From collection Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company Collection
Steamship MAY ARCHER off Monhegan at anchor c.1915
EIP Steamship series. Steamship MAY ARCHER off Monhegan at anchor c.1915 This early 20th century image shows the steamer May Archer in Monhegan harbor. It shows Monhegan at a time of change from a remote fishing village to a summer tourist destination. The village of Monhegan is expanding to the south with new homes constructed for summer people. The four-story building with dormers is the Albee House Hotel, later the Monhegan House; the water tanks that supplied it are on the far left. The May Archer, the first regular passenger ferry to the island, was in service during the summer months from 1907 to 1916. Vessels better suited for winter were delivered the mail from November to April. The often unpleasant voyage on the May Archer inspired this poem written by Clara Fuller in 1915: Song of Hate to the "May Archer" May you sail a sea of fire And be wracked as you've racked me Your bow be split and your stern be hit And may you burn eternally Rank as your own bilge-water Cruel as a step-mother's love Had I, by heck, the Fates at beck, Each day you'd land, on some far strand, a Rotten roisterous wreck. Jennifer Pye, Monhegan Museum
