In the center of Searsport, Maine, this nonprofit institution preserves the maritime and shipbuilding history of Searsport and the Maine coast. Founded in 1936, it is the state's oldest maritime museum and reflects a community long shaped by seafaring. Its campus, arranged like a small 19th-century seafaring village, includes thirteen historic and modern buildings, among them a sea captain's house, the 1845 Old Town Hall, and the First Congregational Church of Searsport. Its library, archives, and major photographic collection, including Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company glass plate negatives from 1909 to 1947, make it a key center for studying Penobscot Bay's maritime culture and regional life.