Portland's Booming Waterfront

    By the mid 1800s several business began to thrive along Portland's waterfront.  Many of these businesses that were established are still around, in one form or another, today.  In 1806 Francis Edmond established Swedes Iron on Long Wharf.  Several years later, Eben Corey joined Edmond and the company really took off.  The company was continued to grow until it was bought out by American Steel and Aluminum in 1967.  To this date it was the longest continually running business in Maine.  However, more than just iron working was going on along the waterfront.  In 1836 T.S. Laughlin opened a marine hardware business called Thomas Laughlin Co.  Today they are a division of Crosby Group, Inc, the largest manufacturer of drop forged fittings for chain and wire rope.  In 1846 J. H. Hamlen began trade with the West Indies.  By the 1880s their company was shipping ice and various canned goods.  During World War I the company employed 1,700 men building ships in the Portland area (Barry 1982).  The success stories from this period go on.

   Although some businesses were thriving, the period between 1840 and1846 marked a slump, and the population stopped growing, leveling off around 16,000 people.  The culprit behind this decline in activity in Portland was the introduction of the railroad that connected Boston to Vermont (Barry 1982).  In the past a rail line had connected Crawford's Notch to Vermont.  In conjunction with the canal system built up through Sebago Lake, farmers were able to sell produce to Vermont, and a large trade with Vermont grew (Barry 1982).  However, with the introduction of this new line, produce and other items could be transported to Vermont much quicker, and the Crawford's Notch route failed.  As a result of the lost market, many Portlanders felt strained.  At one point the town was even known as the "deserted village" (Babcock 1987).

 
     Portland's next 'rise from the ashes' was due to the spectacular vision of a local attorney, John A. Poor (image from Elwel 17)..  Unlike any other at the time, Poor envisioned Portland economically connected to it's northern neighbors, Canada (Barry 1982).  Every year, the St. Lawrence River froze over, closing down trade to parts of 
Canada.  Poor saw no reason why Portland shouldn't act as Canada's winter port while Montreal was ice-locked.  In 1845 the United States Congress passed a law that would permit goods that were destined for British North America to pass through the United States free of duty (Babcock 1987).  At that point, Poor's vision was complete--he would run a railway from Portland to Montreal.  Since the goods were all duty free, it was a very economical way to work the system.

   However, Portland was not the only city looking to be Montreal's winter port.  Boston, already with a railway running to Vermont, was interested in establishing a line up to Montreal as well (Babcock 1987).  Right off, Portland had a geographical advantage over Boston--it was a half-day closer to England.  Since Liverpool was considered to be the commercial and economic capital of the world at the time, being a half-day closer put Portland at an advantage.  In the end Portland won out.  Poor had set out in a blinding snowstorm and beat the Boston merchants to Montreal and the deal was set (Babcock 1987).

     In 1853 the first engine traveled over the railway that was built up to Montreal, called the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad.  Soon after the railway was incorporated into the Grand Trunk Railway (GTR).  This opened up a huge market for the city of Portland.  Grain became a high priced commodity to ship to Montreal--in 1875 the cities first grain elevator was built, capable of holding 175,000 bushels of grain (Babcock 1987).


Portland's Bustling Waterfront in the 1870's
Image taken from Sleeper's "Images of America: Portland" p. 75.

     By 1872, sixty-five trains a day made stops in Portland.  The city not only had connections to Montreal, but New York, Boston, upstate Maine, and New Hampshire.  This gave Portland access to much of the Northeastern Region of the United States and Canada as well as indirect rail connections with the expanding West (Greater Portland... 1972).

     In 1862 Portland was well known as a commercial distribution center.  Goods came from overseas as well as New York and Boston.  Most of the goods were brought in by ship, although there was an increasing use of rail transportation.  What manufacturing took place in Portland was located close to the waterfront on roads such as Fore Street, India Street and Commercial Street.  


Commercial Street 1853, shortly after completion.
Image from Sleeper's "Images of America: Portland" p 74.

     In spite of the dry law in Maine, rum was still being produced and exported (almost 500,000 gallons of rum were produced in 1860 alone).  Continuing from the days when the British harvested the woods of Maine, timber and wood were still important exports (Sleeper Oct. 20, 1962).  There ware more than thirty lumber enterprises doing business along Commercial Street in the 1860s, contributing to the nearly six million feet that were shipped to the west Indies (Greater Portland... 1972).  Commercial Street was clearly the busiest and, economically speaking, the most important street in Portland.  Frank Sleeper, a reporter for the Portland Press Herald writes, "Commercial Street and the waterfront were the hub of Portland business activity in 1862" (Sleeper Oct. 20, 1962 3B).

   Portland was once again a bustling center of commerce due to the vision of Mr. Poor, and as a result a number of new industries began to spring up.  During this time period the Star Match Factory exported matches around the world ant he establishment of the Portland Packing Company eventually led to a world-wide reputation as a canning center.  Due to the clever packing and pleasing labels, the packing company became the largest food packing company in the world with sales reaching over three-quarters of a million dollars (Greater Portland... 1972). 


Portland Harbor, 1900s--one busy place!
Image from Sleeper's "Images of America: Portland" p. 71.

     Portland reached it's peak in 1899.  Over 21,894,423 bushels of grain were received from outside--of that amount, 12,831,248 bushels were shipped as foreign export--a stunning 58% (Portland Evening Express, June 25, 1977).    A few years earlier in 1897, a record fifty-four steam ships departed from Portland.  Thousands of rail cars filled to the hilt with grain could be counted in the rail yards along the waterfront.   In 1896 a new grain elevator was constructed that could hold an astounding 1.25 million bushels of grain.  Even this was not enough to meet the demands, and a second one had to be built a few years later.  The list of exports at this time had grown considerable to include apples, cheese, flour, meats, canned goods, cattle and sheep.  Exports went from $28.6 million in 1899 to $47.5 million in 1901 (Babcock 1987)

However, that was all about to change.  The following winter was a big surprise to Portlanders--exports plummeted to nearly half of what they were the year before.  Although Portland had commercial relations with many locations around the Northeast, the primary export was to Montreal.  By the end of the 19th century Portland began to feel the pressure of other nearby locations, particularly Saint John, New Brunswick (Babcock 1987).