While excavating for BIW’s new Kitting Terminal, portions of an old wharf were discovered in the mud. This wharf, named Union Wharf because it extended out from Union Street, ran approximately 410 ft. across the marsh and mud flats to deeper water in order to berth commercial ships. It was among the longest wharfs on the Bath shoreline. In existence since at least 1806, some of the wharf’s owners included William King, the first governor of Maine, as well as the Crooker family. It was used to load logs and milled wood onto ships. Office and storage buildings were located along the wharf. In 1883, Goss Marine Iron Works began filling the area between this wharf and the surrounding wharves to create more land for their shipbuilding operations, and in 1888, BIW took over and continued filling in the area. By 1909, the filling of the area around Union Wharf was complete, eventually becoming the land where some of our buildings now sit.
Archaeological findings by Independent Archaeological Consulting, LLC (IAC).
