In the Days of Steam Wagon Transport
On a vacation trip to Bar Harbor, I was thrilled to stumble upon another piece of Belgrade history at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Tremont. There, nestled among magnificent automobiles of yesteryear sat a 1914 red, twelve passenger Stanley Steamer Mountain Wagon. The signage read “used in the Belgrade Lakes Region.”
With twelve, removable seats, the Mountain Wagon was the ideal vehicle for transporting passengers and luggage from the railroad station in the depot to the Belgrade Lakes hotels and surrounding area. The owner of Woodland Camps, Chester Thwing, purchased a 1914 model for fetching his clientele to Belgrade Lakes, where they were ferried by boat to the camp. Built in 1917, Woodland Camps was only accessible by water until a road could be built several years later.
In his memoir, “History re: Belgrade Lakes,” H. Leslie Brown mentions that the red Stanley Steamer, housed in Wilson Clement’s upper garage was regularly sent to meet the train and bring summer visitors back to Belgrade Lakes Village. It was usually driven by Percy Dillingham or Edwin Partridge. I have been told Percy Dillingham would drive the steamer down to the shore on Hulin Road to fill the 50-gallon water tank, which would allow for a 40-to-50-mile range.
The upper garage, also known as the Central House Garage, could hold up seventy cars. Each vehicle was housed in a 10′ × 18′ stall enclosed in heavy wire netting. In this era, long road trips usually required a chauffeur and were an adventure. Later additions were added to the building to house a bowling alley and the Acme Movie Theatre. In the late 1930s, the building was known as the Belgrade Lakes Casino where boxing and wrestling matches were held. Eventually the building was sold to Day’s Marina and then to Clark Marine to be used for boat storage. Unfortunately, the boat storage building collapsed in 1983 due to a heavy snow load. Today the land is occupied by a newer building operated by Carter’s Marine + Storage.
In 2021, I was lucky enough to return to Seal Cove Museum for a Steam Day Event. Among the vehicles scheduled to be fired up was the 1914 Stanley Steamer Mountain Wagon. After a few attempts, the car started up with a cloud of steam. As it pulled away down the road, I found myself imagining passengers arriving by train at Belgrade Depot and boarding this beautiful vehicle to taxi them to Belgrade Lakes Village.
To find out more about Seal Cove Auto Museum, visit www.sealcoveautomuseum.org. To learn more about Stanley Steamers visit the Stanley Museum in nearby Kingfield, www.stanleymuseum.org.
Dianne Dowd is vice president of the Belgrade Historical Society.
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