by Bud Warren
When Samuel F. Manning died on July 9th in Camden, Maine, the tide mill world lost a close friend. I’d known him since the mid 1970’s when we began sharing our love of dories, a boat type I was using in a school program in Bath. I was in awe of his knowledge and the gentle way he passed on information and supported me as I grew in the love of the Maine coast and its history. By the time we met, he was gaining fame as a proponent of using tidal power, writing about our state’s early tide mills and illustrating them with phenomenal images of how they operated and had been constructed. We were blessed at one of our recent conferences in York when he illustrated his approach.
Sam was a fountain of information and boundless encouragement as TIDE MILL INSTITUTE was getting underway. He stressed the importance of what we were doing, and urged us on in many ways. He was excited when I shared photos of tide mills I found and joined me on several expeditions to study them. One of America’s foremost maritime/ industrial illustrators, he was gracious to a fault by granting TMI permission to use any of his tide mill drawings as we wished, asking only that we cite the source.
He tried to represent clearly how mills fit into their site. His images are a wonderful mixture of technical accuracy and humanity, showing clear as a bell how they worked, and Bruegel-like he often peoples his images with individuals actively engaged in what’s going on at the mill. Some of his work follows.
We’ve been lucky to have had him as a personal and molinological friend.
Read more about Sam Manning in the Penobscot Bay Pilot.
Examples of Sam Manning’s tide mill drawings
Click near top of an image to enlarge
Arrowsic – the Spinney Mill site – as placed by Sam Manning. 
Arrowsic – the Spinney Mill site – as it was. 
Carver’s Harbor – Vinalhaven – how a granite polisher, grist mill and blacksmith shop were powered. 
Deer Isle – Torrey Mill being dismantled – 1880 photo. 
Deer Isle – Torrey Mill – schematic. 
Deer Isle – Torrey Mill – machinery details. 
Deer Isle – Torrey Mill – low tide. 
Deer Isle – Torrey Mill – high tide. 
Phippsburg – Morse Mill. 
Phippsburg – Morse Mill. 
Phippsburg – Morse Mill.
That is indeed a great loss. I was first introduced to Sam Manning ‘s work in Basil Greenhill ‘s book “The Evolution of the Wooden Ship” and I have admired his work ever since.
As a side note, I recently discovered there were two tide mills about two or three miles north of where I’m living now (Brooklin Maine). They were located just North of the reversing falls in South Blue Hill. I imagine you are already aware of them, but thought I’d mention it just in case.