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July 11, 2007

Maine’s First Ship is actively fundraising to reconstruct the Virginia, built 400 years ago at Popham Colony, and has opened an exhibit at Maine Maritime Museum to tell her story.

Shipwright Rob Stevens and volunteers will be shaping the mast with hand tools: demonstrations are Tuesdays – Fridays from 1-5 p.m., and Sundays from 1-3 p.m. Other activities are self- directed and always available.

The exhibit tents are located next to the Museum’s “Wattle & Daub” construction, a shelter built in the 1607 English style of weaving saplings and packing them with mud for walls.

Virginia has the distinction of being the first deep-sea vessel built by the English in continental North America, and Popham Colony holds the distinction of being the first English settlement, albeit “impermanent”, in New England.

The reconstructed Virginia will serve as a “floating classroom” when she is in the water, able to hold 35 passengers.