The Historic Port of Washington Project is gearing up for its first lecture event presenting information about Washington’s maritime history and the town’s role in in regional and international commerce.

According to Dr. Mike McClure, a member of the project, scientist and historian, two lectures will be given: McClure will be telling the story of the early naval stores industry in North Carolina; and Douglas Alvord, a well known maritime artist, author and historian will speak about one of the most common work boats found in eastern North Carolina at the turn of the 20^th century.

“(Alvord) and I are hoping to pull back the veil of time so we can take a walk into the past and take a look at the waterfront commerce of the Port of Washington, and the early conveyances that were used like the workboats used to move things up and down the river. The Port of Washington was really a central entity in the commerce in eastern North Carolina,” McClure said.

Alvord’s lecture, titled “Sharpies of the Pamlico, the Little Boat That Could,” will be centered on some of his most recent work with the project. Alvord has built models of sharpie schooners, recreating a type of shallow-draft vessel that could be seen often in the harbor during the Washington’s heyday as a port city. Last December, Alvord also proposed the construction of a sharpie replica (about 20 feet in length) near the Washington waterfront to the City of Washington Tourism Development Authority.

In McClure’s lecture, titled “Treasures of the Long Leaf Pine: Naval Stores in Eastern North Carolina,” he will discuss how 90 percent the world’s consumption of naval stores products and components were produced in North Carolina. Naval stores are products used to ensure ships were waterproof and would not sink. The products were used to seal the spaces between planks used to build ships, according to McClure.

“The Port of Washington Project is interested in the history of the Port of Washington and the area, and it has a great deal of history, much of which has been underplayed and some forgotten,” McClure said. “The naval stores industry is a huge commercial enterprise that occurred back in the colonial days that brought considerable wealth (to the area). We’re just starting to put together exhibits of the famous people and famous things of the past and presenting pictures of what life was like in the past as far as how we lived here, worked here and survived here.”

Since last year, the project has yielded several creations that reflect the history of the area, including Alvord’s Port of Washington mural that was unveiled last year, as well as dioramas and displays that present different aspects of local history. The creations are on display at the project’s headquarters on Market Street in downtown Washington, according to McClure.

The lectures will begin at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Historic Port of Washington Center. The opportunity to sample McClure’s award-winning crab cakes, along with complimentary beverages, will be available for $10, according to Ray Midgett, chairman of the project.

The Historic Port of Washington Project is located at 132 South Market St. in downtown Washington. Tickets are available at the Turnage Theatre in downtown Washington. Call 252-946-2504 or email contact@hpow.org, for more information.