Mathews Maritime Foundation
Museum & Boat Shop
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Discover local heritage.
Saturday, Sept. 30, 2023, 10AM-4PM


This year's Mathews Maritime Heritage Festival will take place simultaneously at 2 locations, the Museum on Main Street, and the Gwynn's Island Boat Shop on Old Ferry Road. There will be music, food, activities and exhibits, storytelling, boats, and lots of local maritime culture and history.

Events and vendors are listed below, and we encourage you to visit both locations.

Gwynn's Island Boat Shop:


Boat building + Oar making

Larry Chowning Book-signing

Historic deck boat Peggy of New Point

Gilbert Klingel's Freya at the dock

Antique Outboard Motor collection

The Yellow Submarine

Oyster Spat - Oyster Seedlings, LLC

Oyster harvesting + grilling - Salty Bottom Oysters

Life Jackets for Kids

BoatShop Directions

Maritime Musuem:


Benjamin Trask signing his book Lighthouses of Hampton Roads, A History

Gilbert Klingel's Green Heron

Backwoods BBQ + Country music by John Atkinson and Hunter Owens

Boats for Sale

Model Boat Display

Mathews Maritime Memberships

Blueways Trails Information

Horn Harbor Marina

Colonial Seaport

USCGA 66 - Knots and lines

Child Boating Safety

Oyster Tonging

Gutter Boat Races

Race to Wolf Trap

YMCA's Message in a Bottle

Museum Directions


Need to reach the Foundation? Contact info is located at the bottom of the page.
We look forward to seeing you there!


Boatbuilding Saturdays

The work continues every weekend at the Gwynn's Island Boat Shop with ongoing boat restoration and repair, as well as boat building projects. Friday and Saturday mornings. Stop in and try your hand. All skill levels welcome.

The latest →

Jim Brown — Beyond Mainstream

Friends of Jim Brown celebrated his 90th birthday with the launch of a new website including photos, videos, articles to document the adventures of this sailor, marine designer, multihull pioneer.

Go there →



Donor Boats for Sale

  • Reconditioned rowing dory, w/oars
  • 1970ish Custom fiberglass fishing
  • Polar craft aluminum, w/trailer



Boatbuilders Then & Now

Brown, Colvin, Deagle, Diggs, Hudgins, Klingel, and Schlenk - boatbuilders of Mathews County, VA. Can you help us identify others and tell their stories?



DVDs, Books & More

Support the foundation by shopping online.



Museum Artifacts & More

2800+ local artifacts and exhibits like The Steamboat Era in Mathews, our museum has a lot to offer. Open May-Nov.


Your support funds educational programs, restores historic boats, and preserves the maritime history of Mathews Co.

Tax deductible donations can be made by cash, check, or PayPal. MMF also maintains a profile with the Community Foundation at connectVA.org.


Secured by PayPal

Volunteers Wanted

  • Stop in Saturdays at 10AM, Gwynn's Island Boat Shop. Help or just observe boat repair and restoration projects. All skill levels welcome. More info here...

  • Our deck boat Peggy of New Point is in need of a steady crew to maintain and transport her to various maritime events around the Bay.

  • Gil Klingel’s Green Heron and Freya - volunteers needed to give both boats extensive restoration.

    Contact John Bonner to participate. Check out the latest Freya update here.

  • Help us set up displays at the museum.

  • Consider being a docent - don't worry, we will train.

  • We are currently looking for a suitable site for a new museum. At some point will need individuals who can assist with site planning, fund raising and grant writing.

Contact us to volunteer and for more information.
Purchase DVD

Klingel Film Wins Platinum Remi

Documentary “Gilbert Klingel: Man of Steel” is winning awards. The Houston International Worldfest Film Festival, Texas. Read more...

Klingel History - His life and accomplishments

Purchase the DVD online


Gwynn’s Island boat builder, Gilbert Klingel, featured in Chesapeake Bay Magazine

"In 1951, several nature writers were captivating readers with books that would endure for generations. Rachel Carson opened our eyes to the oceans’ wonders. Thor Heyerdahl thrilled us with his tale of South Seas bravery aboard a log raft. And Gilbert Klingel, a lesser known but no less knowledgeable author, took us where no one else had gone before and lived to tell of it: to the bottom of Chesapeake Bay..."

Click here to read the full story from April 2021 →



Mathews Maritime Museum
482 Main St.
Mathews, VA 23109


Open MAY-NOVEMBER,
Fridays & Saturdays, 10am-2pm

Google Maps
(804) 725-4444

Email

Mailing address:

Mathews Maritime Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 1201
Mathews, VA 23109-1201

Gwynn's Island Boat Shop
Boat slips available.

Call Mike
Email Boat Shop


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