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Well, I thought I was done with the “Dahlgren” and “Craven” but found more records, so I continued to work on these throughout the day. There appears to be over 300 plans in this collection and is really the first set of plans that appear to be mostly there.

Every Wednesday during the summer, Nathan, my boss and Senior Curator, does a workshop for volunteers with a specific theme. I did attend this workshop as I thought it would be educational and a chance to get out of the basement for a bit. I took several pages of notes, but I won’t bore you with them.

Here is a few things I pulled from it and will mention… Bath, Maine was (and is still today) a HUGE part of national shipbuilding. In 1856, Bath was the 4th largest ship producing “port” (even though it is located 10 miles up a river from the ocean) in the United States. New York, Boston, and Philadelphia were the top three and honestly, I’m surprised to see Bath on this list. Probably not many of you have even heard of this small community. Why 1856? Well, the west was now open and expanding quickly, gold was found in California, and U.S. commerce was through the roof. Ships were the greyhounds of the world and shipyards responded to these commercial needs.

Why Maine? What makes it so important and why did shipbuilding take off in this region? Resources. During this period, wooden sailing ships were still being produced and Maine was the “Norway of the States.” Its jagged coastline is over 3,000 miles long if you follow it from north to south and its huge deposits of timber assisted in production. Not only was the timber important but the geography of the state was as well. It could easily be floated down rivers to shipyards and like Bath, did not have to be directly on the ocean.

The four biggest reasons Maine flourished in shipbuilding production: 1. Geography (as mentioned), 2. Availabilty of resources (as mentioned), 3. Skill- towns like Bath, Maine are full of individuals who have been brought up in generations of mariners. Small yards are up and down the coast. The people that work these yards are multitaskers and quick learners. 4) These individuals commanded the ability to take advantage of the previous 3.

The remainder of workshop was spent advancing through the 19^th and eventual 20^th century, the evolution of the wooden ship to steel and how it changed the Bath region and customs district.

Wednesday evening was spent at the museum after hours for the annual volunteer “welcome back” picnic. I had a chance to meet some volunteers I haven’t yet and chat with some new friends. I will say this again, museums would not survive without volunteers and they are to be held dearly by the museum staff. I was by far the youngest person at this event by at least twenty years. Regardless, it was a great event, the food was great, and the “beverages” were cold and free.