A. P. Lord in Camden Maine
1919 - 1957
Amos Lord was 51 in 1919, the year he, his wife Lizzie, and step daughter Jessie moved from Belfast to Camden. The John Berry sail loft located next to the anchor foundry on the waterfront had come up for sale, and Amos no doubt found this location was, by comparison, a spacious workspace and an opportunity to do a good business.
Following the war, it was evident to most that the age of commercial sail was finally over in New England, with the exception of some of the fisheries, and a few remaining coasters. Camden launched her last (large) schooner in 1920; the T. N. BARNSDALL, ending the many productive years of the Bean shipbuilding family. The coal trade had now shifted over primarily to tug and barge, and many schooners, without their spars and rigging, continued in this service.
Amos would adapt to these changes. Camden had some advantages over Belfast with it's wealthy summer residents and visitors. There was a Yacht Club, and "Yacht Sails a Specialty" appears in several of his ads and promotions. His new location also allowed for some amount of summer foot traffic, and "Tourist Supplies" become a part of his offerings. With the better economy in place, people had more money, if not for yachting, then for awnings, hammocks, tents and all the diverse canvas products that Amos could assemble.
Awnings were particularly popular, and it's likely they generated a big part of his income. I still have scattered examples of the galvanized hardware peculiar to awnings from that time tucked away. There were many old sample books, now gone, of patterned cotton awning fabrics. It's certain that many sailmakers in the first part of the 20th century transitioned from sail to awning and canvas work without ever looking back. A.P. however, was now in a town where he could keep his hand in sailmaking for the remaining years of his career, supplemented by his other canvas work, and selling a few things off the shelf to the summer "rusticators".
Amos took particular pride of his contribution in 1930 of a port fore royal studding sail for the USS Constitution. A number of veteran sailmakers on the east coast, primarily New England, were solicited to donate towards a major restoration effort by way of new sails. The fabric was supplied, and each sail loft choose from the sail plan whichever sail best suited time and space.
From the correspondence to the sailmakers from the Navy Yard, apparently there were considerable budget constraints and delays. The project that was begun in the flush years of the roaring twenties, struggled along for money after the crash of October 1929. In a letter dated feb 20th 1930 to A.P.Lord, Philips Andrews, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy writes; "Although the hull of 'Old Ironsides' is practically completed and I expect to have her undocked within the next two months, the reconstruction program after her undocking in indefinite. We do not have sufficient funds on hand to complete the restoration, and at this time I am uncertain as to the source from which we will obtain the balance of the necessary funds." He goes on to ask the sailmakers to put everything on hold for a year, or until they hear otherwise. It all ends happily however. As further letters indicate, Amos's sail was completed and shipped to Boston in October 1930.
Sometime in the mid 30's, a fire gutted his waterfront sail loft and Amos was left to rent other down town spaces. His late 1930's Washington Street / Tannery Lane location above is approximately where the current fire station is today. He also rented around the corner on Mechanic street for a time, which in more recent years was a Laundromat, and now part of the Riverhouse Hotel.
By 1941 Amos and Jessie had moved to Limerock Street. In these last years of Amos's life, he continued to maintain and replace sails for Captain Frank Swifts' fleet of "Windjammer Vacation" schooners. The MATTIE and the MERCANTILE were part of his original fleet, and until very recently still carried passengers on three to five day cruises. Amos made sails for these boats in the 40's and 50's, and sixty years later, we made replacement sails for them as well, and some of them on A.P. Lords Machine.
It's hard to see the details in this photo to the left, but the cluttered corner of the Limerock Street shop shows cans of canvas preservative on the floor, grommet setting tools on the shelf and galvanized thimbles hanging on the wall. Some finished canvas products are tagged for pickup at lower left. This is very much the way I found the shop in 1976.
A.P. Lord's granddaughter Virginia York remembered Amos as cheerful and quick with seemingly boundless energy. Apparently he loved to dance. This stamina and agility allowed him to still climb ladders for his awning work well into his 80's. He lived a long life as a proud and independent craftsman. Skill, and a personal resilience enabled him to make and sell a variety of useful products through two world wars, economic adversities and significant changes to his industry. Although he was neither wealthy or known far and wide, Amos left behind a valuable story of a life of tasks, etched into some old tools and a well worn pine sailmaker's bench.
