H is for the Horace and the Hesper, and a hitching post

Hitching Post

This wooden hitching post is topped by an iron horse head with rings for securing reins. Painted in black on the green tin sections are the words,

“J. W. Lord & Co., Kennebunk, ME.” The hitching post stood outside of the J. W. Lord Store on Main Street (Garden Street) Kennebunk during the early half the 20 th century.

Brick Store Museum Collection. Gift of David Sweet, 2004. 2004.099.0001

The Barque Hesper

Hesper, Dirk Anton Teupken (1828-1859), 1856, watercolor, 65.5 x 82.3 cm.

The barque Hesper was built at Kennebunkport by Stephen Ward in 1855. Her principal owner was William Lord, Jr., the nephew of William Lord who built the Brick Store. The barque’s first Master was John Hovey Perkins.

This watercolor was painted by the well-known Dutch artist Dirk Anton Teupken, who trained under his father. Teupken frequently chose the Dutch coastline or the Island of Texel to serve as the background in his work.

Brick Store Museum Collection. Museum purchase, 1981. 81.19.1

Fragment of the Shipwreck Horace

The Horace was built in Scarborough and owned by the Perkins brothers of Kennebunkport. Her captain, also from Kennebunkport, was 32-year-old Leander Foss. On April 11, 1838, the Horace set sail from New Orleans with a cargo of nearly 1200 bales of cotton, bound for Liverpool, England. Not long into the voyage, as they were heading up the eastern coast of the United States, a small band of crewmembers staged an unsuccessful mutiny. Knowing that mutineers must be brought before a federal court, Captain Foss decided to head for shore, where he intended to hand over the mutineers and recruit four reliable replacements. Weather conditions approaching Boston Harbor were poor, so Foss decided to bypass the major port and anchor off Kennebunkport instead. The mutineers were shipped ashore and summarily tried in a Portland court.

Two days later, Captain Foss was ready to resume his voyage, but bad weather delayed his departure. In the dead of night on May 4, amidst a worsening gale, two of the anchor cables parted. The ship would not hold in the raging seas, and Captain Foss desperately called all hands aloft in an attempt to reach the safety of open water. His efforts were futile, and heavy breakers smashed the Horace into the ledges, where she lost her rudder and false keel. She eventually ran aground on Boothby’s Beach. The crew survived, but the ship did not. In the ensuing weeks, teams of oxen were sent out to the wreck to recover the cargo of cotton. Because of water stain and damage, the cotton could not be sold at market, so many a Kennebunk girl ended with a new dress spun and woven locally from Horace cotton. To learn more about Captain Foss—a man twice unlucky—proceed to your right and read the story of the barque Isidore, Captain Foss’ next and last command.

This fragment of the Horace was exposed at Kennebunk Beach on September 6, 1979.

Brick Store Museum Collection. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Chapman, 1981. 81.14.1