maine's fishing fleet, Casco Bay lighthouses, lobstering, and the global reach of Bath-built ships. Seasonal riverboat cruises on the Kennebec River depart the museum dock for views of Bath Iron Works, the active naval shipyard still operating today across the river. A dedicated children's area includes hands-on boatbuilding activities. The museum is located 40 minutes north of Portland via I-295 at Exit 33 and is open daily year-round except major holidays.