In April, 2010, a small group of impassioned community members gathered together to discuss the future of Reedville's historic landmark, the 108 year-old Morris-Fisher Stack, which was rapidly deteriorating and in danger of being lost forever. . . . — — Map (db m176475) HM
The name: The boat's namesake spelled his name Claude. However, it is thought that when the boat was initially registered the "e" was inadvertently dropped and she has been Claud W. Somers ever since.
Speed capability: the fastest we have ever . . . — — Map (db m176472) HM
This brass propeller was donated by legendary menhaden fish boat captain, John B. Lowry. It was used used on his beloved fish boat, John O, a converted minesweeper. Captain Lowry fished from Long Island, NY to Beaufort, NC from the 1950s to the . . . — — Map (db m176468) HM
This artifact is a remnant of a Chesapeake Bay Log Canoe, so called because it was sharp at both ends, constructed from logs rather than planks, and was unique to the Chesapeake Bay. Such vessels, varying in length from 20 ft. to greater than 60 . . . — — Map (db m176473) HM
The boats in this pavilion and on campus represent one of the important themes of the Museum - life on the water. Each is an example of the small skiffs and larger work boats used in this area by local watermen. The vessels were used for multiple . . . — — Map (db m176485) HM
The drive or striker boat was essential to the menhaden fishery before spotter planes came into use after World War II. The captain, mate and drive boatsman would spend the fishing day in the crows nest of the fishing vessel. When a school of . . . — — Map (db m176470) HM
The Elva C is a "deck boat," a design that contrasts with boats commonly seen now with larger open cockpits. While deckboats were primarily built for fishing pound and seine nets, they were often used in the off season as freight boats or to buy . . . — — Map (db m176471) HM
George M. Butler built this skiff in 1994 for a local customer. The similarities in design and construction between this skiff and the one built thirty-five years earlier by his father are obvious. With the exception of modern stainless fasteners . . . — — Map (db m176487) HM
George Pope Butler built this rowing skiff at the Reedville Railway about 1960 for a resident of Reedville. It was donated to the Museum by the original owner in 2016. A hallmark of Butler skiffs is the joinery, with tolerances so close that it . . . — — Map (db m176491) HM
Following paramount chief Opechancanough’s 1644 organized attacks against the English colonists for encroaching on Indian lands, Governor William Berkeley led further military strikes against the Virginia Indians in July 1645, taking many prisoners. . . . — — Map (db m46718) HM
Originally known as Northumberland County Training School, this institution opened in 1917, under principal John M. Ellison. Local African Americans raised more than $7,000 to build the school and received additional funding from the Rosenwald Fund. . . . — — Map (db m22954) HM
This stack was constructed around 1902 by the Morris-Fisher Co. At the time it was the largest commercial fish processing plant in the United States. In 2011, after years of weather and extensive lightning damage, the stack was restored under the . . . — — Map (db m97781) HM
Elijah W. Reed, a New England ship captain, established the town in 1874 after building a factory here to process menhaden, a small bony fish rich in oil. Reedville soon became the center of the industry and home port to the Atlantic menhaden . . . — — Map (db m22959) HM
Until just after the middle of the twentieth century virtually every family living on or near the water had a boat of this type, often home built. They used it for transportation on the creeks, for hook and line fishing and for crabbing around the . . . — — Map (db m176490) HM
This skiff was the tender skiff for the Elva C which is the deck/pound net boat tied at the museum's dock.
She was built in 1972 by George Pope Butler at the Reedville Marine Railway, located on Main Street.
With the Elva C she was a . . . — — Map (db m176486) HM
The Lillian-B was designed and built by the volunteers of the Boat Shop at the Reedville Fisherman's Museum under the leadership of Jay Rohmann. This boat is a classic example of a traditional Chesapeake deadrise hull. This distinct type of . . . — — Map (db m176492) HM
The boat yard on Main Street in Reedville began operation in the late 1800s. In 1906, Samuel Obediah Butler, grandfather of the present owner, George M. Butler, bought the property with a partner. He became sole owner in 1920. There he and his son, . . . — — Map (db m176484) HM
The War of 1812. Impressment of Americans into British service and the violation of American ships were among the causes of America’s War of 1812 with the British, which lasted until 1815. Beginning in 1813, Virginians suffered from a British . . . — — Map (db m76404) HM
Boats of this type are used in the pound net industry. It is towed to the trap and one or several men use it to go inside the net that forms the pocket of the trap. Standing in this boat they pull the net up so that the fish are tightly contained. A . . . — — Map (db m176469) HM
