The tragic loss of our two Willard Beach fishing shacks during the Jan. 13 storm is a reminder of South Portland’s fishing past. The point where the fishing shacks stood was the location of the Simonton families’ warehouse and crib-work wharf in the 1700s. Brothers William and Andrew Simonton arrived here in 1718 as part of a group of Scots-Irish Presbyterian immigrants from Northern Ireland. The location is still known as Simonton Cove.
Walter Johnson fishing along the Ferry Village waterfront. Etta Gregory Watts Collection/South Portland Historical Society.
It was from the point where the shacks stood that the Simontons, along with fellow merchants like Ezekiel Cushing, founded what would become known as the West Indies trade. This was the trade between Maine and the Caribbean. Maine supplied food, particularly salt cod, lumber and other items to plantations on islands in the West Indies. On their return voyages, the merchant’s cargo consisted of molasses, sugar, rum, and coffee (for more information on the West Indies trade, see my article printed in the South Portland Sentry on Jan. 13, 2023). Surprisingly, in the first half of the 18th century, Simonton Cove was a more popular anchorage for long-distance trade than the Portland waterfront.
As trade shifted away from Simonton Cove toward Portland, the cove became a popular fishing port. Interestingly, the area was once known as Gurry Cove, a reference to the large amount of fish organs and waste that was a byproduct of gutting the fish landed there.
Postcard of fishermen at work at Fishermen’s Point. South Portland Historical Society image
The fishery would change many times over the years as would the fishing vessels. For example, in the 18th century, small boats called shallops would ply local waters in search of fish. Later, the boats would become larger. Fishing boats known as Chebacco boats were then followed by pinky schooners. The pinkies, in turn, were replaced by larger fishing schooners around 1850. These larger boats were able to voyage far offshore to the many banks, or underwater sandbars, in the North Atlantic where fish congregated.
The method of fishing also changed over time. Initially, hand-lining was the preferred way to fish. The fishermen would draw lots to see where each one stood. The best fishing spots on deck were thought to be in the middle of the boat. Each fisherman would have two lines, one in each hand. To mimic the motion of bait-fish the fishermen would jig, or bounce up and down, the weighted line close to the ocean bottom. Cod are groundfish, a species of fish that live on the sea floor.
In the mid-1800s, dory fishing became popular. Each fishing schooner carried about 15 dories, nested together, on their deck. Once out at the fishing grounds, fishermen would disembark from the fishing schooner into the smaller dories. A dory had a crew of two men. Each man would fish two lines. The lines had multiple hooks attached to them. When the fisherman felt a fish on one of the lines, he would cleat his other line and haul in the first line which frequently had multiple fish on it. Once the fish had been removed and the hooks re-baited, the other fishing line would often have fish hooked on it and would be ready to be pulled aboard.
The shacks at Fishermen’s Point have been in the background of many a family beach day at Willard Beach. South Portland Historical Society photo
The fishermen would repeat this for the duration of the day, by which time the little dories would be sitting low in the water under the weight of their catches, which could be as much as 1,800 pounds of cod fish. The dories would then be picked up by their schooners. The work was not over, however. The fish would still have to be processed onboard the schooner. This involved removing the cod’s tongue and liver (the tongues were considered delicacies, the livers were pressed to make cod liver oil), lopping off the heads and removing the backbones before the fish could be salted and placed in the schooner’s hold.
Cod was, by far, the most pursued species in the Maine fishery. Because cod flesh has a very low-fat content, it takes the salting process better than any other source of protein. In an era before ice was widely available, and before the advent of electric refrigeration, food preservation was essential. The cod fishery played such an important role in world history that author Mark Kurlansky has written a book devoted to it: “Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World.”
There were four grades of salt cod, each with its own market:
The cod, the most important fish in human history. South Portland Historical Society image
Merchantable: The best quality fish based on texture and color.
Madeira: Almost as high quality as merchantable, this fish was shipped to Europe.
West India Fish: Lesser quality salt cod that fed enslaved Africans in the West Indies.
Dun-fish or broken fish: Not fit for trade due to its high moisture content, consumed locally.
The mackerel fishery was a distant second in terms of its economic importance, but was still an important source of revenue for Maine fishermen.
Regardless of the species, fishing was an extremely dangerous occupation. According to William B. Jordan, Jr., “The hazards encountered in fishing were many and varied. Tides that ran with the force of a great river, violent gales or storms, heavy breaking seas in shoal waters, icebergs, and collisions in shipping lanes, were common dangers.”
Many fishermen perished over the hundreds of years that Simonton Cove served as a fishing station. Often, fishing boats would be blown out to sea by a storm, never to be seen again.
The fishermen based out of Simonton Cove had an interesting diet by today’s standards. They often enjoyed cod head stew, fried porpoise steaks with onions, duck or goose stew, fried cod tongues and, on special occasions, scourer (boiled cornmeal with salt pork eaten with molasses). Beans, potatoes, salt beef, molasses, rum, tea and, of course, fish were staples of their cuisine.
In the 1880s, one of the largest fishing companies operating out of Portland Harbor was Lewis, Chase and Whitten, which operated out of Portland Pier in Portland and also maintained a wharf in Ferry Village. According to William Jordan, Jr., the company also operated from the southern end of Willard Beach.
Lewis, Chase and Whitten used fishing shacks, along with extensive flakes, large wooden platforms that salted fish were placed on to cure in the sun and open air. The firm kept seven fishing boats in constant operation. When the fishery was busy, 20 men worked preserving and packaging the fish. Jordan asserts that in the year 1888, the Lewis, Chase and Whitten flake yard covered an area of three acres and that 18,000 quintals, a quintal weighs about 220 pounds, of cod were cured.
Fishing in Simonton Cove lasted through the 1970s. Over the years, many of South Portland’s families made a living undertaking this dangerous occupation. The fishing shacks were one of the last remaining vestiges in South Portland of this industry.
The South Portland Historical Society is always enthused to learn more about local trades and businesses. If you have information related to this topic, please contact the society at sphistory04106@gmail.com or 207-767-7299.
Seth Goldstein is development director for the South Portland Historical Society and also serves as the director of the society’s Cushing’s Point Museum. He can be reached at sphistory04106@gmail.com.
Copy the Story LinkComments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
