New England’s Gloucester Harbor took a step back in time Tuesday morning as workers lowered a replica of one of the most important ships in American history into its icy waters.

The 90-foot, mustard-yellow ship is a recreation of the Beaver, one of the whaling vessels infiltrated during the Boston Tea Party back on December 16, 1773.

The ship will eventually make its way to Fort Point Channel in Boston where a planned $27 million museum will commemorate the acts of early American colonists and Revolutionaries.

In time, the Beaver will be joined by replicas of Eleanor and Dartmouth, two other ships taken by storm on that fateful December night.

According to a report from Boston.com, it should take about two years before all the replicas are restored and the historic museum opens to the public.  

CC Flickr photo credit: Henry Zbyszynksi