Maine State Museum, Augusta, Maine

During our recent trip to Maine we visited the Maine State Museum in Augusta to learn about Maine's contribution to shipbuilding and the fishing industry. Known for its Maine lobsters, its fishing industry is an important aspect of Maine life.

St. Mary Model

The St. Mary was built in Phippsburg, Maine in 1890, and was the next-to-last wooden square rigged ship built in America. The cost to build the ship was $120,000. That's a lot of money for 1890. She weighed over 2,000 tons and was 246 feet long.

Starboard hull fragment from the St. Mary

The St. Mary ran aground on her maiden voyage after being at sea for only five months in the Falkland Islands, following a midnight collision with another vessel. The St. Mary was built to carry heavy cargo and weather difficult passage to and from the West Coast via Cape Horn. After outfitting and taking on cargo in New York, the St. Mary enjoyed nice weather until she approached the treacherous waters of Cape Horn. It was there that she collided with the ship Magellan of Boston. While the Magellan sank immediately, the St. Mary steered eastward toward the Falkland Islands. Four days later she was driven ashore on reefs about 30 miles from Port Stanley. 

The two sections of the ship in the above pictures remained beached at Kelp Lagoon until the winter of 1978 when the National Maritime Historical Society and the Maine State Museum salvaged it for exhibition at the museum.

Shipbuilding has always been one of Maine's most basic industries. In fact, construction of vessels was Maine's leading manufacture during during the period 1800 to 1850. In the age of wooden sailing ships, the coast of Maine was home to many shipyards and the world's oceans had many Maine-built ships.

The First English settlement in New England 1607-1608. England's presence in North America dates from 1497 when John Cabot reached these shores. But the English were slow to claim land in the New World. The Spanish moved into the southeastern part of the continent, which they called Florida. The French explored Canada. England finally claimed the coast in between and named it Virginia.

By the 1570s, rumors in Europe told of a fabulous land, Norumbega, where the inhabitants wore rich furs and adorned themselves with pearls and ornaments of gold and silver. Norumbega lay along the coast of England's northern Virginia, in present-day New England. The rumors spurred English interest but early attempts to colonize Virginia failed. 

In 1607, England launched a coordinated effort to settle both the northern and southern parts of its vast Virginia lands. The group of 104 men and boys who sailed south landed along Chesapeake Bay and established Jamestown, the first permanent English colony. The group of about 120 men and boys sent north came to the mouth of the Kennebec River -- called the Sagadahoc by the English -- and established the Popham Colony. 

The first ship launched in Maine was built by the settlers of Popham Colony in 1607. In 1607 England sent a group of men and boys to Chesapeake Bay and established Jamestown, the first permanent English Colony. They also sent a group to the mouth of the Kennebec River and established the Popham Colony. The Popham Colony was abandoned in the fall of 1608. 

One of the few successes of the Popham Colony was the building of a small ship which they named Virginia. Although designed for exploring coastal waters, she carried some of the colonists back to England in the fall of 1608 when the colony was abandoned. The following year, she was sent to Jamestown with a resupply fleet, thus completing another transatlantic voyage and demonstrating her seaworthiness. 

The Legacy of the Popham Colony ~~ The Popham Colony was abandoned in the fall of 1608. It failed for a variety of reasons. The colonists blamed it on the harsh weather, "Our hopes were frozen to death," lamented Sir Ferdinando Gorges, one of the backers. But the disappointing lack of precious minerals and loss of their leaders, George Popham and Raleigh Gilbert, sealed the fate of the venture. Nevertheless, the seed had been planted and the English realized that the region's real economic potential lay in fishing and shipbuilding. A new impetus for English colonization came with Captain John Smith, who sailed along the coast in 1614 and published his famous map that extolled the virtues of what he renamed New England. As a result, Sir Ferdinando Gorges formed the Council of New England. The Council further advanced English settlement by granting a patent to the Pilgrims for their colony at Plymouth a few years later. 

Virginia

A scale model, shown rigged for coastal exploration and trade, as researched and interpreted by the organization Maine's First Ship.

Nearly three centuries later the Phippsburg Shipyard of Charles V. Minott launched the last two wooden square-rigged ships built in North America, the St. Mary and The Aryan. 

Sardines from Maine

Cutting sardines

Cutting sardines means sizing the fish to fit the cans, while removing the heads and tails. Since packers were usually paid by how many cans they packed, speed was of the essence. Fingers were taped to protect them from the sharp scissors used in this cutting process.

Maine's State Animal -- the Moose

This picture of a Moose is the only Moose we have seen since arriving in Maine. We looked all over, but never saw one. The Moose was chosen as Maine's state animal in 1979. It is Maine's largest animal weighing in at between 900 to 1100 pounds. Its antlers reach 7 feet across and weight 75 pounds. A Moose can eat up to 60 pounds of vegetation per day.



Quote for the day: "In nature nothing exists alone." ~~ Rachael Carson