Working The Bay:

Sardine Plant

Fishing Fishing was one of the original Penobscot industries. From 1850 to 1865, Maine’s cod and mackerel fisheries, both onshore and offshore, made up one third to one half of the entire United States catch. Fishing methods changed after the Civil War. For mackerel, large seine nets replaced hooks, creating a more expensive but also more productive fishery. For ground fish like cod and haddock, trawl lines were set from dories carried on schooners. Hundreds of baited hooks were spaced along these thousand-foot lines. In general, Mainers adopted fishery changes more slowly than Massachusetts fishermen, as they required more capital. Mainers gradually left the cod fishery to Massachusetts and focused on sardines, mackerel, lobster, and salmon, which could all be canned.

Agriculture Belfast was the agricultural center for Waldo County.  It exported hay and eggs in the nineteenth century and fertilizer in the early twentieth. In 1887, Belfast shipped 11,000 tons of hay, 11,000 barrels of apples, and 800,000 dozen eggs. Winterport had a strong apple business, and many other towns produced and shipped farm products. After the Civil War, many Maine farmers went west in search of richer soil and a longer growing season. In the twentieth century, Belfast and Waldo County became the center for poultry raising in Maine. Searsport and Stockton Springs, in the early 20th century, were major shipping ports for Maine potatoes, brought south by the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.

Haying