CHAPTER VII

PORTLAND HEAD LIGHT AREA

The history book tells us that many of the old sailing vessels came to grief in this area. Portland Head Light is located on the government reservation of Fort Williams and you definitely can not search here; but the area outside of the Fort should receive your attention. If you proceed in a southeasterly direction along the shoreline, going away from the Fort there is no telling what you might find. The ships that were wrecked in this area of the bay, carried all kinds of cargo; such as silks, silverware, jewelry, tools, money, tea, coffee, guns, pottery, glassware, etc., just to mention a few.

Many of these articles washed ashore from the wrecked ships. It is my guess that there still remains, buried in the sand of the many inlets and coves; relics of a bygone era.

One of the wrecked ships in this area was the Annie C. Maguire. She came ashore in 1886 and went to pieces on Portland Head Light Reef.

One of the earlier shipwrecks was that of the "Bohemian." She came to grief on Alden's Rock; located about three miles off the Cape Elizabeth shore. The year was 1864. She had sailed from Liverpool, England; her destination being Portland, Maine. Many of the Cape Elizabeth residents still have articles in their possession that came from the "Bohemian". (The Author has a silver plated spoon from this wrecked ship, that will rest in the Cape Historical Society.)

The days that followed the disaster were busy ones for the people along the shores of the mainland, as well as the islands of Casco Bay. They were salvaging the bolts of silk cloth, along with many other items that were washed ashore. The story goes; that the ladies of the area soon were seen wearing new dresses made out of the cloth from the "Bohemian".