Trying to stump Seth Mendell on Mattapoisett history is about as useful a pastime as training to tell Steven Spielberg how to direct a blockbuster.

"It's just who I am," said Mendell of his historical leanings.

The first Mendell arrived in Rochester in 1680, and Seth can trace his Mattapoisett roots to at least five generations.

The Town Historian since 2011 and long-time president of the Mattapoisett Historical Society, Seth and his wife Alice are preparing to move to Florida, but he’s not history yet.

Born during the Depression in 1933, Seth spent his first three years in Mattapoisett until his father took a professorship at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

“In the summers we came back up here, so I never lost touch with Mattapoisett,” he said.

Although Seth’s father taught English, he also had a passion for his hometown’s history, from the family’s ancestry to the shipping industry.

As a young man, Seth admits he didn’t have much of an interest in history. After returning from the service and marrying his wife, Seth applied for an English teaching job at Avon Old Farms School in Connecticut. He was given a history position instead.

“That’s how I really got into history,” said Seth. “Teaching it for 31 years and having Mattapoisett history in my background anyway, I fell into it.”

During summers in Mattapoisett, Seth’s dad would bring him to the newly built Carriage House where the Mattapoisett History Museum was being set up.

“It seemed every weekend we drove up to visit, my father dragged me to the Carriage House in the hot summer weather to move various objects to set up the exhibits and the artifacts,” he said. “It was in my blood, this museum.”

When Seth retired from 31 years of teaching in 1990, he and Alice moved to Mattapoisett full-time. He joined the historical society board in 1991 and became the president in 1996.

Even if he hadn’t been given the official title of Town Historian, Seth would be the de facto choice. Over the years, his well-attended lectures have covered everything from the whaling industry to his recent Labor Day talk on the 1938 Hurricane at Shipyard Park.

For a small town, Seth has found an inexhaustible supply of history.

“We are so rich in our local history. This town, if you could tent it, you could charge admission at the door. We live in a museum,” said Seth.

But his love of the town isn’t strictly academic. Seth is also a sailor and a craftsman.

He spent his summers as a young man working at Burr Brothers, now Mattapoisett Boaryard, and worked the launch for 20 years. He also crafted his own 37-foot boat.

Although he will miss the harbor, the historical society, and the Mattapoisett Library (he is also a member of the trust), Seth said the time is right for moving south.

“Alice and I both feel it’s time to move and get away from the harshness of New England winters,” he said.

He’s still working on at least three historical books related to the area, and the Mendells will be back for the summers.

“I’m not bailing out,” said Mendell. “I’m not closing the lid on the coffin yet.”

The public is invited to the Mendells’ farewell at the Mattapoisett Historical Society’s annual meeting on Sunday, Sept. 29 at 2 p.m. at the museum. Jennifer McIntire will also be inducted as the new president at that time.

Mendell will also give a lecture on The Wanderer, the last whaling ship made in Mattapoisett, at the New Bedford Whaling Museum on October 7.