(ST. MICHAELS, MD–February 22, 2016) On Friday, March 11, 2016, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Md. will convene a panel of maritime preservation experts for a public forum on its planned 2016-2018 restoration of the National Historic Landmark Chesapeake Bay bugeye Edna E. Lockwood. The program runs from 9:00 to 12:00 noon in the museum’s Van Lennep Auditorium with a panel that includes specialists in wooden vessel restoration, maritime documentation, and historic vessel preservation. The forum is free and open to the public, with limited seating and advanced registration required.
Participating on the panel will be John Brady of Independence Seaport Museum, Todd Croteau of the National Park Service Maritime Program, Richard Dodds of Calvert Marine Museum, John England of Deltaville Maritime Museum, Quentin Snediker of Mystic Seaport Museum, and George Surgent of Calvert Marine Museum.
The session opens at 9:00 a.m. with an introduction to the 1889 Tilghman-built oystering vessel, Edna E. Lockwood, which has been a floating exhibition at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum since 1967. Later in the forum, the panel will review the recent documentation of Edna’s hull through photogrammetry and laser scanning, followed by an overview of what lies ahead in the restoration project. The panel will address a series of questions and technical problems anticipated in the restoration, with the public invited to ask questions and offer comments.
Built in 1889 by John B. Harrison on Tilghman Island for Daniel W. Haddaway, Edna E. Lockwood dredged for oysters through winter, and carried freight—such as lumber, grain, and produce—after the dredging season ended. She worked faithfully for many owners, mainly out of Cambridge, Md, until she stopped “drudging” in 1967. In 1973, Edna was donated to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum by John R. Kimberly. Recognized as the last working oyster boat of her kind, Edna E. Lockwood was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994.
“This type of boatbuilding is specific to the Chesapeake Bay,” said CBMM Chief Curator Pete Lesher. “Just as Native American dugout canoes were formed by carving out one log, a bugeye’s hull is unique in that it is constructed by hewing a set of logs to shape and pinning them together as a unit. Over the next two years, museum guests will have incredible opportunities to watch the restoration progress and to see a boat built in a way you can find nowhere else, and in full public view.”
Established in 1965, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is a world-class maritime museum dedicated to preserving and exploring the history, environment and people of the entire Chesapeake Bay, with the values of relevancy, authenticity, and stewardship guiding its mission. Serving more than 70,000 guests each year, the museum’s campus includes a floating fleet of historic boats and 12 exhibition buildings, situated on 18 waterfront acres along the Miles River and St. Michaels’ harbor. To register for the March 11 forum, email aspeight@cbmm.org or call 410-745-4941.
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The 1889 log-bottom bugeye Edna E. Lockwood, shown here, is the queen of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s fleet of historic Chesapeake boats and will be the focus of a March 11 public forum when CBMM convenes a panel of maritime preservation experts to discuss Edna’s planned restoration. Recognized as the last working oyster boat of her kind, Edna E. Lockwood was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994. The March 11 program runs from 9:00 to 12:00 noon in the museum’s Van Lennep Auditorium, and is free and open to the public, with limited seating and advanced registration required. More photos of the bugeye are atbit.ly/ednarestorationphotos.