Maine's First Ship (MFS) is a non-profit formed to build a reconstruction of the first English-built vessel in North America, the pinnace VIRGINIA, built in 1607 at the mouth of the Kennebec River by the Popham Colony. Though the colony did not last past 1608, VIRGINIA made two trans-Atlantic crossings. The project is in its fund-raising phase with construction to be done on the grounds of the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine.

The construction of the vessel will be done under the direction of master shipwright, Rob Stevens, and will involve many volunteers. As part of our education programs, vocational technical students in Bath are currently digitizing the drawings of the vessel in preparation for their design, construction, packaging and development of marketing strategies for models of VIRGINIA.

Our project is focused on education - educating people about the Popham Colony, early Maine History, and the shipbuilding tradition in Maine.

More information can be found at the project website: www.mainesfirstship.org.

Thoughts and comments about the project and its goals are welcomed!