Eastern Shore Maritime Museum

10/19/2026

Special Request -
Good afternoon everyone,
I have a special request that I hope some of you would be able to help me with. This is particularly targeted to folks in the Menhaden industry, whether Omega or some of the individual poundnetters.
I was recently contacted by a young lady by the name of Natalie Peoples, and she is a photo journalism student at George Washington University. She asked me if I would help her connect with folks in the industry, as she wanted to do her senior project in that arena. I asked her to contact me via phone, and we spoke this morning. She made it abundantly clear that she does not have a position on the industry, one way or the other, but that she was just fascinated by the story and, quite frankly, the debate.
All of you know that I am very pro-Menhaden industry, generally speaking, and have fought that battle for years. If you are in the industry, Natalie would really like the opportunity to connect with you and to hear your perspective on this debate. It seems like we spend a lot of time battling this issue online, and I'm not sure that has a lot of value. But here is a chance for you to work with, or at least talk with, a young person, a young lady who just wants to know more about the industry and your perspective.
I would really encourage you, if you are so moved, to contact her and see if you can help her in any way possible. My brief conversation with Madly tells me that she is very sincere and really wants to learn more about your perspective. This would be a very worthwhile endeavor, and, quite frankly, I think it could potentially be some even positive publicity.
In any event, I am not involved in this in any way other than just having been someone that she contacted. I have pasted her request below, which includes her email address if you are so inclined to help her. I hope all is well, and I wish you a great rest of your Monday.
From Natalie:
“I’m working on a project about menhaden and their importance to watermen and maritime traditions around the Chesapeake Bay. I’m hoping to connect with watermen to hear about their experiences on the water, their perspectives about menhaden, and potentially photographing work on the water. If you’d be interested in talking with me, please feel free to reach out at [email protected]. Thank you!”
Sincerely,
Natalie

09/11/2026

Good afternoon, everyone.

It has been some time since we posted an update from the Eastern Shore Maritime Museum, and I want to let everyone know where we stand following the fire—and where we plan to go from here.

As many of you will recall, a fire occurred at the historic Onancock School this past January. Fortunately, with the exception of the loss of our bookstore, the museum itself was largely unaffected, and our artifacts and historical materials were not damaged. However, the building has remained closed since January, and we still do not have access to the museum space.

Throughout the summer, the staff at the Historic Onancock School have kept us informed about the renovation work. Although progress is being made, we learned again this week that the work remains behind schedule, and we still do not know when we will be able to return.

This is understandably frustrating, particularly because we continue to pay rent while receiving no museum revenue. Nevertheless, we know that the people at the Historic Onancock School are doing everything they can to get us back into the building as soon as possible.

Today, I want to share two important messages.

First and foremost: The Eastern Shore Maritime Museum is not closing.

It is absolutely our intention to reopen as soon as the building renovations are complete—whenever that may be. We remain fully dedicated to Virginia’s Eastern Shore and to preserving and sharing its maritime heritage. That commitment is why we established the museum and our organization in the first place, and it remains as strong as ever.

Second, although we have been unable to use the museum for many months, we have not been idle.

For several years, I have been working to create a public, searchable database containing information, photographs, and historical details about Chesapeake Bay commercial vessels. This work represents one of our organization’s most important preservation efforts. We have already collected information about thousands of vessels, although there is still a great deal of work ahead.

Today, I am pleased to share an early public version of that database:

https://chesapeake-vessel-index.plewell.chatgpt.site/

This is a live, searchable resource that allows visitors to search for vessels and sort the available records using several different criteria. Please understand that the site remains a very rough work in progress. It is far from complete, and many vessel records have not yet been entered. If you search for a particular boat and do not find it, please do not assume that we have no information about it. I am simply very far behind in entering the material we have collected!

Thanks to advances in technology and several new research and data-management techniques, I expect the database to grow much more quickly over the coming months. Reaching the point where we can make this information publicly searchable is a major step forward, and we are very excited about its potential.

Some vessel records also include links to photographs. For many years, I have searched publicly available online sources—including pages and groups—to locate and preserve historical photographs of Chesapeake Bay boats. Our goal has been to develop a publicly accessible photographic archive before these images and the information connected to them are lost.

Determining the original source of a photograph shared online can sometimes be extremely difficult. However, we are committed to giving proper credit whenever the photographer or owner can be identified. As this project develops, we will ask the community to help us identify photographs and their sources. If you recognize one of your photographs—or one for which you know the original source—please contact us so that we can add the appropriate credit.

The Eastern Shore Maritime Museum, formally the Eastern Shore Waterman’s Heritage Foundation of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. No individual profits from this work. As we sometimes joke, we established ourselves as a nonprofit years ago, and we have certainly lived up to that description!

Our purpose is simple: to collect, preserve, and freely share the remarkable maritime history of Virginia’s Eastern Shore and the greater Chesapeake Bay region.

It is our goal for this database and its associated collections to remain free and publicly available in perpetuity. We also intend to ensure that the Eastern Shore Public Library and the Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center have access to these materials so that the collection can survive well into the future.

Over the next several months, we will continue reaching out to watermen, vessel owners, builders, maritime families, historians, and community members for additional information. If you search the database and find something missing or believe that a record needs to be corrected or expanded, please send us an email or Facebook message. We will gladly review, verify, and update the information.

Although our roots are firmly planted on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, this project encompasses commercial vessels from throughout the Chesapeake Bay, including Maryland and Virginia’s Western Shore. This is a shared regional heritage, and we want the database to reflect the full breadth of that story.

So, the most important message is this: We are still here. We are continuing our work. We remain committed to reopening the museum, and we will return as soon as we are able, bigger, better, and prepared to do even more than we have done in the past.

Thank you for your patience, encouragement, and continued support. We hope you enjoy exploring this very early version of the vessel database, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Have a wonderful Friday afternoon and a wonderful weekend!

Paul and the Board of the Eastern Shore Maritime Museum

Search 3,742 Chesapeake Bay commercial vessel records by name, place, builder, owner, use, dimensions, registry number, and more.

08/22/2026

We are set up at the Sam Outlaw Museum here in Onancock. Please come visit. If we can't get in our museum yet, we can still hang out on the lawn!

05/26/2026

**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**

**Eastern Shore Maritime Museum Plans to Reopen Following Fire-Related Closure**

Onancock, Virginia — The Eastern Shore Maritime Museum remains committed to reopening after a temporary closure earlier this year due to a fire at the Historic Onancock School.

The unexpected closure has presented significant challenges as restoration and repair efforts continue. Despite these circumstances, museum leadership is actively working toward reopening and restoring operations as soon as it is safely and feasibly possible.

We deeply appreciate the support, patience, and kind messages we have received during this difficult time. The encouragement from our community has meant a great deal as we navigate this process.

While repairs are still underway, the museum is optimistic about reopening in the near future. Plans are also being developed to introduce new and dynamic programming, offering engaging experiences for visitors when operations resume.

An official reopening date will be announced once it is confirmed.

The Eastern Shore Maritime Museum extends its sincere thanks to the community for their continued support and looks forward to welcoming visitors back soon.

Paul, Jamie, and Sandra

02/06/2026

Good morning, everyone — I hope you’re all staying warm in these frigid temperatures. I’ve heard this weekend may be even colder, and I’ll be more than ready when spring finally arrives.

I’m writing to share a brief update on the Eastern Shore Maritime Museum, located in the Historic Onancock School, following last weekend’s fire. While I can’t share many details at this time, I do want to reassure you that we remain hopeful the museum will continue to operate — and, in time, continue to grow — once repairs to the building are completed.

We were very fortunate that the museum itself sustained little to no damage. Our space is located on the opposite corner of the building from where the fire occurred, and our collections and materials appear to be safe. However, we know others in the building were not as fortunate, especially those closest to where the fire originated. We’re expecting a two-to-three month recovery process, and those impacted most directly will need every bit of support our community can offer.

To everyone who reached out — through Facebook messages, emails, texts, and conversations — thank you. The outpouring of concern, encouragement, and offers of help has been nothing short of extraordinary. If I haven’t responded to every message individually yet, please know this: we have seen them, we are grateful, and your support means more than you can imagine.

For the past 15 years, this little museum has worked diligently to preserve the remarkable maritime heritage of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. We believe deeply that this history matters — and we do not want to see it lost. Like many small museums, we’ve faced challenges throughout our existence, and we’ve also been blessed by the dedication of outstanding founding board members. We’ve lost several of those influential leaders in recent years, and we feel that absence keenly — but we remain committed to carrying their legacy forward.

For now, the museum will remain closed while repairs and restoration move ahead. Our hope is that later this spring, the Historic Onancock School will reopen restored — not just repaired, but renewed — full of energy, purpose, and hope for the future.

In the meantime, please hang in there with us. And when I say “us,” I mean everyone connected to the Historic Onancock School — not only the Eastern Shore Maritime Museum. Any support, assistance, and encouragement you can offer during this recovery period will make a real difference as we work toward reopening and getting back on our feet. And above all, we believe that prayers are always heard.

Thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for standing with us. And, if you don't want to do it for me, please do it for those lovely roundsterns. They need us.

— Dr. Paul L. Ewell

01/24/2026

The museum and bookstore will not be open today due to the weather. We hope everyone stays safe and warm!

01/03/2026

Unfortunately, the museum and bookstore will not be open today. Bestie and I had a good time on our Christmas trip to North Carolina, but we brought back a souvenir....the flu. We apologize and hope to reopen next weekend. We hope you have a great weekend. Now, Nyquil.

12/27/2025

The museum will be closed today.

12/20/2025

The museum and bookstore will be open today from 10 until 2. Great deals on books and the heat is on!