MELBOURN P. SMITH Loading Cargo

MELBOURN P. SMITH Loading Cargo

The MELBOURN P. SMITH was 175 ft in length and of 650 gross tons. She was built in 1909 at Millbridge, Maine by Elmer Alonzo Sawyer.

The MELBOURN P. SMITH was the only 4-masted schooner to haul lumber from Wilson Cypress at Palatka, Florida. The schooner would be loaded with 300,000 board feet of lumber at Palatka and 700,000 feet would be towed on lighters until they reached Jacksonville, Florida where the depth of the river allowed the towed lumber to be loaded on board the SMITH. The captain was Mr. McLain. The SMITH is seen here loading lumber through a hull-cut in the bow. This may be either the port of Palatka or Jacksonville.