Cox's Warehouse

Cox's Warehouse is valued for its historical association with local businessman, George A. Cox, its architecture and for its contribution to the streetscape along Shelburne’s historic Dock Street.

Cox's Warehouse was built for local businessman George A. Cox in 1902. This store, one hundred and sixty feet in length, served as a place of supply for the many American fishermen who came into this port, as well as supplying the shipyards around town. The office was headquarters for shipping, lumbering, fishing and shipbuilding. There was also a retail store in the building with a mail-order department included.

George A. Cox also owned, or had interest in, at least nineteen ships during the period from 1866 to 1917. Some of the vessels were used for fishing and some carried freight to Barbados, Cuba, Santo Domingo and various other ports.

Cox's Warehouse is a three-and-a-half storey wooden Greek Revival style building. It sits on a granite block foundation and has a medium pitch gable roof. This building was the setting for the movie, "A, The Scarlet Letter" and was modified at that time to portray a meeting house on the outside by adding a steeple. The steeple still remains.

This large building is set directly on Dock Street, facing south. This was a convenient location on the waterfront as it was close to the fishing and shipbuilding activities that were conducted there. The building is presently owned by the Shelburne Historical Society.