The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1901-09-26
FRAGMENTS OF NoRrHPoRT HISTORY.
IL.

"reach- boat" on cruise in Belfast Bay
for the purpose of preventing supplies
being carried to the British at Castine.
The crew consisted of Capt. Miller,
West ID rinkwater, Kingsbury Duncan,
Jonathan Clark, Samuel Duncan and
John Duncan. They were unsuccess-
full in their search until the morning of
Nov. LIST, when they saw British sloop
at the Eastern end of Long Island
They chased her up the Bay and over
hauled her at Turtle Head The crew
of the sloop made a stubborn resistance,
but she was finally captured She prov
ed to be the sloop Mary of Halifax,
bound for Castine with cargo of
satins, laces, shawls, etc, invoiced at
$4,000. She had been under convoy
until near Long Island, but had become
separated from the others in fog. The
supercargo offered Miller $4,000 for
the ransom of the vessel and her cargo,
but the offer was refused, and the sloop
was taken at Little Harbor, Northport,
where She was taken possession of in
the name of the United States by Maj.
Philip Timer, Deputy Inspector of
Customs. The cargo was shipped to
Portland by order of the Custom House
officials and the vessel was taken to
st. George and secreted. Miller, not
having legal authority from the govern
ment at the time of the capture, laid
himself and his crew liable to severe
penalties by the act, but the matter
was adjusted by a commission being
issued to him and ante-dated TO cover
the date of the capture. The sloop and
cargo were afterwards sold by the gov
eminent for 500, 19064 and the net pro
ceeds. after paying the expenses OF con-
iiscation transportation, ETC., were 500,
42634 OF this sum one-half was paid
to the [. :. government and the other
half was divided among Miller and his
men and the revenue officers. BY the
first division of the money Miller and
Collector Hook of Castine each received
Sl4,1o6.CS. while the crew received but
600 each. The injustice thus done
the crew was remedied by bill which
passed Congress in 1886 through the
efforts of Hon EbeneZer KnoWltOn of
Montville. then a member of the House
OF Representatives which restored to
the crew OF their living heirs the amount
wl.ch would have been due them on an
i1-il1 Of no
was subsequently passed allowing in
terest Oh the amount from the date of
the sale to the date of the payment
Saturday Cove was once busy place,
as the remains of its three wharves, the
buildings and lime kilns testify. The
Wharves were ShaW's, Iancasters and
Alden's, and prior to the Civil War
considerable shipping business was car
ried on there. The exports consisted
largely of lime kiln wood, fish, cooper
age and bark. David Alden and James
Lancaster each had large fish yards |
The larger part of Northports male
population followed the sea, a few in
deep sea vessels, some in the West |
India trade, and many in coasting and
fishing. \ number of vessels have been !
built at the Cove, including the brig
Eliza by James Lancaster; the sloop
Jennette, built at the Cove in 1887 and |
sold in Boothbay; sch. Cora Ella built |
in 1877 sch. Alfred Chase "a tons, built |
in 1854. and others.
On the farm near Duck Trap now
owned by John Rossiter, are the remains
of the cob-work and other indications
that the place was once a ship yard and
that quite large vessels were built
there The farm was originally owned
by the Sylvester family.
In 1868 Capt S. B. Fletcher rebuilt
at the Cove the sch. Elmira Rogers of
l25 tons and in 1870 sch. Hampton, 120
tons
In 1880 Mr.. Pendleton built dam
and mill on Pitchers Pond at the site
now occupied by L. E. Pitchers mill |
1t was at first grist and saw mill, and
afterwards cooperage was added and
more recently the grist mill was taken
out. Its successive owners have been
Mr.. Pendleton, Gen. George Ulmer
Joseph Gould, Thomas Kendall, John |
G. Deane, Amos Pitcher and Lewis E. |
Pitcher. The pond has an area of $500
acres. The fall from the pond to tide |
water at Duck Trap, distance of 3 |
miles, is 300 feet, according to Wells |
Water Power of Maine
In early days there was some lime
burned at Saturday Cove and the re-
mains of the kilns are to be seen there |
now. The writer of the sketches of |
Waldo County in The Journal, in 1851,
says of this business ''* 4 it is prob |
able the rock had to be brought |
from other places" showing that the !
business had been abandoned some time
before that and that the writer was I'M
able to obtain definite data about it,
The IsleSboro and Northport Ferry
Co. was incorporated by All act of Leg
islature March IA, 1915 By this act |