THE STORY
Reported Haunting
The surviving Percy & Small Shipyard is associated with both documented industrial tragedy and unexplained activity reported by museum staff. Paranormal stories connected with the historic Mill, Paint & Treenail Shop, and surrounding shipyard grounds are featured on the Maine Maritime Museum's Dead Reckoning tours, which recount deaths, gruesome workplace accidents, and hauntings said to have occurred within the same historic spaces.
The historic Percy & Small Shipyard operated along the Kennebec River from 1894 to 1920 and produced some of America's largest wooden sailing vessels, including the six-masted schooner Wyoming. Several original shipyard buildings survive as part of the Maine Maritime Museum, including the Mill & Joiner Shop, Paint & Treenail Shop, Mould Loft, and Caulking Shed. Shipbuilding in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was dangerous work, and historical records document serious injuries and deaths associated with Bath's shipyards. Museum staff have also collected reports of unexplained activity within the preserved shipyard. The museum's Dead Reckoning tours lead visitors through the historic buildings and restricted areas while recounting documented accidents, deaths, and unexplained hauntings reported in the same spaces.