Lincoln, Maine

Kirstie Austin
"Research your topic and summarize the ‘who, what, when, and where’ in the form of a few paragraphs"

One of the first steamboats that traveled to Lincoln was called “Governor Neptune,” named after John Neptune, Governor of the Penobscot Native American tribe. The steamboat was owned by the Penobscot Navigation Company.

William Moor and his brother Daniel Moor Jr. navigated the first steamboat. Also, the first steamboat came to Lincoln on May 27, 1847 and continued to run for ten years. The Penobscot House was built in 1847 to hold steamboat passengers. The Penobscot House was a hotel located in Lincoln Center and was a stopping point for people traveling on the steamboat.

The fares from Old Town to Winn, Old Town to Lincoln, Old Town to Howland, Old Town to Passadumkeag, Old Town Greenbush, and Old Town to Sunkhaze all ranged from $.25 to $2.50. All freight went to the same places as the fares listed above, but the freight amounts ranged from $5.50 to $1.50.

This is important to Lincoln’s history because steamboats were used for postal services, to carry freight across the river and to other places, and to take people to where they needed to go.

Camden Grant
“Compare and contrast steamboats in the past and in the present”

Past:
Steamboats were used for the transportation of goods and people across and up and down the rivers and lakes of Maine and any place they were needed. They were one of the main means of transportation besides horse and buggy, railroads, and ferries. Steamboats were also used to carry items like lumber. They played a large role in the Lincoln economy by bringing food, tools,and clothes that were not convenient to put on the railroad to Lincoln. Also, steamboats were used for shipping food, lumber and clothes that were not on the railroad out of Lincoln to the rest of the towns and cities on the rivers. Fares to carry cargo on a steamboats were far cheaper than they are today.

Present:
Steamboats were a very effective means by which to transport people and cargo up and down the river. Though steamboats are still used today, they have been made ineffective by larger freight ships and bridges in this day and age. But steamboats are still used for crossing rivers and lakes, or taking commercial tours of Maine’s rivers and lakes.

Though steamboats now and then were both used to carry goods and people across rivers and lakes they are not used as widely as they once were due to the boom in newer ships and better means by which to transport goods and people. Steamboats, however, are no longer part of the Lincoln economy and there are no steamboats still in the Lincoln area. If there were steamboats still in Lincoln, they would be a river tour business and would be no longer used for the transport of goods, but for the tourism of people on the rivers.

Saramarie Tripp
"Describe your feelings, or the feelings of someone living at this time when steamboats were used"

My name is Jeremy Tripp, and I'm 16 years old. I live in Old Town, and the only way I can get to Lincoln from Old Town is by the steamboat. I am going to Lincoln to see Grandma and Grandpa because they are sick.

It costs $2.00 to get to Lincoln on the steamboat. The steamboat is about the size of a train and it’s so crowded that you can’t move very much. Sometimes people push others and I am worried about getting pushed over the side. The sides of this steamboat are not very tall. I could fall off the edge of the boat and drown. It’s scary because there isn’t a lot of room. I can’t stand people pushing and kicking me as they try to move from the back to the front of the boat.

The back of the boat carries all of our luggage. It takes a long time to get to Lincoln because the steamboat goes really slow. The winter is freezing cold and there is no cover that goes over the boat to keep the breeze of off us. The fall and summer are really nice and kind of breezy because of the water. Good thing there’s no ice yet, the river would freeze and I might not be able to take the steamboat! I will have to button my coat and put on an extra pair of mittens because it’s a long walk to Grandma and Grandpa’s house from the dock at Lincoln Center. I hope they’ll be excited to see me.

Works Cited

Keller, Rachael. The Mattanawcook Observer. Vol. 1. Enfield: Down East Enterprises, 1983. Print.

Fellows, Dana W. History of the Town of Lincoln. Lewiston: Dingley, 1822. Print.

Barrett, Marilyn; Murphy, Marylyn; Wallace, Mary. All Together Now. Lincoln: Maine Graphics Globe Printing Service. Print.