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COURTESY MAINE HISTORICA L SOC IETY
by Debor ah Marx n May 1889 the Portland Steam Packet Company contracted the New England Shipbui lding Company of Bath, Maine, to construct a new vessel for its line between Boston and Po rtland, Maine. At the time, travel by sea was faster and more reliable than by land. The steam er route between the two cities was not a new one-steamships began runs between the two ports in 1823 and regular passenger and freight service started in the 1860s. The Portland Steam Packet Company was formed from a consolidation of smaller ventures to better service the two ports . As the newly-formed co mpany gained popularity, more
luxurious vessels were added to the fleet to meet the growing demands of passengers. By 1889, the Portland Steam Packet Company was operating three steamships, the Tremont, j ohn Brooks, and Forest City. Prior to the 1889 season, the company identified the need to replace the john Brooks, which had been in service since 1867. In a
Top of Page: "SS Portland," c. 1891, by Antonio Jacobsen, oil on canvas, 56 x 92 cm. Left: Steamship Portland under construction in 1889 by the New England Shipbuilding Company in Bath, Maine. Above: The ship's wheel washed ashore on Cape Cod twenty hours after the ship foundered.
time when most coas tal lines were building steel-hulled propeller-driven steamships, they chose to build a wooden-hulled, paddlewheeler nam ed Portland. The new vessel was designed, no t for speed and seawo rthiness, but for its ability to accommodate a great number of passengers in fin e style fo r a relatively inexpensive price of $240,000. 1he ship's overall design resembled a typical mid-nineteenth century Long Island Sound steamer. In September 1889 a reporter from the Boston Post toured Portland, still on the ways in Bath. He described the passengers' accommodatio ns, which totaled 224 stateroo ms: "1here are cabi ns forward and afr of the boilers and engine space .. . The berths are of white pine, with cherry caps in both forward and aft cabins . .. The berths are placed athwarrships and in alcoves, a very pretty and convenient arrangement. The cabin is co mmodious, and will be elegantly finished and furnished, making it one of the most attractive and comfortable cabins possible to imagine." On 14 October 1889, Portland slid down the ways at Bath Iron Works into the Kennebec River to great celebration and cheer. It m easured 291 feet in overall length with a 42-feet beam , 15 feet
MAINE f..'\ARITi r.'IE MUSEUf.'\
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SEA HISTORY 107, SPRING/SUMMER 2004