Edna Lockwood, the last historic sailing bugeye in the world, will be visiting the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum on July 6-8 as part of a National Park Service-funded heritage tour around the Chesapeake Bay. As part of her visit, Pete Lesher will be presenting a free lecture at the Maritime Museum on Sunday, July 7 at 7:00 p.m.

Pete Lesher is chief curator at Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, where he has served on staff since 1991 and now oversees museum collections, exhibitions, and programs. He graduated Lafayette College, holds an MA in history from Columbia University, and studied maritime history at Mystic Seaport’s Munson Institute for American Maritime Studies. His research specialty is the history of wooden shipbuilding on Chesapeake Bay, and he served as the maritime preservationist specialist on the team that restored the museum’s bugeye, Edna E. Lockwood, from 2016 to 2018.

Built in 1889 by John B. Harrison on Tilghman Island for Daniel W. Haddaway, Edna Lockwood dredged for oysters on the Chesapeake Bay through winter, and carried freight – such as lumber, grain, and produce – after the dredging season ended. She worked faithfully for many owners, mainly out of Cambridge, MD, until she stopped “drudging” in 1967. In 1973, Edna was donated to the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum by John R. Kimberly. Recognized as the last working oyster boat of her kind, Edna Lockwood was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1994.

Owned and operated by the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Edna Lockwood recently underwent a two-year restoration of her nine-log hull. She was re-launched into the Miles River in St. Michaels, MD, in fall of 2018. This summer and fall, Edna is traveling to ports around the Bay, bringing free experiential programming and interpretation of traditional Chesapeake Bay boat-building techniques and the oystering industry past and present.

During her stay in Havre de Grace, CBMM staff members will offer free deck tours, giving guests a chance to explore the bugeye while she’s docked. For additional details on Edna’s visit to Havre de Grace, call (410) 939-4800. To learn more about Edna Lockwood and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, including a full list of stops on Edna’s heritage tour, visit: www.cbmmshipyard.org/ednalockwood.