Join Ghlee Woodworth for a visual tour of shipbuilding and shipyards from Joppa to upper Merrimack Street. For more than 170 years from the 1700’s to the mid-1800’s, Newburyport’s commerce rivaled Salem and Boston, and wharves along the Merrimack River produced more ship tonnage than any other seaport on the East Coast. Vessels built in Newburyport were known around the world for their expert workmanship; out-of-state and foreign investors eagerly bought interests on Newburyport vessels. Hear the stories and see images of the wharves, businesses, and people along the Newburyport waterfront.

A native of Newburyport and descendant of a first settler of Newbury, Ghlee worked in academia and the Peace Corps before returning home to become a local historian. Her first book, Tiptoe Through the Tombstones, has won a number of awards. She created and designed an award-winning on-line series of self-guided history tours – Clipper Heritage Trail – and is in the process of writing a book about the trail and the hidden history of Newburyport. She has guided countless tours and made numerous presentations; she’s been involved in several gravestone restoration projects in Newburyport and other communities; and she has helped raise funds for gravestone restoration and for Newburyport’s historic Brown Chapel.

Spaces in the refuge’s 85-seat auditorium will be filled on a first come, first served basis. This free program is co-sponsored by the Friends of Parker River NWR and the Parker River NWR. NO preregistration for this program.