Bath, Maine, U.S.A. – Docked along the Kennebec River in Bath is a replica of Virginia, the first English ship built in the Americas meant to sail the seas.
The impressive 51-foot ship is a slightly larger imitation of the original which was called a pinnace. The newer ship weighs 44,000 pounds compared to the original, which would have weighed 29,000 pounds.
The Virginia now serves as an educational space, allowing visitors to explore its history and learn its story.
The idea to build a replica of Virginia was brought about in 1997 by Jane Stevens, a historian from nearby Phippsburg. She co-founded the non-profit organization Maine’s First Ship to bring this largely forgotten part of Maine’s history to life.
After decades of work by local volunteers, the replicated ship was launched in 2022.
Frances South, a docent at the Maine’s First Ship museum, was involved in the launching of the Virginia.
“I’m still astounded by what they were able to achieve,” South said.
South explained that in the early 17th century, a lot of explorers from Europe wanted to reach the Pacific and Indian oceans seeking better financial opportunities. The Spanish had made their way as far north as North Carolina while the French settled in Canada.
John Popham of England saw an opportunity and put together a company to sell shares and finance two boats to go and start his own colony, the Popham settlement, in the future New England.
In 1607, the two ships left England and sailed to the Kennebec River, where they began looking for a safe spot that would be hidden from the Spanish. The ships settled at Fort St. George, where they later built the Virginia ship.
The bigger of the original two ships then sailed back to England while the other stayed at the Popham settlement. It wasn’t until 1620 that the storied ship Mayflower carried pilgrims from England to Plymouth, Massachusetts.
South recounted the “two main problems” with the Popham colony’s ship. The first was that the Kennebec River experienced a bad winter. Ice floes made a hole in the remaining boat.
The second problem was that by December, after only having arrived in August, they realized that they were not going to have enough food – a miscalculation that South said was an act of “unbelievable arrogance.”
The settlers asked the local Abanaki native Americans if they could help with more food, South said. But the natives who were aware of the way English people had historically treated them were not open to helping the colony, she said.
According to South, some settlers were sent back to England so they would not starve. The colony shipped them back with 32 spars of white pine wood, instructing them to stop at the Azores, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, and sell the valuable spars to buy food.
The Popham settlement was a “colossal failure,” according to South, except for the ship that they built in 1608 and named the Virginia. The ship was built for exploring Maine’s rocky coast and searching for the Northwest Passage as well as for gold, silver, copper and other metals.
Virginia was built before the colonists knew they were returning to England, yet survived the ocean-crossing back home following the end of the colony in October 1608.
After its return to England, South said, the ship went down the coast to what is now the state of Virginia.
“Investors bought the boat and sailed it to use in Jamestown, another English colony,” she said.
While the story of the Popham colony can be described both as one of ingenuity and “unbelievable arrogance,” the work of Maine’s First Ship to preserve this part of Maine’s history serves an important legacy.
Holly Hostettler-Davies is an Associate Editor with Youth Journalism International from Wales, UK.
Charlie Wallis-Martel is a Reporter with Youth Journalism International from Maine, U.S.A.
