In the midst of a recession, celebrating working waterfront preservation is a welcome sign. On July 19, over 100 people celebrated the new Holbrook’s Wharf in Cundy’s Harbor.
The Holbrook Community Foundation rebuilt the wharf and the snack bar. The new pilings were adapted from recycled utility poles. There are also three new commercial fishing bays, with truck access to the wharf.
The day after the celebration, workers unloaded 230,00 pounds of herring and pogies from the fishing vessel Ruth & Pat, according to The Times Record of Brunswick. This vessel, an addition to the Cundy’s Harbor fishing fleet, used to stop in Portland, but will now unload directly into bait trucks at Holbrook’s Wharf, which will help local fishermen.
This celebration was years in the making. In 2002, the wharf property was put on the market and vulnerable to private development.
Holbrook’s Wharf has been an anchor of community life for over 150 years. In addition to the wharf, the property includes a snack bar and a general store. Over the years it provided landing space for urchins, shrimp, lobsters, tuna and groundfish.
A dedicated group of volunteers—The Holbrook Community Foundation—saved this working waterfront, with the help of community members, private businesses, nonprofit groups and state agencies. The foundation raised money from over 500 donors, received a loan from the Genesis Foundation and a technical assistance grant from the Island Institute. The group also received $300,000 from the state’s Working Waterfront Access Pilot Program.
Working waterfronts are vital to the economic future of the coast and islands. This project shows that when a community decides to save its working waterfront, it can be done, and that there are many partners willing to help out.