Mile 2006 - Machias, Maine

The word Machias is Passamaquoddy (native american indian) for "bad little falls." Located on the Machias River, the town was settled in 1763 by settlers from Scarborough, England.

Machias is best known as the site of the first naval battle of the American Revolution. This battle, which occurred in June 1775 took place after the townspeople refused to provide the British with lumber for building 'occupation' barracks, led to the capture of the armed schooner HMS Margaretta by settlers under Captain Jeremiah O'Brien and Capt. Benjamin Foster.

Later, in the 19th century, Machias developed into a major railroad center for northern lumber operations. It was this lumber that was used to build many sailing ships. The one nearest and dearest to me was the Lucy Evelyn.



The building of the schooner Lucy Evelyn was the realization of a lifelong dream of Captain Everett C. Lindsey of Machias, Maine. At sea since he was a boy of fourteen, his youthful ambition was to build a ship of his own. When the ship Edna, of which he was in command, was sold, the long awaited opportunity presented itself. Through the backing of a group of friends and the Machias Lumber Company, the building of his ship was made possible. Her keel was laid early in 1917 near the Captain’s home in Machias.

This ship was launched on Thanksgiving Day. Her hull, then painted a gleaming white, was a familiar sight in the ports of Nova Scotia, Havana, Puerto Rico, the Barbadoes, Philadelphia, South Carolina, and the Virgin Islands. She had a long and colorful career that lasted until the end of World War II.

On April 12, 1948 Captain Costa brought her limping into New Bedford, Massachusetts without a saleable cargo - where she was tossed by the stormy waters of litigation. Her seamen sued for back wages, alleging near starvation, and the lack of housing them ashore, as well as scurvy and the lack of medicine. The inevitable announcement appeared in the press as the Lucy Evelyn was put on the block to pay wages. The Federal Court in Boston appraised her at $4500 in the condition she was then in but the auction, conducted in Boston, brought only a meager $1550.

Alas, the Lucy Evelyn had made her last voyage under sail. The vessel was ignobly towed to Beach Haven, New Jersey, where she was beached and turned into a gift shop, to be remembered by thousands of people who have visited her - like me, my brothers and parents, and especially by my Grandmother who loved to see the changing displays of merchandise.

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The top-sail schooner Lucy Evelyn was 140 feet long, had a 32 foot beam, and took 10 feet of water to float. She caught fire on a cold rainy winter night and sadly burned to the ground in 1972. She is still remembered with the utmost fondness by the residents of Beach Haven.



This postcard, printed a few years before the Lucy Evelyn burned - also evokes strong "sailing" memories for me. Fortunately, the Beach Haven Yatch Club building is still standing and still used daily during the summer months for aspiring young sailors learning how to sail like the commodore. Occasionally there are parties there where Thirstin and Lovey Howell III-types attend - ever mindful to keep their pinkies held high as they drink their tea.

Source of the Lucy Evelyn History