Virginia of Sagadahoc

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Virginia of Sagadahoc was a pinnace built in 1607 by colonists at the Popham Colony, a Plymouth Company colony established at the mouth of the Kennebec River in what is now Phippsburg, Maine. Virginia was the first ship built by English colonists in Maine, and may be the first in North America.

When the colony failed in 1608, Virginia was one of the vessels to carry the surviving colonists back to England. Records suggest that Virginia made at least one other Atlantic crossing, from England to the more successful Jamestown Settlement. The ship disappears from records in 1610.

Virginia was a pinnace of approximately 30 tons capacity. While little is known about the details of its architecture, written accounts of the colony and other historical records of similar ships suggest that Virginia was somewhat less than 50' (15m) long, with a beam of 14'6" (4.42m). She had a flush main deck, drew approximately 6'6" (2m) fully loaded, and would have a freeboard of less than 2' (0.6m).

A non-profit organisation, Maine's First Ship has been formed to build a reconstruction of Virginia in the grounds of Maine Maritime Museum in Bath, Maine. The organization educates people about the role Maine played in early American and European history, the 400 year tradition of ship-building, and archaeology.