This event is sponsored by Spirits Alive

Join Spirits Alive for their Winter Lecture Series.

Herb Adams will present his updated talk on the sinking of the SS Portland and how it affected the town and its residents. "And the Sea Shall Take Them All—The Wreck of the SS Portland" will be an in-person event.
125 years ago, the wreck of the SS Portland, became the largest loss of life at sea in a single storm in New England history. Some 200 souls were lost in a storm so severe that it was known as "The Great Portland Gale." On the weekend after Thanksgiving 1898, the sidewheel steamship carried home a cross-section of city life—immigrants, politicians, servants, businessmen, brokers, infants, and entire families—all lost in "The greatest wind that ever swallowed New England." The city’s African American population was especially hard-hit. Adams will tell us why the ship sailed and where it was lost. His illustrated talk will feature underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) images of the wreck as it is today deep off Cape Cod, still holding its secrets.

This event will be held in person in the University of Southern Maine Glickman Library, University Events Room, 7th floor.