The Story of Big Jim the Sardineman
First off, let’s get one thing straight — standing nearly 40 feet tall, there’s only ONE BIG Jim the Sardineman.
Originally from Kittery, he’s been one of coastal Maine’s most beloved landmarks for more than six decades — a larger-than-life tribute to the generations of men and women who built their lives around the sea. By the 1970’s, Big Jim was moved to Prospect Harbor, where he was repurposed as the new mascot for Stinson Canning Co.’s Beach Cliff brand. For over 50 years, Big Jim has stood at the Prospect Harbor site, his appearance changing with his circumstances, while remaining a steadfast symbol of the ever-changing fishery that has sustained Maine from its beginnings.
Scroll down to read more of his story and learn about his most recent renovation. And if you would like to donate toward Big Jim’s preservation through the years ahead, click on the DONATE image below…
Hint: If you are viewing this on a phone, it is best viewed in “Light” mode.
Kittery
Big Jim Arrives in Kittery, Maine
Commissioned by the Maine Sardine Council in 1959, and created by the Donnelly Advertising Co., Big Jim the Sardineman was erected alongside US Rt 1 near the state line in Kittery.
Facing south and nearly 40-feet tall, Big Jim’s colorfully painted plywood image was a favorite landmark welcoming everyone to the state.
Big Jim had TWO sides In Kittery — his mirror image facing North (photo at rt), bid farewell to anyone leaving the state, cleverly reminding southbound travelers that Maine Sardines were a “Good Buy Always…”
Big Jim the Salesman
In 1959, the Maine coast was dotted by more than 50 canneries, employing thousands of workers. Nevertheless, sardine sales had peaked during the war years, decreasing steadily after that. Clutching his can of sardines, Big Jim (perhaps named for James Warren, Maine Sardine Council Commissioner at the time) was the centerpiece of a creative marketing campaign celebrating Maine’s sardine industry, hoping to renew interest among grocers to stock their shelves with this affordable product.
Go HERE to view Packed Like a Can of Sardines, Penobscot Marine Museum archivist Kevin Johnson’s photo history of Maine’s sardine industry.
Big Jim the Superhero
Another bit of marketing, this comic book could be found at popular tourist venues throughout the state. In 1967, it was simultaneously published in English as well as Spanish, and was updated in 1987.
Browse through the 1967 edition HERE — follow Ricky and Debbie’s adventures, give the Maine Sardine Quiz a try, and learn how to play a fun party game, Sardine (of course!)
Big Jim, Age 10
Over time, the painted plywood rendition of Big Jim deteriorated in Maine’s harsh coastal weather. The photo at right shows he was updated at least once during his time in Kittery, his face appearing more downcast, in shadow with softer features.
The photo also suggests that by the late 1960’s, he was showing his age and ready to retire. By then, the new Maine Turnpike had also diverted most of the traffic away from his Kittery location on US Rt. 1, so The Sardine Council decided it was time to take him down.
May 9
Big Jim Heads Downeast
Meanwhile, further up the coast in Prospect Harbor, a fire completely destroyed the Stinson Canning factory on May 9, 1968. Despite flagging prospects for the industry, sardine magnate Calvin Stinson was not ready to give up. While other Maine canneries were closing, Stinson doubled down. The factory was rebuilt and back in operation with the latest modern equipment by December of the same year.
But state-of-the-art new equipment was not the only addition coming to Prospect Harbor — by the early 1970’s, Stinson rescued Big Jim from the Sardine Council and had the sign disassembled and relocated from Kittery to the site of his new flagship factory.
Go HERE to view A Fish Factory at Prospect Harbor — 150 years presented by Gouldsboro Historical Society’s historian Allen Workman.
Big Jim aka The Stinson Man
Look closely at this photo of the new Stinson Canning Co. factory in Prospect Harbor. The arrow points to a thin vertical white line — that’s a silhouette of Big Jim in the earliest image we have showing him in his new home.
No longer Big Jim, but known locally as The Stinson Man, the sign (shown above at left) was rescued and repainted with features similar to his most recent predecessor in Kittery. Still made of plywood, this early 1970’s edition is holding a Beach Cliff brand sardine can emblazoned with the Stinson Canning Co. name.
Unlike Big Jim of Kittery, The Stinson Man showed only one face — the one seen prominently from Rt 186 in Prospect Harbor.
Big Jim’s Revival
Following his debut in Prospect Harbor in the 1970’s, the plywood version continued to deteriorate. In 1984, Stinson factory employees fabricated and assembled a replica of the original, this time from 1/4-inch aluminum. The 12-piece Stinson Man was bolted together and the photo at right shows a Whitten & Son crane lifting him into place fully assembled! According to a news clipping of the time, the metal sign was painted by Vaughn Heffren of Fairfield, Maine.
The photo at left shows his heavy-duty framework. The “bumps” on the back sides of the two 14″ I-beams are pieces of angle iron, just like those welded onto the front that hold the sign panels. Their presence on the back suggests these are the original I-beams repurposed from Kittery, where the sign had two sides.
Big Jim’s Next Takeover
The photo above, inscribed 1994, appears to be identical to the 1984 version with one minor change. In 1990, the Stinson canning empire was sold and the company became Stinson Seafood Co., though the Beach Cliff brand was retained. Big Jim changed hands, but didn’t lose his can — yet. So the only alteration to this version of The Stinson Man appears to be an editorial one.
Big Jim the Last Sardineman
In 2000, the company changed hands again, becoming Stinson Seafood, Inc. The Stinson Man weathered the change, but assumed a dramatically different look. This version is actually dated — 2001 — and signed by Gouldsboro sign artist Scott Moshier. But as the sardine business continued to wane, the company merged with a larger company, Bumble Bee Seafoods, in 2004.
On April 15, 2010, the last can of sardines packed in the U.S. came off the Stinson conveyor, packed by 78-year-old Lela Anderson who had been packing since she was 17. 128 workers, mostly women whose dexterity sustained the sardine industry for generations, lost their jobs when the plant closed.
Meet Lela and read Yankee Magazine’s feature, Stinson Seafood – The Last Sardine Cannery in the US
Big Jim the Lobsterman
In 2011, the factory was sold to Live Lobster Co. of Boston. Like many resourceful downeasters who preceeded him, Big Jim changed careers. His sardine can was transformed into a vintage lobster trap, bedecked with lobsters which looked suspiciously pre-cooked. We’ll never know.
The next decade saw a series of new owners, each trying to make a go of lobster processing, with limited success. By 2020, the factory closed and the property was for sale again. The 4-storey Lobsterman still loomed over Prospect Harbor adjacent to the shuttered factory, his image fading and peeling more each year. And the factory’s prospects for future seafood processing were fading as well.
It was a tough decade on the Schoodic Peninsula. The Navy bases at Winter Harbor and Corea had both shut down, resulting in a significant increase in park land and tourism, but many fewer full-time residents and jobs.
For a look at what many think of as a “better” time, for the people of the Peninsula and their livelihoods, watch the 20-minute 1947 film Lobstertown.
Big Jim the Activist
Another shock came in 2020. Norwegian-backed American Aquafarms proposed to build one of the world’s largest industrial salmon farms in nearby Frenchman Bay and purchase the Prospect Harbor property to process the aquafarm’s annual yield of 66 million pounds of Atlantic Salmon.
Stakeholders on both sides of the Bay — almost anyone who had an ocean-based livelihood, environmentalists, land owners, recreational users — united in opposition to the exploitation of this pristine natural resource, citing numerous environmental and economic concerns. Local artist Blair Weaver created a mascot for the resistance – a 6-foot high Big Jim carrying a protest sign instead of a lobster trap.
The Norwegians’ application eventually failed with state regulators, evoking a collective sigh of relief from the community. When the property was sold in foreclosure in 2024, the new owners were approached by some who wanted to acquire Big Jim for commercial use elsewhere. But the Gouldsboro Historical Society had already raised concerns about this possibility with the Town when the property’s uncertain future became evident. So the new owners put Jim’s future on hold.
Though his future remained uncertain, Big Jim persevered in Prospect Harbor, hanging onto his faded lobster trap (rather than a tub of industrial-grade salmon), a reminder to the community that they fought together and won.
October
Big Jim the Celebrity
“What do you think of the idea of us borrowing Big Jim for 2 years?” In October, 2024, Kevin Johnson, photo archivist of Searsport’s Penobscot Marine Museum (PMM), put that question to the Gouldsboro Historical Society. The Museum was planning Sardineland, a special 2-year exhibit showcasing the critical role the sardine industry had played in Maine’s economy, and they wanted Big Jim as their ambassador. Johnson added, “We would take him down, have him professionally restored to the way he looked in Kittery in 1959, then put him back up again in Gouldsboro in October, 2026. And the Museum will pay for it.”
The consensus in Gouldsboro was that it was a great idea. But then it took another year to work out the legal, logistical, and financial details, partly because in the midst of negotiations over Big Jim’s future, the factory was sold again in 2025. Fortunately, the new owners, Bold Coast Seafood, enthusiastically supported all the attention being given to (and planned for) their 4-storey lawn ornament. The delay meant that Big Jim would preside over the PMM campus for one season of Sardineland rather than two, but that gave the Schoodic community plenty of time to get excited about “The Stinson Man” becoming a celebrity.
Summer
Big Jim-Boree
Once plans for Big Jim’s restoration were announced, reactions varied —
“But what if they won’t give him BACK?” worried concerned citizens of Gouldsboro.
“But what if they won’t TAKE him back???” worried concerned parties in Searsport.
“We have no idea what will happen with his NEXT owners, he needs his own piggy bank!” agreed just about everyone.
Thus was born the Big Jim-Boree, a collaboration of the Gouldsboro Historical Society and Schoodic Arts for All to raise funds through an art auction to help maintain Big Jim for generations to come. 16 Little Big Jim plywood silhouettes were produced and local artists were offered a chance and a challenge: “Re-imagine Big Jim — Change what he is holding, his attire, his gender, his species — use the media and methods of your choice, as long as they are weatherproof.” Six weeks later, the finished pieces debuted in the Winter Harbor Lobster Festival parade, then were auctioned to the public. Under the stewardship of the Historical Society, all the proceeds were deposited to Big Jim’s savings account. Thanks to fans who care about his future preservation, the fund continues to grow — that’s where the DONATE buttons on this page go!
March
Big Jim’s Big Adventure
Project Mastermind Kevin Johnson of Penobscot Marine Museum arranged for Dan Miller of Belmont Boatworks and son Henry to manage the take-down and transport of Big Jim back to their boatyard in Belmont, Maine for restoration. All three arrived on Sunday morning, March 29, and were joined by a crew of local volunteers and numerous photographers ready to get to work.
Watch the 10-hour deconstruction of Big Jim summarized in this 6-minute video.
Spring
Big Jim Gets a Makeover
Big Jim’s aluminum panels were air-blasted back to bare aluminum then moved indoors to be primed and repainted at Belmont Boatworks.
Enter the WOW Collective — a group of four talented women from the Belfast region who worked their creative magic to return Big Jim to his formal colorful appearance, complete with sardine can.
Scroll through a few of our photos of this process and then be sure to Watch this amazing 3-week endeavor condensed into 3 minutes. Apologies in advance if you can’t stop dancing while watching, but be sure to turn the sound on!
Summer
Big Jim Rising
For the summer of 2026, Big Jim will once again be perched at the side of US Rt 1, greeting (and startling) all who pass by. Watch this high speed version of his set-up on June 10.
On June 13, 2026, Penobscot Marine Museum officially welcomed Big Jim to his temporary home on its Searsport Museum campus.
Stay tuned for more coverage of Big Jim’s summer in Searsport.
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What next??
Penobscot Marine Museum’s Kevin Johnson was the inspiration, energy, and drive behind the restoration of Big Jim the Sardineman. Without his vision and determination to make the restoration a reality, Big Jim would still be patiently clutching his lobster trap, waiting for some TLC. But to get Big Jim this far, the whole Schoodic community had to embrace him as an iconic representative of the State’s fishery – all the activities that have sustained coastal communities in Maine for generations. Bangor has Paul Bunyan, We have Big Jim.
Big Jim will return to Prospect Harbor after the Sardineland exhibit closes in October of 2026. Who knows what his future will bring, please Donate to help preserve Big Jim for future generations!
Many thanks to everyone on Big Jim’s team — without your help, some or all of this undertaking on behalf of Big Jim would have been impossible: Kevin Johnson, Karen Smith, David Wyman, and the Board of Directors at Penobscot Marine Museum; Maureen Andrew and the Board of Directors at Schoodic Arts for All; Town of Gouldsboro; Bold Coast Seafood; Dan and Henry Miller, and Belmont Boatworks; WOW Collective; Pauline Angione, Letitia Baldwin, Joe DePasquale, John Eck, Elizabeth Fieux, Dean Kotula, Cathy and Allan Johnson, Rick Morris, Sheila Smith, Nick Woodward. And finally, thanks to the community of the Schoodic Peninsula that has caught the Big Jim “bug” and supported the endeavor with enthusiasm and generosity.