Photo by Carol OlsenBringing Forest Belle Back to Maine
Maine Maritime Museum has a rare opportunity to acquire a historic ship figurehead carved by Bath’s Colonel C. A. L. Sampson for the bark Forest Belle in 1877. Sampson was a renowned 19th-century carver, but only a handful of his works survive. Figureheads are highly sought-after art pieces, and Maine Maritime Museum is the only institution in the state that holds Maine-related examples.
In 1878, the Forest Belle grounded and burned off Taiwan. Captain Allen Noyes recovered the carving from the water and shipped it to Portland, Oregon. It spent decades decorating the Portland Seaman’s Bethel and has been exhibited at the Oregon Historical Society for the past 60 years. Owned by the City of Portland, the piece is being offered to the museum for the cost of deinstallation, packing, and cross-country shipping.
Can you help us bring the Forest Belle back to Maine?
About Our Collection
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The main database—consisting of over 26,000 records—of artifacts, photos, and ephemera in our collection.
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This resource allows users to explore our painting collection through interactive exhibits and view them in high resolution.
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The catalog of reference books and manuscript collections held in the Nathan R. Lipfert Research Library.
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Provides access to the Guide to Manuscripts, full-text search for manuscript finding aids, and additional digitized archival documents.
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A database of 28,695 mariners listed in records dating back more than 200 years from the archives of the Maine Maritime Museum. Thanks to funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Our mission is to connect individuals to the past, present, and future of Maine's waterways and their global reach.