The 1915 Morrison Hill Station of the Portland-Lewiston
Interurban from Mill Road in West Cumberland,
is the first stop on September 27, 2020, during Seashore
Cumberland, Maine is celebrating its Bicentennial with a celebration of the 200th birthday at Twin Brook Recreation Area (185 Tuttle Road) starting at 10 am and ending with fireworks at 7:30 pm.
Seashore Trolley Museum will have a canopy and tables with items on display that have connections to Cumberland's transportation history. The famous Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI) electric railroad operated through West Cumberland from 1914 until 1933. Seashore Trolley Museum has in its collection the only known surviving waiting station from the PLI and it is from West Cumberland! Morrison Hill Station. Stop by our canopy and visit us.
In addition, the Seashore Trolley Museum has the lone surviving majestic, high-speed, luxury coach from the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 14, Narcissus. Each of the original six interurbans was named after the intrepid builder, W. Scott Libbey, favorite flowers; Arbutus, Gladiolus, Narcissus, Clematis, Azalea, and Magnolia. In 1920, one additional interurban was added and named Maine in honor of Maine's Centennial.
One of several memorial plaques on benches at
Morrison Hill Station. PWM
Greeting cards and other Narcissus-related
merchandise will be available as part
of the fundraising at the Museum's
canopy display at the Cumberland
Bicentennial Celebration on September 18, 2021.
Artwork by Amy J. Gagnon.
The Narcissus is currently undergoing restoration in the Donald G. Curry Town House Restoration Shop at the Seashore Trolley Museum. The Narcissus is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Scroll down to see more about its history.
The beautifully appointed, high-speed PLI interurban coach,
No. 14, Narcissus in the restoration shop at
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, ME.
August 21, 2021 image PWM
the crowd gathered in Gray, Maine on August 18, 1914.
Image courtesy of Gray Historical Society
selling/signing copies of
her award-winning historical-fiction novel,
Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the
Elegant Ride, at the Bicentennial Celebration.
This heart-warming story features the PLI
and the Narcissus as the "elegant ride"
during the days of the
Cumberland Fair in the teens of
the twentieth century. PWM
A 1915 map showing Morrison Hill along the
Portland-Lewiston Interurban. The link to the map was forwarded
to us by Thomas Bennett, Director of
the Prince Memorial Library in Cumberland :)
The sign was restored and reinstalled in the spring of 2021.
A photo of the only known surviving porcelain tile that
promoted ticket sales at the few stations that sold tickets
to ride the majestic and speedy electric interurbans of
the famous Portland-Lewiston Interurban (PLI). The PLI
operated between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, from
1914 until 1933. Several local stops to the approximately
30-mile right-of-way between Fairview Junction in Auburn
and Deering Junction in North Deering (Portland) was added
in 1915. The Morrison Hill Station on Mill Road was one
of the local stops added in 1915.
From the 1994 Annual Report of the Trolley Museum,
a photo taken in about 1990, from where the
1915 Morrison Hill Station of the
Portland-Lewiston Interurban was located in West
Cumberland, Maine. Jay Mazzei is seen here.
His father, John Mazzei was assessing the structure in
preparation for moving the station to
Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine.
Image by John Mazzei
1992 when the Morrison Hill Station first arrived
at Seashore Trolley Museum.
Image from the 1992 NEERHS (Seashore
Trolley Museum) annual report
The Morrison Hill Station has been at the Seashore Trolley Museum for nearly 30 years. It was donated to the Museum by Dick Budd, owner of Budd's Gulf in West Cumberland. The PLI waiting station had been deteriorating in the backyard of the Gulf station for many years. Once at Seashore, the historic and only known surviving waiting station from the PLI was restored and placed on the opposite side of the mainline tracks as a crossing at Riverside Carhouse.
In recent years, benches with commemorative plaques have
been added to the station platform. Each plaque is in memory
of someone who was dedicated to the Portland-Lewiston
Interurban in one way or another. PWM
One of several memorial plaques on benches at
Morrison Hill Station. PWM
Portland-Lewiston Interurban No, 14, Narcissus makes stops
at the station as it did so often over many years in
West Cumberland. Notice the tiger lilies next to the station.
These are the same tiger lilies featured in Wade Zahares'
artwork. PWM photo
art by Maine artist Wade Zahares is now available
as a 4"x 6" greeting card. A box of ten cards with
envelopes.
Morrison Hill Station is a hub of activity
at Seashore Trolley Museum. PWM
The Morrison Hill Station and the Narcissus will be reunited
for the first time since 1933 when
the ribbon-cutting celebration takes place at the station upon the
restoration of the Narcissus being completed. PWM
Reece Saunders was the graphics art designer for the new 2021
exhibit panel in 1915 Morrison Hill Station at Seashore Trolley
Museum. Reece, a Thornton Academy class of 2017 alum,
graduated in May 2021 from the University of
Southern Maine where he was a Technology Management
major with a minor in Digital Design. PWM image.
Early in 2021, a new exhibit was installed in the
1915 Portland-Lewiston Interurban
waiting-station from
West Cumberland, Maine. PWM
Below is a short video that shows the 2021 exhibit
The PLI electric railway vehicles each had
a portable "cell " phone.
This model "E" Westinghouse Electric
portable phone will be installed in the
Narcissus. PWM
The interurban line was constructed between 1910 and 1914.
The tracks cut through many dairy farmers' cow pastures in the
very rural section of Maine between Lewiston and Portland.
The addition of fifty concrete underpasses for the safe passage of
dairy cows between pastures were critical for the farmers and
for the safe operation of the PLI vehicles.
Print of the original work of art, "Fast Friends", by Maine artist,
Wade Zahares. Prints and greeting cards are available for purchase.
All proceeds benefit the Portland-Lewiston Interurban, No. 14,
Narcissus Project.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We continue the restoration work on the 1912, Narcissus, the only surviving high-speed, luxury interurban coach of the Portland-Lewiston Interurban.
Click Here: Narcissus Restoration-Related Posts
Being more than a century old, the stately, "Elegant Ride," Narcissus, is a gem. This shimmering precious stone of Maine transportation history is brilliantly resplendent as it emanates so many elements of history, including; time, places, people, and events, that it was coupled to, that when just a smattering of its seemingly innumerable stories are shared, the contents captivates, fascinates, then generates, interest to learn more 🙋. The majestic Narcissus is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Please consider joining the epic journey to complete the Narcissus Project by making a donation today!
Click Here: Donation Options
The restoration of this majestic icon of Maine's electric railway history is but one in a series of captivating stories containing an abundance of incredible coalition of narratives.
Click Here: History-Related Posts - Narcissus and Portland-Lewiston Interurban
The Narcissus is featured in the national Gold Award-winning novel, Teddy Roosevelt, Millie, and the Elegant Ride. The "Elegant Ride" is the Narcissus. Theodore Roosevelt was a passenger on the Narcissus on August 18, 1914, between Lewiston and Portland, Maine, while campaigning for the Progressive Party candidates.
Click Here: Bookstores and Businesses promoting the Narcissus Project
Independent book publisher, Phil Morse, holding
the Gold Book Award Winner plaque for
the Middle Reader category for The Eric
Hoffer Book Award. Congratulations to
award-winning Maine author,
Jean M. Flahive
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