The Association Docks
Who remembers the Association Docks? It is likely that none of us do, other than in this historic photo. We do not know the exact year that these docks finally petered out and rotted away, but, there are several of us alive that know these docks were gone from the shore of Mill Stream in Belgrade Lakes by the 1950s.
The docks housed a fleet of guide boats operated by local guides. During the summer season, as many as fifty guides kept busy with fishing sports* from near and far. The entire Belgrade chain of lakes was abundant with fish — and the accommodations such as the Belgrade Hotel, the Lakeshore, the Locust House, the Messalonskee Lodge, and many others, were built and available for both short and long term seasonal housing.
Early in the first half of the Twentieth Century, wooden boat building blossomed as the demand for special fishing boats increased significantly. As seen in the photo below right, “double-enders” (pointed on both ends) from 18 to 21 feet long, required long docks in a protected area in the event of storms. In addition to dockage for the boats, the docks and general area became the meeting place each morning for guides, sports and yes, even the baitman! The path to reach the docks was between Sybill’s Store (think Maine Made Shop) and Maggie’s Barn (LRC Property, barn burned 25 years ago).
The location of these docks was (ironically), precisely where the 7 Lakes Alliance public docks are today. The large boathouse that is shown was owned by the Pulsifer family after 1928, and the property still is today! Like a flash in the pan, a half a century later, guideboats, guides, and baitmen are few and far between.
*Webmaster’s Note: A “sport” was a tourist who came to the Belgrades to hunt or fish, usually with the aid of a local guide.
Rod Johnson, a.k.a. “The Luckiest Boy,” sits on the board of directors for the Belgrade Historical Society.
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