In 1777, John Paul Jones' Sloop of War Ranger was built near this site. It commemorates that historic ship and provides information about Jones, a founder of the US Navy.

The site also includes the Maine Sailors and Soldiers Memorial, created between 1924 and 1926. It is one of the finest sculptures by Bashka Paeff, who worked in the Boston area for more than 50 years. With its powerful, central figures of a woman and child, the sculpture's artistically-rendered and dramatic design represented a new imagery in war memorial sculpture that, even today, remains captivating and innovative.