The building of sailing ships in Mathews began in colonial times and the Revolutionary War increased the need for them. Shipbuilding was the major industry of Mathews from the American Revolution until before the Civil War.

Schooners were the workhorses of the Chesapeake Bay beginning in the 1700's, and many were built up to 1900. Before the Civil War, more sailing vessels were built in Mathews County than in any part of Virginia during the period of wooden ship construction.

According to research done by Peter J. Wrike, there were at one time at least six shipyards on the East River. Before 1860 shipbuilding sites also existed on Blackwater Creek, Cobbs Creek, Winter Harbor, Milford Haven, North River, Pepper Creek, Point Breeze, Put-In Creek, Sloop Creek and Stutts Creek.

The shipbuilding trade often passed from father to son for several generations, including the families of Ashberry, Gayle, Billups, Hudgins, Hunley, Miller, Smith and others.

In addition to building ships, many Mathews men made their living on the water as merchant mariners, watermen, and in the nation's coast guard and navy. It is said that in ports around the world rarely did a U.S. ship come in that didn't have at least one Mathews County man among her crew.

Our logo, from a drawing by author and historian Peter J. Wrike, is of the schooner "Experiment" built on the East River in 1808. It is typical of the more than 2,000 seagoing vessels built in Mathews during the 18th and 19th centuries.