NEWBURYPORT — The Custom House Maritime Museum’s collection of artifacts and curiosities was recently augmented by the recent arrival of a small boat dating back to the early 20th century.
The boat, a United States Lighthouse Society tender likely dating back to the early 1900s, can be found in the Water Street museum’s basement – at least for now.
The approximately 12½-foot-long tender has “U.S.L.H.S” stamped on the bow and would have been used to transport keepers to and from a lighthouse, according to museum Director James Russell.
The acquisition came to be after Andy Jacobsen, a Massachusetts-based antique dealer, visited the Custom House in 2024 and offered to sell the boat to the museum.
“As we toured the Coast Guard Gallery, he noted that he had a tender,” Russell said. “He told me the importance of this tender, said it was unique.
“When he said it was unique, I took that that was a serious comment by him because he’s quite careful in how he describes his artifacts and related items. And, he said it would be perfect for the museum,” Russell said, referring to the first-floor exhibit space.
Russell said the uniqueness of the boat is “terrific” and based on research conducted by museum staff, he believes it could be the only artifact of its kind in the area and possibly throughout the country.
“This is the only one that we’re aware of and we’ve searched online. Maybe in the Great Lakes there may be a tender like this. But nothing is popping up that we’re seeing. And, certainly in the East Coast, at the maritime museums, there’s no example. So that’s terrific and we’re really excited about that,” he said.
So the Custom House purchased the boat and then contacted Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, which worked to preserve the tender.
Lowell’s Executive Director Graham McKay said he and his team painted the boat and filled in cracks and rotten spots while being careful not to substantially alter the vessel.
“We just did what we would call a shave and a haircut on it to make it aesthetically better. But we didn’t do anything major to it, and that is on purpose. With something like this, you don’t really want to get into the actual historic fabric of it. You just want to clean it up and not do anything that’s going to detract from the historic significance of it,” he said.
Now, the tender has finally made its way to the Custom House where it is temporarily residing in the Discovery Center until it will be moved to the Coast Guard Gallery later this winter.