The History of Union Wharf 17931998 Author:Susan Dudley Gold, Jill Cournoyer Union Wharf, the oldest such structure in Portland, Maine, was built when the nation was ten years old. Today, entering its third century, it stands as a monument to its founders' vision and to the perseverance of one family in particular (the Shurtleff-Pooles). Union Wharf has weathered it all: a fire that nearly demolished the city, a sea batt... more »le that killed two captains, the threat of German U-boats, and a waterfront that slowly crumbled into the ocean before it was rescued by an economic boom. Its story is that of a young nation grown into a world power and a city that found its way.« less