Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum
Description
The road through South Bristol's town center (Route 129 in 2020) between Rutherford Island and the hand-cranked 1903 Gut swing bridge was known as, "The Bridge". It was a busy place on a summer day in 1911 with people shopping, chatting on porches, and strolling on the road or across the wooden bridge.
Signs advertised dry goods, fancy goods, ice cream, groceries, candy, and tobacco products for sale in the stores. The Thompson Ice Company's wagon was parked next to Edward Gamage's Drug Store. The sole vehicle on the street was from the Eastern Illustrating and Publishing Company in Belfast, whose photographer was taking photos of South Bristol for postcards.
The bridge crossed the Gut, the waterway between the Damariscotta River and Johns Bay and separated Rutherford Island from the Mainland.
In 2020 all but two of the buildings are still there, although some are much altered. Gamage’s store and the barn with the open door across the bridge are gone. The bridge has been replaced several times. The Thompson Ice Company exists as the Thompson Ice House Preservation Society in 2020.
About This Item
- Title: Main Street, South Bristol, 1911
- Creator: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Creation Date: circa 1911
- Subject Date: 1911
- Location: South Bristol, Lincoln County, ME
- Media: Glass Plate Negative
- Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm
- Local Code: R2014.13.19
- Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Bridges
- Business districts
- Commercial streets
- Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Company
- Photographic postcards
- Postcards
- South Bristol (Me.)
People
Other Keywords
- Downtown districts
- Downtowns
- Islands
- Main Streets
- Real photo postcards
- Telephone poles
- Town Centers
- Waterways
For more information about this item, contact:
Penobscot Marine MuseumPO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
Website
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
Please post your comment below to share with others. If you'd like to privately share a comment or correction with MMN staff, please send us a message with this link.