Our Recent History

In 1963 the Maine Public Utilities Commission set a Private and Special Law which granted franchise protection to Casco Bay Lines, then a privately-owned company, to ensure daily year-round regulated transportation. The franchise grants the protection of exclusivity for passenger, vehicle and freight transportation among and between the islands of Casco Bay and the mainland terminal in Portland, Maine.

When the original Casco Bay Lines declared bankruptcy in 1981, the Casco Bay Island Transit District (CBITD), a quasi-municipal, non-profit corporation, was established through emergency State legislative action to ensure the continuation of service. CBITD purchased the assets of the ferry company through a series of bond debentures, thereby taking on the obligation to service the islands every day of the year.

The Story of Casco Bay Lines

We use the name "Casco Bay Lines" every day in our lives as island residents and CBL employees, but probably no one knows how and when the company was first called that.

Scheduled ferry service to the islands started in 1870 or 1871, but not until 1878 was there a permanent year-round company dedicated to scheduled service to the inner bay islands. This entity was called the Casco Bay Steamboat Company.

As the popularity of the islands blossomed, during the summer months in particular, rival boat companies came and went. In 1881 another year-round company, the Harpswell Line, was formed to provide service to the outer islands as far as Bailey and Orrs Islands. Both outfits enjoyed the boom economic times of the Gilded Age until the recession of the 1890s. The cost of new boat construction made it prudent to merge the two lines as the Casco Bay and Harpswell Steamboat Company in 1907. This company consolidated its best and most popular vessels at the Custom House Wharf facility.

In July of 1919, the economic effects of World War I combined with the mounting repair bills for the wooden steamboats caused over $50,000 in liens to be called in on the vessels. The company staved off the courts until September when the boats were finally shut down and the crews laid off.

By the winter of 1919-1920 the company re-emerged as Casco Bay Lines with a fleet slimmed down to four: Aucocisco, Maquoit, Emita, and Pilgrim . Now you know why we are the "Lines" and not the "Line," taking into consideration the merger from long ago.

Captain Larry Legere, whose career with Casco Bay Lines spans nearly 30 years, is the ferry line's unofficial historian. When not spinning yarns in the freight shed, he can be found filling in on the Down Bay run.

We provide year-round ferry services, scenic cruises and boat tours from Portland, Maine to the islands of Casco Bay such as
Peaks Island, Little Diamond Island, Great Diamond Island, Chebeague Island, Diamond Cove, Long Island and Bailey Island.
We also offer scenic cruises, summer-time music cruises, private charters and lobster bakes. Join us and see where the Maine coast really begins!
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Ferry Terminal: 56 Commercial Street, Portland, Maine | Mailing Address:P.O. Box 4656, Portland, ME 04112-4656
Phone: (207) 774-7871 | Fax: (207) 774-7875 | Email:info@cascobaylines.com