Recently, my family and I were able to set sail on the Lewis H. Story, thanks to the Mount Desert Island Historical Society.  But first, a little back story about the Lewis H. Story –

In 1762, Abraham Somes, his wife Hannah, and four young daughters, Hannah, Patty, Lucy, and Prudence, sailed from Gloucester, Mass., in a Chebacco boat. They were pioneers in the settlement of Mount Desert Island. With the support of the Essex Shipbuilding Museum in Massachusetts, the Mount Desert Island Historical Society recreated that early voyage aboard the Lewis H. Story, an authentic reproduction of a thirty-two-foot Chebacco boat, a common working vessel of the 18th and 19th centuries. The Lewis H. Story was built in 1998 at the historic Essex shipyard of Harold Burnham.

The Lewis H. Story was docked at Clifton Dock in Northeast Harbor and we set out on a 3 hour sail past Bear Island Lighthouse and Sutton Island, then circled back.  The masts were solid wood and larger round than any I’ve  ever seen.  The cabin quarters were very tight and basic.  It was amazing to think that 6 people, cows and sheep were all able to travel together in this wooden boat from Massachusetts to Maine.   Here’s a link to some other fun photos of her time in town – The Lewis H. Story – and some more information from the Essex Shipbuilding Museum.