Nipako S.
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Highly recommend checking out this museum if you're in the area. The gentleman who is giving the tours currently worked here for six years, so he has first hand experience in how the smoking of the herring and sardines was done.
Apparently this was the last operating smokehouse in the United States and it closed in the early 90s due to the FDA requiring them to remove the enterals of fish in the beginning of the process, rather than the end, which this was not set up to do. There was also a building that used to be across the river and it floated away during a high tide. Another building that was attached to the current museum was also lost a few years ago during a bad winter storm. They are currently trying to raise money to lift up the buildings several feet higher, as two of them flood as much as a foot of water during extreme high tides, so they are also at risk of collapse or floating away.
Inside you'll find posters with information on how the mackerel were caught, strung onto rods for smoking, smoked (for two months!), then taken down for processing and packaging. There used to be smokers and canneries all over Maine, but this is a one of a kind now, despite being a booming industry for so long. Still smells like fish now, and it was 10x stronger back in the day. Imagine how it was in the 30s when there were multiple smokers and canneries running! Highly recommend checking out this cute little piece of history if you're in the area to learn a lot more about Maine's history, as well as support their effort in saving these buildings.