History Restored: Beloved South Portland Fish Shacks to Be Rebuilt

South Portland was one step ahead of Mother Nature.

These fish shacks were one of the saddest losses from the latest round of storms. Residents of South Portland and beyond had an emotional tie to this bit of history. The shacks at Fishermen's Point were the last tie to a long fishing history, dating back to the late 1800s. With a record high tide and another fierce storm, they were swept away in an instant.

Kathy DiPhilippo, Executive Director for the South Portland Historical Society, told CBS 13 WGME,

Very upsetting for our community here. It felt surreal, unbelievable. I mean obviously, we knew that this was a possibility.

So in 2022, they reached out to SMRT Architects and Engineers in Portland, who came out voluntarily and helped document the last remaining shacks. It looks like there are three, but in reality, there are only two. One is two shacks connected to make a large shack. They took measurements and photographs of each shack so that they could recreate them if ever needed one day. That day is now. They used 360-degree photography for each shack. This is a photo of Ted Rand Shack.

These shacks date back to the 1800s, and their loss would be a blow to the fishing history of South Portland. SMRT took 3D images of the Cobb/Bolton shack too. That's the one that looks like two, but it's connected.

Interest in helping has been pouring in, and South Portland thinks they may be able to rebuild without taxpayer money. It will be a slow process, but the work to restore such an amazing part of history starts now.