By Kevin Johnson, Photo Archivist

Maine has its fair share of roadside attractions. There is a giant blueberry in Jonesport, an LL Bean boot in Freeport, and a Paul Bunyan statue in Bangor, to name a few. The 40' tall sardine fisherman (currently holding a lobster trap) in Prospect Harbor stands out among these landmarks. In 1959, when Big Jim was initially erected on Route 1 in Kittery, it was a welcoming beacon for all visitors coming to Maine. This memory still resonates with many people who visited the state before I-95 became the preferred route. While its purpose was to advertise Maine sardines, it came to represent the pride of the industry and the tens of thousands of people who worked in it over a century. 

The first time Big Jim was “saved” was in the late 1960s, when the state decided to remove him from Kittery, and the owners of the Stinson Canning Factory requested he be moved to their Prospect Harbor location, where the statue has stood ever since. When he was moved, the original wooden version--much deteriorated--was replicated in aluminum. It was serendipitous that of all the sardine canneries on the Maine coast, it went to the one that was last to close. Photos of Big Jim accompanied all the major news stories that documented the last days of the last cannery in 2010. It was an icon of the once thriving sardine industry. Since that time, Big Jim has been repeatedly altered, and the effects of weather and time have taken a toll. 

PMM wants to bring him back to his original glory as a reminder of a once prosperous fishery and the economy it spurred, and as a tribute to all those who worked in the canneries, the communities that grew up around them, and on the boats. As we tell the story of the sardine era in our exhibit Sardineland, Big Jim will once again act as a beacon on Rt. 1 here on the PMM grounds in Searsport, before going back home to Prospect Harbor. 

Please consider supporting this effort! Since our campaign to raise the funds began, we have received donations from around the country including Alaska, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Massachusetts, and of course, Maine. We still have a ways to go, so help us spread the word. Every donation helps! Thank you! 

By Cipperly Good, the Richard Saltonstall Jr. Curator of Maritime History

May I just say that there are worse ways to pick a vacation destination as a museum curator? After a wildly successful SardineFest and the opening of the Sardineland exhibit this summer, when it came time to enjoy some much-needed R&R, I decided to head to Douarnenez, France. This sardine fishing port in Brittany, France celebrates its fishing heritage. And of course, I had to try their canned, grilled, and pâté sardines.

While Maine “sardines”, aka Atlantic herring (Clupea harangus) inhabit both the coastal waters of Maine and Britanny, the Douarnenez-caught and -packed sardines are the true sardines, also known as European pilchards (Sardina pilchardus). Their long culinary history in Douarnenez can be attested to by the Gallo-Roman garum (fermented fish sauce) vats unearthed and restored by archaeologists. The town’s first cannery opened in 1853, where workers fried the fish before canning them in tins. The success of the tinned sardine globally soon led Maine, specifically Eastport, to follow suit in opening canneries in 1875. 

Search our collection here and order online here, or email kjohnson@pmm-maine.org or call 207-548-2529 to order.

Looking for something for you kids to do during school vacations? We have options during February and April breaks, plus two weeks in July!

This past month we were featured on WABI for our Big Jim restoration project. You can see that story here. The Boothbay Register wrote this article about PMM Photo Archivist Kevin Johnson's recent presentation in Edgecomb. And, although the new Searsport sea captain statue was not a PMM project, we are happy to provide it a home on our campus. You can read this article in the Midcoast Villager about the project.