Blue Hill Maritime Heritage Festival

08/20/2026

It was a good one, 500+ visitors would agree. Lots of sunshine and smiling faces, a real fun summer day by the bay. Thanks to all to volunteered, sponsored, exhibited, boated, painted, played music...you get the idea.
Looks like the tide is pretty good on Saturday, August 14, 2027...we'll see.

08/14/2026

08/13/2026

This just appeared on the town wharf, along with an early visitor. So something must be happening soon!

08/13/2026

The Maritime Heritage and history of our area is full of both the everyday labors of the sailors or the merchants - but also full of seemingly unbelievable tales. Today we wanted to share another high seas story with you today!

In 1847, a barque named Sarah E. Snow was lost at sea near Ireland while delivering supplies (corn and meal) during the potato famine. The only survivor of the wreckage was one, Melitiah K. Chase (1823-1884), the youngest on board the vessels. He floated on the wreck for three days without food or water before being rescued by local fishermen.

Surviving the wreck and healing from a body wracked with fever, it took Melitiah many weeks to return home to Blue Hill. Eventually, he was able to do so, with little means to send word homeward quickly. The story goes that he walked back into town during the Congregational Church service – right into a memorial for the lost sailors of the Sarah E. Snow. Melitiah would go on to become a successful sea Captain to many vessels and a merchant in his own right through many adventures – but he always would say that “Danger always trails a deep-water sailor” and that the sea is to be respected for both its beauty and its fierceness.

So, let’s take a moment to remember that our Maritime Heritage is full of a fierce beauty all its own. So come on down and celebrate this trait with us. We hope to see you at the Maritime Festival this weekend – 10 to 3pm!

08/12/2026

We just cannot wait to see you at the Maritime Festival this weekend! Both past and present will be in the mix and we hope you’ll walk away with a few sailor tales of your own. For today’s countdown post, we wanted to highlight a tale from local history.

Reuben George Washington Dodge (1815-1886) was the son of Reuben Dodge and Sally Peters, the combination of two powerful families in the shipbuilding days. R.G.W. Dodge was a surveyor, an investor in many ships, and even himself a shipbuilder. His family lived on his father’s homestead along Parker Point Road, where he had his Shipyard located.

Being a tad inland, transporting the schooners and barques to and from Dodge’s Shipyard required a little creativity. According to local tales, to bring Nehemiah Hinckley II’s schooner to launch, 200 yokes of local oxen were used to haul it over icy roads. Mr. Hinckley provided a keg of rum and Mrs. Hinckley cooked up a storm. Upon its unorthodox arrival, RGW Dodge loaded her with lumber and off it went to Cuba.

On the day of the festival, we hope you’ll swing by our various museums in attendance and perhaps walk away with more strange sea tales!

08/11/2026

We’re getting so much closer to the Festival! We hope that you’ll join us this weekend for some great food, great experiences and great organizations all showing what makes our Maritime Heritage so great.

Something not to miss in particular is the Susan Skiff from the Apprentice Shop that will be in fine form the day of the Festival. Susan Skiffs are classics in the water and are great examples of the foundational skills that go into more complex boat designs. So stop by the Festival and take a gander at this living piece of Maritime history! Hope to see you there!

08/10/2026

Don’t forget that this week we will have a seaworthy talk by Captain Daniel Parrott about the historic and present-day Baltimore Clipper ships, at the Blue Hill Public Library. This Wednesday at 7pm! We hope that you’ll join us in our lead-up for the Maritime Festival! For more information, please visit the Blue Hill Public Library’s website: https://bhpl.libcal.com/event/16614414

08/09/2026

Coming Soon to the Maritime Festival: Rebel Daughter!

Rebel Daughter is Jean Frances Pauly and Azure Daniels. Daughters of a freight hopper and lighthouse keeper, these sisters in song only answer to the call of the siren and high lonesome cry of the rails. Hailing from New England and the Midwest these songstresses blend their voices in haunting harmonies and fierce melody accompanied by acoustic guitar and banjo licks with occasional appearances by the ukulele, washboard and harmonica. Traditional old time music sound, with elements of Americana, blue grass, and country.

See you there!

08/08/2026

We’re only seven days away from the Maritime Festival! Oh gosh! If you haven't already, take a peek at our website to see a detailed look at the Festival day itself: https://bhmhf.org/

We hope that you’ll be able to join us! 🚣🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️🚣🏻