Belfast, Maine

Belfast, Maine

"Belfast, Maine" Belfast, Maine, Eastern Steamship, wharf, steamer, ship In June, 1856, the new steamboat wharf which had been built by Captain James Miller, and which has since been purchased and enlarged by the Sanford owners, was first used for their steamers. In 1867, during this season, the "Sanford" owners purchased Miller's Wharf, which they enlarged, and added passenger and freight depots. In 1882 the name of the Sanford Steamship Company was changed to the Boston and Bangor Steamship Company. In 1888 an outlay of $10,000 was made on steamboat wharf and buildings. The wharf is 460 feet in length, and 165' wide across the outer end. Note: At first there was Simpson's wharf, closer to town. It burned in the 1873 fire and was closed to public use in 1880. This left Millers/Sanford's/Boston and Bangor wharf as the only steamboat connection. The Eastern Steamship Company was founded in 1901 by the Wall Street financier C. W. Morse by consolidating six small New England coastwise lines. The Eastern Steamship Lines wharf was located at the foot of Commercial Street and accommodated the various team ships which serviced coastal Maine and Boston, Massachusetts. The "steamer" tied up at the pier in this view appears to be either the Belfast or the Camden. These two ships provided overnight service between Boston and ports on Penobscot Bay from 1909 to 1935. Leo Lucky refurbished and opened the building on the pier as a dance hall and roller skating ring in 1949. Due to its deteriorating condition, it was intentionally burned in 1959. The steamer S. S. Belfast is shown here at the Eastern Steamship Wharf in Belfast. S. S. BELFAST: The S. S. Belfast, made its maiden voyage to its namesake city in June of 1909. The 320 foot long, triple screw, steam turbine-powered ship, built at Bath Iron Works, was the last and greatest of Eastern's Great White Flyers. The Belfast featured a steel hull, watertight bulkheads and was driven by a modern 4000hp steam turbine and could maintain a continuous speed of 17 knots. At a signal from Bath Iron Works president, Carrie Greenlaw, a stenographer, smashed a bottle of champagne on the bow and cried in a clear ringing voice "I name thee Belfast". Miss Greenlaw, a native of Belfast was chosen by a popular ballot held at the Waldo County Herald. Mayor Edgar Hanson said at the time: "There are 1257 pretty women in Belfast and if I choose one, 1256 will be mad at me, thus creating the idea of a popular ballot. Inside the Belfast was equipped with the latest in wireless telegraphy. It featured a mahogany trimmed social hall and a dining room with extra large windows on the main deck. Above were located the 204 passenger staterooms and below 222 additional berths below the social hall (135 for men and 87 for women) The Belfast replaced the side wheelers in service until that time. The Belfast and her slightly smaller twin, the Camden provided overnight service between Penobscot Bay and Boston. Both steamers were so large that the pier facility had to be modified to accommodate their size. They could not turn in the harbor and had to back down the bay to deeper water before making the turn. Due to ever increasingly restrictive navigation and safety legislation which required double hulls on passenger vessels, which neither the Camden nor the Belfast had, both ships were retired from passenger service. The Belfast made her final voyage to Belfast on Dec. 27, 1935 with veteran Captain Alfred E. Rawley in command. The end of the era was summed up that evening by 3 long, deep, melodious blasts of her whistle (currently on display at the Belfast Historical Society & Museum in Belfast) as she headed down the bay. Both ships were sold to Colonial Navigation Co. and renamed Arrow (Belfast) and Comet (Camden) and were operated between Providence and New York until their sale to the U. S. Government and converted to troop carriers at the outset of World War II. It saw service in the Pacific. In February of 1947, a useless hulk, she was being towed from Puget Sound to Astoria, OR to be stored. She broke loose from her towing cable and beached at Ocean Park, WA, her final resting place.