In Summer 2023, Legacy Rockport’s partnership with Eagle Scout James Lent got underway. James designed and constructed a replica of an existing kiosk near the kilns. Placed the right of the Vulcan steam engine, the new kiosk holds a lovely signboard describing the history of the Vulcan and how it came to rest in Rockport’s Marine Park.
By incorporating historical photos from the collection of the late Reverend Ralph Miller, the sign visually tells the story of the Rockport Railroad, chartered in 1886 to carry limerock along 3 miles of track to the fiery kilns at the harbor’s edge.
The locomotive could haul 30 cars for a maximum of 300,000 pounds of stone in a single trip. In 1907, the kilns caught fire, destroying Rockport’s lime industry and the adjacent ice sheds forever.
Rockport Harbor signs
As part of Legacy Rockport’s mission to add educational signs near the harbor to inform visitors of Rockport’s rich industrial past involving shipbuilding, lime, and ice harvesting, a companion project to the Vulcan sign is currently underway with an estimated completion date in Summer 2024.
With the design expertise of Adventure Advertising, the Legacy board is creating two 2×4-foot signs to be installed around the garden in the center of Marine Park.
Designed to be unobtrusive and weather-resistant, these signs will describe the various industries that were key parts of Rockport’s development, and they will showcase vintage photos from the collection of the Camden-Rockport Historical Society.