Did you know Presque Isle had a steamboat in the 1870s? Sidney Cook, who left this area to seek his fame and fortune as a young man, returned a rich man having brought up the treasures of the clipper ship, the SS Golden Gate, which sunk off the coast of California on July 27, 1862.
Cook returned home in 1865. On March 20 of that year, he married Harriet “Hattie” Perry, daughter of Nathan Perry. In 1870, he built a grand home at 239 State Street (northeast corner of Third and State streets).
Cook and his partners, A.H. DeWitt, Nathan Perry and George H. Freeman, formed a corporation under the name of the Aroostook Steamboat Company in 1872. Around 1876, Cook built a steamboat known as “The Nathan Perry.” Steamboats were boats powered by steam that were most frequently used to carry supplies and/or passengers. This was a real advance in the marine industry as a steamboat could hold a significant amount of cargo and supplies as opposed to its predecessor, the simple paddle boat.
In 1841, the average cost to build a steamboat was $35,000 with a daily running expense of $200. Using an inflation calculator, in 2020 dollars, the steamboat would cost $1,031,450 to build and $5,894 per day to operate.
The steamboat launched from a dock at the N. Perry & Co. on the Presque Isle Stream just south of what is now the State Street Bridge on the west side of the stream. The approximate address of the dock today would be 15 Exchange Street.
It is said that “practically all of Presque Isle turned out to see the launching.” Sidney Cook was at the wheel with an American flag flying. Neither the first mate Mike Gallagher nor the second mate Charles Pomroy had any known nautical experience. The smokestack was made to lay down so as to fit under the bridges. It was 80 feet in length and 16 feet wide with a small wheel house aft. (To give you some perspective, the average length of a car today is 15-16 feet, which was the width of the steamboat. Main Street in Presque Isle is less than 70 feet wide, so the 80- foot-long steamship would not have fit sideways along our Main Street.) With proper water depth, it sailed at 20-30 miles an hour. No known photos of the Nathan Perry exist.
The immediate predecessor to steamboats was the flatboat. A flatboat could only go downstream and only with the flow of the river. Steamboats were more efficient and faster plus they were also able to travel upstream. The steamboat quickly revolutionized river travel and trade, as well as capturing the imagination of the American people. There were, however, some dangers to traveling by steamboat — some sank, some had boiler explosions or were destroyed by fires.
The steamboat carried wood shingles — a very popular trade at that time, starch and other heavy products. Its cargo capacity was 250,000 shingles. It sailed along the Aroostook River from Presque Isle to Caribou to connect with the New Brunswick Railroad and also made a trip to Ashland. It ran only during spring and fall. Unfortunately, the water depth was not sufficient for the venture to be successful and the steamboat was breached near the covered bridge (the bridge on Main Street that now crosses the Aroostook River) where “she ended her days” about two years after first launched.
An exhibit on the Nathan Perry Steamboat is one of the new exhibits featured at the society’s Maysville Museum located at 165 Caribou Road. The exhibit features authentic Nathan Perry artifacts including the ship’s wheel, on loan from Karen Duncan and family (Cook Florist), descendants of Sidney Cook. The exhibit also features an interactive recording of a typical steamboat from the 1800s.
The Museum is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., providing volunteers are available daily. There is no admission fee to visit the museum.
The mission of Presque Isle Historical Society is to study, preserve and promote the history, culture, heritage and physical artifacts of Presque Isle for present and future generations. For more information on the Society’s programs and tours, please visit the website at www.pihistory.org.
Kimberly R. Smith is the secretary/treasurer of the Presque Isle Historical Society.
