17/07/2023
Southport, CT Harbor c. 1905.
The Last of the Market Fleet, Southport, Conn.
Southport, Luin B. Switzer, [c. 1905]
Picture Postcard Pequot Library Special Collections
Schooner Mary Elizabeth was the last of the Southport fleet to function as a regular market boat. In 1905 Charles Jennings, of Charles Jennings & Son (previously Joseph Jennings & Son), sold the ship, and Southport’s days as a commercial hub drew to a close. We featured this postcard in the 2019 exhibition, Sloop Logs and Ledgers: Discovering Southport’s Maritime History. Click here to view the exhibition guide.
This postcard is addressed to Mrs. H. T. Bulkley, née Rebecca Williams Pomeroy, a member of Southport’s Soldier’s Aid Society. Note that the front of this postcard reads “Comps of L.B.S.” – almost certainly Luin B. Switzer, of Switzer’s drugstore. Switzer’s sold souvenir postcards of Southport at the pharmacy for many years. In 1905 these were advertised in the Weekly Times at “2 for 5 cents.”
In terms of the history of Southport's harbor, in the 19th century, Southport was still primarily a farming community, but the harbor provided the means by which local agricultural products reached buyers. Even after the introduction of the railroad in 1848, Southport’s market fleet was still the most desirable way to ship goods. Not only were the captains of these ships known and respected members of the community, consisting of the Jennings and Meeker firms, among others, but cargo carried in sloops was packed in better insulation than in railway cars. This was especially important for crops like onions that were shipped in autumn and winter and could freeze if not packed carefully. The capacity of the train, with its two large box cars, was 125 barrels, whereas larger sloops like the Mary Elizabeth, Merchant, and Ganges were refitted as coastal schooners withhold capacities of 1,500 barrels per voyage. The cost of operating a sloop was far cheaper than the cost of running a train, too.
In 1840, careful cross-pollination and breeding by local farmers created the Southport Globe Onion, the cash crop that would help Southport leave its mark on the country. This stable, high-yield crop became popular quickly among local farmers. In fact, Southport is said to have been known for a time as “The Onion Capital of the World,” although it also produced wheat, corn, rye, flax, pork, and tanned leather. Furthermore, produce from other towns like Redding, Easton and Weston were shipped out of Southport, marking it as a hub of maritime commerce in the 19th century.
