 |
The Olive Tree |
|
The Olive Tree |
Although fisheries have long been an integral part of the Maine’s economy and
culture, their history is not nearly as well-documented in archival collections
as those of other industries, such as farming, logging, papermaking, and textile
manufacturing. For this reason, Special Collections has begun to actively
collect materials relating to fisheries, such as records of catches, landings,
and fish sales and purchases; records of fish canneries; records of businesses
that sold supplies and services to fishermen and fishing vessels, logs of
fishing vessels; and the personal papers of fishermen and their families.
Since this initiative began last year Special Collections has acquired a number
of materials relating to Maine fisheries, including:
The logbooks of nine cod fishing vessels, dating from 1858-1860, which operated
out of Cutler, Jonesport, Machias and Deer Isle.
The records of a Boston fish dealer who purchased fish from Maine, dating from
1887-1901.
The daybook for a business in Orland that supplied fishing vessels, dating from
1864-1868;
The ledger of a fish dealer in Vinalhaven, dating from 1879-1882; which
recording purchases of lobster and mackerel.
The records of a supplier to fishing vessels in Frenchboro, Long Island,
1828-1843, in which many bills were paid in fish.
The sales records of a lobsterman from Addision in the 1930s.
The papers of an aquaculture consultant, who closely studied and reported on sea
fisheries in Maine for a client in the 1980s.
Special Collections has also reached an agreement for, but has not yet received,
the records of a sardine cannery in Lubec, dating from approximately 1900-1910.
If you have or know of business records or personal papers that provide
documentation of Maine’s fisheries and/or fishing communities, please contact
Richard Hollinger at (207)-581-1688 or
richard.hollinger@umit.maine.edu
In part 2, we will discuss our efforts to locate and digitize records of
fisheries held by local historical societies in Maine.
Spring 2007 Home
Home | Olive
Tree