SS Huntress
SS Huntress was a steamship which operated in Maine between 1838 and 1916.[1] Built in New York in 1838,[2] the Huntress's registered length, breadth and depth were 172 feet by 23 feet by 9 feet, 6 inches. She weighed 333 tons.[3] It arrived in Bath, Maine, on June 11, 1838, commanded by Captain Kimball. It was owned by the New London & Norwich Steamboat Company.[3]
The vessel resumed the Gardiner-to-Boston (via Portland) route formerly run by the SS New England,[3] which was lost in a collision near Boon Island, Maine, in 1838.[4] In 1840, due to increased business, a larger steamer, the John W. Richmond, was purchased to run the route.[3]
Its initial schedule was to depart Gardiner at 3:00 PM every Monday and Thursday, then departing Bath at 5:00 PM. She would depart from Boston at 7:00 PM on Tuesdays and Fridays. It was berthed in Gardiner until Sunday.[3] She later made three trips a week to Portland.[5]
On July 4, 1838, while being chartered by Cornelius Vanderbilt's steamship company, it was reported that the Huntress carried around 700 passengers from Gardiner to Portland and back.[3]
By 1848, the Huntress was running trips from Hallowell, Maine,[6] to Portland, with the SS Charter Oak and SS Kennebec running alternately to Boston.[7]
Huntress Street, in Portland's Libbytown neighborhood, is named for the vessel.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b The Origins of the Street Names of the City of Portland, Maine as of 1995 – Norm and Althea Green, Portland Public Library (1995)
- ^ Swede, George (2010-09-30). The Steam Tug. Xlibris Corporation. p. 114. ISBN 978-1-4535-7239-9.
- ^ a b c d e f Baker, William A. (1973). A Maritime History of Bath, Maine and the Kennebec River Region. Marine Research Society of Bath. p. 280.
- ^ Hatch, Louis Clinton (1919). Maine: A History. American Historical Society. p. 702.
- ^ Williamson, Joseph (1877). History of the City of Belfast in the State of Maine: From Its First Settlement in 1770 to 1875. Loring, Short, and Harmon. p. 660.
- ^ Smith, Mac (2021-10-15). Maine's Hail to the Chief: A History of Presidential Visits to the Pine Tree State. Down East Books. ISBN 978-1-68475-013-9.
- ^ Kingsbury, Henry D.; Deyo, Simeon L. (1892). Illustrated History of Kennebec County, Maine; 1625-1799-1892. H.W. Blake. p. 232.