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Flushing!
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Bark CARRIE E. LONG of Stockton passing. Flushing, 1868. Artist unknown. Reverse painting on glass. Gift of William H. Pendleton, #1997.14.1
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The English anglicized the name of Vlissingen, The Netherlands to Flushing and Maine sea captains used the anglicized version when they referred to the seaport. Vlissingen sits in southwestern Netherlands on the island of Walcheren at the mouth of the West Scheldt River as it flows from the North Sea. The Scheldt River leads to Antwerp and Ghent, Belgium. Ships under a draft of 18 feet could make it to Antwerp, any ships with a draft between 18 and 30 feet put in at Vlissingen, where the cargo was offloaded and shipped on smaller boats for the remainder of the 45 mile journey to Antwerp. As a Dutch East Indies Company port, Vlissingen traded herring and slaves and engaged in privateering, until it suffered from an economic decline in the 1700s. At the time of this portrait, the Royal Netherlands Navy shipyard and arsenal kept the maritime port in business and an 1870 economic revival would revitalize the port.
Vlissingen, A Closer Look
Just under the bowsprit of the CARRIE E. LONG, we see the town wall of Vlissingen protecting the town from the North Sea at great expense, as well as foreign human invaders. Gevangentoren, the cylindrical prison tower with the conical roof, sits at the point of land. The Grote Kazerne barracks connects to the Gevangentoren. Over its roof, the Oranjemolen corn windmill converts wind into power. Unseen, the two harbors, which are dry at low tide, penetrate into the heart of the town with large quays or piers for unloading cargo into the warehouses. The rowhouses and buildings of town have distinctive peaked roofs. The next large building towering over the houses is the Prinsenhuis, a mansion built for the Prince of Orange, which later became a coffeehouse. Rising above all is the pear-shaped spire of St. Jacobs' topped by a gold-plated ball and an iron cross. At the far left of the painting is the Western Mill, a flour windmill.
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