Moosehead Lake bounty sheds new light on history

GREENVILLE – A Sebec man with a love of history is plucking parts of the Moosehead Lake region’s past from the depths of Moosehead Lake.

Eugene Sutton, who recently salvaged part of a propeller from the lake and since has restored it, believes without a doubt that it was used on the Twilight, a sister ship of the Twilight II and the refurbished Katahdin that now offers excursion rides on Moosehead Lake.

Having heard stories about the steamboats that once plied the waters of Moosehead, Sutton, a diver, said he always was intrigued when someone mentioned the Twilight II but never referred to the Twilight. He knew there had to have been a first, and that its remains were on the bottom of the lake.

“I love historical steamships – I’m a sucker for them,” Sutton said, during a recent interview. “Diving, if you do it historically, brings you back into times past.”

With his curiosity piqued, Sutton set out to find the Twilight. Through his research, he learned such a boat was constructed by Bath Iron Works in 1871-72 for the Coburn Steamship Co. and was shipped by rail to Guilford and then towed across Piscataquis County by 50 yoke of oxen to Greenville.

In 1905, the steamboat was purchased by the Moosehead Lake Navigation Co., but very little was recorded about the vessel after that date, Sutton recalled.

“I had a lot of questions on my mind about this,” he said.

Steve Grammond of Dover-Foxcroft, whose family owns a summer cottage on Moosehead Lake south of Harford’s Point, unexpectedly mentioned that his father had found a “monstrous” wreck while on a dive.

Armed with a general location, Sutton and his daughter, Bethany, found the remains of an “awfully large” boat, part of which had been burned. On subsequent dives in the immediate area, Sutton also found part of a propeller located about 200 feet from the boat that he firmly believes was the Twilight.

“I felt confident that was the wreck of the Twilight,” Sutton said. “Nobody could tell me where the original Twilight went and this hulk fit the size and shape of the Twilight.”

Sutton then enlisted the aid of his business partner, Dennis Dorsey of All Resource Divers, and with use of five 100-pound lift bags, the pair managed to bring the artifact to the surface. With assistance from some local volunteers, the piece was towed to the Greenville Junction Wharf and then taken to Sebec where it was painstakingly restored by Sutton.

The cleaning was slow but productive, Sutton recalled. He said the slag was removed from the propeller and then the piece was polished. A casting mark was discovered during the restoration work, which Sutton hopes will lead to the wreck’s identification as the Twilight by Bath Iron Works.

For now, the propeller part will be on display at the All Resource Divers Shop, but Sutton said at some point, he may donate it to a museum.