Constructed on the north shore of Little Deer Isle over three winters, Mercantile was one of five schooners constructed by the Billings family to serve Maine’s coasting trade. From her launch in 1916, she hauled hundreds of tons of firewood, barrel staves, fish, salt, and building materials throughout the coast of New England. Her shoal draft design allowed for loading and unloading cargo in many places inaccessible to deeper draft vessels. Mercantile remained in operation for the Billings family until a collision with a steamer in Bucksport Narrows led to her eventual sale to a fishing operation out of Providence, Rhode Island. By this time, steamships had come to dominate the coasting trade, and many schooners like Mercantile found themselves run aground or otherwise scrapped. Fortunately, a young Captain Frank Swift had the bright idea to repurpose a few of Maine’s traditional wooden schooners as tourist cruising ships, trading cargo for paying passengers. Mercantile was one of the first boats he purchased for this purpose. For the last 80 years, Mercantile has hosted guests from around the world in her home waters