The York River
Maritime Commerce
The river up until the end of the nineteenth century was York's principal means of receiving goods from abroad or shipping local produce and products to markets overseas and up and down the coast. It provided power for gristmills and sawmills and was a primary source of employment. People initially settled close to the river, eventually spreading out into the forests and across the mountains lured by the availability of land and timber. The river with its safe harbor prospered early in York's history. The "lower town" offered wharves and warehouses, shipyards and markets. York's river commerce was largely that of schooners, fifty to eighty feet in length. Many were built and owned locally.
Maritime activity in York reached its zenith in 1810 when the town had 3,700 tons in registered tonnage. This prosperity was short lived as York's shipping tonnage decreased almost 75% by 1840. By 1881 a mere twelve vessels were registered, enrolled or licensed in York. During the latter part of the eighteen hundreds, competition from the railroads cause the role of coastwise shipping to change.
Records from the Marshall Store show a shift in focus from finished goods and miscellaneous products to bulk products such as building materials, cordwood, and coal. Between 1886 and 1916 schooners delivering coal to Varrell's Wharf and to Marshall's Store made up of the majority of ocean going ships arriving in the river. The last of these ships, the coal schooner St. Croix sailed back down the river in October 1916, thus ending the era of "trade sailing ships" on the York River.
The Brick Yards
One of York's major export items in the latter part of the eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds was bricks. In 1868, partners Norton and Leavitt opened a brick and lumberyard on the north side of the river just up from the golf course at the foot of Dock Road. Piling and broken bricks still litter the area marking the location of the wharves. Leavitt later sold out to his partner, Jotham P. Norton. Norton was born in York Village in 1837 and died in 1902 at the age of 62. For many years he was considered one of the biggest contractors in Maine. As part of his construction business he adopted the practice of manufacturing bricks on site. His brickyard in York was a departure from this practice when in 1884 he made York a permanent location for the manufacture of bricks destined for the coastal cities to the south. Here as many as 80,000 bricks per day were made during the season, most being shipped down the coast on Norton's two schooners.
John Hancock Warehouse
York, Maine
On our visit, the warehouse was just open, allowing visitors to wander through the building that has been wonderfully restored with period artifacts so that one has the complete illusion of stepping 300 years into the past. The nearby Marshall House is now an art museum and gift shop.
John Hancock Warehouse Interior
York, Maine
Here is the description of this site from the
Old York Historical Society which maintains it along with eight other museums.
The John Hancock Warehouse and George Marshall Store document three hundred years of commercial life along the York River. Of the many wharves and warehouses which fronted the river and York Harbor in the 18th century, the John Hancock Warehouse is the only remaining commercial building from the Colonial period in York. The York River was the town's major "highway" and played a significant role in York history. The river shaped the daily lives of townspeople in the 18th century and gave York a more cosmopolitan outlook and influence than most inland communities of that time.
The exact construction date of the warehouse is not known, but it is thought to date from the 1740s. Local historians cite Thomas Donnell as first owner of the wharf and builder of the warehouse. The Warehouse was later sold to Daniel Bragdon who came into financial difficulties during the Revolutionary War and was forced to borrow from Boston patriot John Hancock, mortgaging his warehouse interest in 1787. When Bragdon died four years later, the property passed to Hancock. John Hancock owned Bragdon's share of the property until his death in 1793.
The warehouse acted as a store and was likely used as the Customs House for the District Port of York. The customs collector collected taxes on ships coming into harbor loaded with china, fabrics, silver, furniture, and tea by way of London and Boston. Coasters that traded at ports from Nova Scotia to Georgia carried mail, grain, and furs. Barrel staves and hoops, tallow, apples and potatoes were exported from York to the West Indies.