On a cold Christmas Eve in 1886, the British three-masted barque Annie C. Maguire wrecked on the rocks in Portland Harbour, Maine. How the ship wrecked is a mystery and the subsequent behavior of the ship’s crew remains a fascinating and legendary tale.
Strout Family to the Rescue
The Annie C. Maguire was returning to Quebec from Buenos Aires guided by Captain Daniel O’Neil and carrying his wife and son, thirteen crew, and 2 mates. As the ship approached Maine, it encountered a rough storm and Captain O’Neil brought the ship into Portland Harbour to seek shelter. At 11:30 pm, for unknown reasons, the ship crashed on the rocks just 100 feet from the Portland Head Lighthouse on the cliffs of Cape Elizabeth.
Notified by the local sheriff that the Annie C. Maguire was in the harbour, Lighthouse Keeper Joshua Strout kept watch. After seeing the ship wreck on the rocks, he awoke his wife Mary and his son Joseph who were asleep in their home adjacent to the lighthouse. Mary soaked blankets and rags with kerosene to create makeshift torches to light the way to the ship. The family went down to the wreck and placed a ladder across the rocks for the crew of the Maguire to crawl across to safety. All aboard were rescued and sought refuge in the lighthouse.
An Unplanned Feast
Joshua and Mary took the wet, cold clothes from the men and gave them warm blankets, coffee, and hot food. The crew had been on extremely meager rations of salted beef and noodles for the past several weeks and were famished. Mary had just slaughtered 8 chickens for Christmas and the crew devoured all they could find. Joshua encouraged the men to go to the nearby rescue station which had more space and plenty of food for them, but the men did not wish to leave. After 3 days, the crew of the ship had eaten almost every morsel of food in the Strout family home. While appreciative of the hospitality, Captain O’Neil struggled to keep the rowdy men under control.
An Angry Mob
When it became apparent the ship could not be saved, the Sheriff put Joshua Strout in charge of salvage efforts. A case of scotch from the ship was brought in to the house, and the crew immediately drank all of it, and became so disorderly that they attacked the ship’s cook who had served such lousy food during their voyage.
The British Vice Counsel discharged the ship’s crew from service and the men were sent home. When the Sheriff and Strout searched the ship for its papers and ship’s log, they found nothing. Years later it was discovered that Captain O’Neil and his wife had taken all the cash, papers, valuables, and the ship’s log and snuck them out in a hatbox during the rescue. A week later, another storm battered the Annie C. Maguire and the ship broke up.
There is no explanation for how the Annie C. Maguire wrecked that night. Some have claimed the waters were calm and visibility was good. Also, there are some who believe the ship was wrecked on purpose, right under the lighthouse, as part of an insurance scam. The dishonest behavior of the Captain and his wife added fuel to these rumors.
A Tradition is Born
Joshua Strout retired in 1904 at age 79 and his son Joseph was named the new Lighthouse Keeper. When Joseph’s son John turned 21 in 1912, John was named Assistant Lighthouse Keeper. It was on this day that John painted a rock with the words, “Annie C Maguire, Shipwrecked Here, Christmas Eve 1886.” Since that time, it has become a Christmas Eve tradition to repaint these words on the rock, keeping the story of the Strout family’s bravery and kindness alive.
