SS Huntress
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SS Huntress was a steamship which operated in Maine between 1838 and 1916.[1] Built in New York in 1838,[2] the Huntress's registered length, breadth and depth were 172 feet by 23 feet by 9 feet, 6 inches. She weighed 333 tons.[3] It arrived in Bath, Maine, on June 11, 1838, commanded by Captain Kimball. It was owned by the New London & Norwich Steamboat Company.[3]
The vessel resumed the Gardiner-to-Boston (via Portland) route formerly run by the SS New England,[3] which was lost in a collision near Boon Island, Maine, in 1838.[4] In 1840, due to increased business, a larger steamer, the John W. Richmond, was purchased to run the route.[3]
Its initial schedule was to depart Gardiner at 3:00 PM every Monday and Thursday, then departing Bath at 5:00 PM. She would depart from Boston at 7:00 PM on Tuesdays and Fridays. It was berthed in Gardiner until Sunday.[3] She later made three trips a week to Portland.[5]
On July 4, 1838, while being chartered by Cornelius Vanderbilt's steamship company, it was reported that the Huntress carried around 700 passengers from Gardiner to Portland and back.[3]
By 1848, the Huntress was running trips from Hallowell, Maine,[6] to Portland, with the SS Charter Oak and SS Kennebec running alternately to Boston.[7]
Huntress Street, in Portland's Libbytown neighborhood, is named for the vessel.[1]