During the 19th century, Kennebunk’s shipping industry was world-renowned, exporting products such as cotton and ice blocks to foreign countries while launching ships from the Kennebunk River.

On Sunday, the Brick Store Museum will host a three-hour narrated tour entitled, “Shipbuilding Odyssey,” taking attendees by trolley to the remains of shipyards that were among the most admired in the industry.

“The size of the ships were just incredible,” said Cheryl Price, assistant director of the museum.

The tour, held from 12:30-5 p.m., will show the former Bourne & Kingsbury, Titcomb, and Clark shipyards, as well as Kennebunk Landing. The yards contributed to an estimated 1,000 ships built along the Kennebunk River from the late 18th to early 20th century, Price said.

Although many of the landings are inaccessible to visitors because of a lack of paths and steep walls along the river to prevent erosion, the lock gates that once enclosed ships to the yards can still be seen from a distance.

“The ships sailed to Liverpool, South America, the West Indies and others,” said Price, adding that by the time they reached South America, the ice blocks they carried would still be preserved from being covered in sawdust, a fact that surprises many visitors.

Ships like the 1837 Swiss Boy had a capacity of holding 250 tons of cargo, and much larger ones could hold nearly 1,000 tons, like the 1857 Arno, which was built on Kennebunk Landing and could hold 916 tons.

Shipmasters Nathaniel Lord Thompson and William Lord were among Kennebunk’s most successful shipbuilders. The two owned homes on Summer Street, kept in their families for generations, that still stand today.

In 1825, Lord constructed the building that now houses the Brick Store Museum. Price said descendants of the major shipbuilding families still live in Kennebunk to this day, and are members of the museum.

Builders used tools like a slick, a type of chisel; awls, a kind of drill; and mallets to construct the ships, according to Price.

“They would work from sunrise to sunset and usually only be given watered-down rum to drink,” said Price.

Those who dared to set sail for other countries could face dangerous circumstances, the consequences of which are shown by a piece of The Horace, on display in the museum:

Built in Scarborough with Captain Leander Foss of Kennebunkport as its commander, The Horace was bound for Liverpool in 1838 and had a mutiny on board. Two days after the mutineers were brought to a federal court for justice, the ship was run aground on Boothby’s Beach. The crew survived, but the ship did not.

“Foss had really bad luck,” said Price.

Paintings of 19th century ships such as the St. Mark, built in Bath in 1877 and led by Captain Daniel Dudley of Kennebunkport, and the Bornholm, built at Kennebunk Landing in 1841, are on display in the museum. The paintings hang next to portraits of Thompson and the Lord family.

Started in 2005, the tour was originally meant mainly for children. The first event consisted of visitors building small wooden ship models and sailing them down the Kennebunk River, in addition to the trolley tour.

Over time, though, the museum realized much of the enthusiasm for the tour came from adults, according to Price.

A special addition to the tour will be a private visit to the Kennebunkport Historical Society’s exhibition, “High Seas and a Safe Harbor: Kennebunkport’s Age of Sail.” Guests will see the 19-foot flag of the Ship Excelsior, a Chinese silk scroll with a portrait of a shipmaster’s son, half models and tools from the David Clark shipyard, and a painting of a 19th century cobra and mongoose in battle.

The afternoon concludes back at the museum at 4:30 p.m. for guests to enjoy refreshments and receive a commemorative souvenir. The museum’s newest heritage ornament, “Shipbuilding in the Kennebunks,” will also be available for purchase.

Reservations are required and accepted through Sunday, as space is limited, and the event sold out last year. To secure a spot for the tour, stop by the museum or call 985-4802. The cost is $30 per person and $25 for current museum members.

— Staff Writer Matt Kiernan can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 326, or at mkiernan@journaltribune.com.