South Portland, known then as Cape Elizabeth, was once home to one of the largest dry docks in the country. The remains of that dock can still be seen today; some views are possible looking down upon it from the Casco Bay Bridge, or from a boat off-shore.

While most books and other historic documentations of the Portland Dry Dock go back only to its incorporation in 1868, that misses the true development of the company and the site. There had long been a desire for a dry dock in Portland Harbor, as larger ships had to go down to Boston when repairs were needed.

A bill was introduced in the Maine House of Representatives as early as Feb. 20, 1856, seeking to incorporate the dry dock, but it was referred to committee and died. In February 1859, a large group of boat owners and others interested in the waterfront met and discussed the possibility of hiring James E. Simpson from Boston to come and build a dry dock, using his patented method. At that meeting chaired by John B. Brown, they agreed to have a committee formed, consisting of Jacob McLellan and Joseph W. Dyer (a shipbuilder from Cape Elizabeth), to look into possible sites for a dry dock and to explore the costs involved. Several years went by with no progress.

Another meeting was held in June 1863, this time by the Board of Trade. James E. Simpson was in attendance and told members that he wanted to build a dry dock here in Portland and was willing to be an investor of up to 50 percent of the stock. Also in attendance was J.H.B. Lang of Boston, who owned a large interest in Franklin Wharf in Portland and thought it would be a good site for a dry dock.

Members discussed the merits of a large dry dock that could handle the largest steamships that would come to Portland vs a smaller size that would accommodate most local needs. Again, a committee was formed to look into potential sites and discuss costs with Mr. Simpson. They reported back in July with a plan that included building the dry dock at Franklin Wharf. In February 1864, a bill to incorporate Portland Dry Dock Company was read before the Maine Senate, and the company was initially formed with Portland mayor Jacob McLellan as president.

Investors came on board, officers were elected, and discussions continued. There were two proposals for the construction of a dry dock, one by James Simpson and one by W.F. Bonnell, Jr., and much discussion as to whether the dry dock should be in Portland or Cape Elizabeth. In June, 1864, the company’s directors decided to not accept either of the two plans presented, and instead started looking at construction of a marine railway, which could do all the work of repairing ships, at less than half the cost.

At a Portland Dry Dock Company meeting in July, 1864, the directors were instructed to purchase the lot in Cape Elizabeth, just adjacent to the Portland Bridge, where they would be able to construct a marine railway, a dry dock, or both.

In May of 1865, the stockholders of Portland Dry Dock Company met and voted to build a 400-foot sea wall on the property they had purchased. According to an article in the Portland Daily Press, the sea wall would leave “a slip of 150 by 600 feet deep for the accommodation of vessels. The proposed site for the dock would be about 900 feet from the Portland bridge, on a clay pan averaging from 21 to 25 feet in thickness – the surface bare at low water.”

While the company made these improvements to the property, there was still no actual dry dock or railway built. In January of 1866, the company met to authorize its directors to petition the State Legislature to allow it to amend its charter so that it might build a railway on the property instead.

In April of that same year, the company authorized its directors to move ahead with plans to build a railway. The frustration of one of the stockholders can be heard in his letter to the editor on July 2, 1866, in which he comments that the company had already bought and paid for the lot in Cape Elizabeth, built the sea wall upon it, but needed to raise an additional $50,000 from stockholders in order to proceed with the plan for construction of a dry dock.

He goes on to describe other planned uses for the large lot, “There is already a demand for a portion of the land for the purpose of erecting store houses and for spar yards. It is also, I learn, in contemplation, to put up a cordage factory there … The great difficulty of obtaining storage for imported goods, is severely felt by our business men. At this moment the storehouses are full, and where to get accommodations for many expected cargoes is a problem not yet solved. The nearness of the Company’s property to the business portion of the city … makes this a very desirable place for storage sheds …”

He went on to explain how there had been time spent looking into estimates for a marine railway, conducting surveys, etc., but that the company had now decided that a dry dock would be the best solution for the needs for ship repairs in Portland Harbor.

The great Portland fire that occurred on July 4, 1866, had a particularly harsh effect on the company’s ability to raise additional funding for the project. So the timing was perfect when, in early 1867, James E. Simpson came forward with a group of investors with a proposal to build and run a dry dock, if he were provided with the premises on which to do so. We’ll continue with the story of Portland Dry Dock in next week’s column.

July 17: Part II.

Note to readers: The South Portland Historical Society needs your financial support, especially at this time with the museum closed and our events continuing to be postponed due to the pandemic. If you are not currently a member, or if you have not paid your dues for 2020 yet, we encourage you to find a way to help. Membership information is available on our website at www.sphistory.org (a family membership is $25) and you can donate online at our Online Museum website at https://sphistory.pastperfectonline.

The society can also be reached at 55 Bug Light Park, South Portland, ME 04106, by phone at 207-767-7299, or by email at sphistory04106@gmail.com. Thank you.

Kathryn Onos DiPhilippo is executive director of the South Portland Historical Society.

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