From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Coal Pockets Mack's Pt, Searsport, Me 120
This is an impressive view of a six-masted schooner docked at the Penobscot Coal and Wharf Company pier, which was developed and opened at Mack Point in 1905 by C.H. Sprague. The deep-water shipping port was served by steam-powered cranes (visible behind the schooner's masts) and special coal-carrying ships, such as this very large schooner in the image. Facilitated by the railroad, C.H. Sprague & Son purchased its own coal mines and fleet of specially designed vessels and became a major supplier of coal to the European allies during World War II. In this photograph the coal "pockets," or the coal containers on the tracks, are visible on the right, ready to be transported out by rail. [Ref. Museum in the Streets: Mack Point] [included in the exhibit "Working Waterfronts"]
