The celebrations for Searsport's 175th anniversary started last month with a reenactment of Searsport's first town meeting. The festivities and remembrances will continue all year, especially at PMM with our new reinterpretation of the Sea Captain's house titled
At Home At Sea
. We have been busy researching the stories behind our objects on display in the house. Here is a fun tidbit we found.
William Otis Barney (1823-1895) was a man who knew his fire. He operated the W.O. Barney Foundry in Searsport circa 1853-1895 in Mechanics Hollow, just east of the three major shipyards in Searsport: McGilvery Yard, Carver Yard and Merithew Yard. In addition to making home goods, like the bean pot pictured, the
|
|
Bean Pot made by Barney Foundry, PMM#1972.18.1.
Gift of Sally Dow.
|
|
foundry's primary purpose was providing the ironwork for the vessels built in the adjacent shipyards.
William Otis Barney married
Eliza Jane Merithew,
the niece of prominent Searsport shipyard owner Jeremiah Merithew. The Barneys moved from Massachusetts and are listed in the Searsport tax rolls beginning in 1853.
W.O. Barney, well aware of the destructive and creative uses of fire, was a member of the Penobscot Engine Company No. 1, the local fire department organized in 1854. In 1933, the fire department reorganized and took the name Barney Hose Company in honor of W.O. Barney.
W.O. Barney passed in 1895.
We hope to see you this summer and beyond so we can share some other stories about the people who made Searsport run and who have left a lasting impression on the town that continues to today!
|
Searsport Waterfront in 1875. Detail from Map of Waldo County,Maine 1859 by
D. Kelsey & D.H. Davidson.
|
|