Images of Acadia


Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, ca. 1930

Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, ca. 1930
Item 19225   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Summit of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1920

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1920
Item 19226   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Thunder Hole on Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.

CCC workers, Acadia National Park, ca. 1934

CCC workers, Acadia National Park, ca. 1934
Item 22183   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps workers in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor. It is not known who these individuals are.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.

It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men worked in National and State Parks and other areas to revitalize the forests and landscape.

CCC Workers, Acadia National Park, 1934

CCC Workers, Acadia National Park, 1934
Item 22983   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps workers work on a diseased tree in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island: one in Bar Harbor and the other in Southwest Harbor.

The program placed young men in state and national parks and other sites to help protect forests and create recreational opportunities.

Acadia National Park came into being on July 8, 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson established Sieur de Monts National Monument for its connection to Samuel de Champlain and the “topographic configuration, the geology, the fauna and flora of the island ... are also of great scientific interest”

In 1919, the name was changed to Lafayette National Park. In 1929, it became Acadia National Park.

CCC Worker in Acadia National Park

CCC Worker in Acadia National Park
Item 22180   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worker in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor. The name of the individual and this location are not known.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.
It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC Workers in Acadia National Park

CCC Workers in Acadia National Park
Item 22181   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor. It is not known who the people are in this picture.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.
It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC Workers in Acadia National Park, ca. 1934

CCC Workers in Acadia National Park, ca. 1934
Item 22182   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor. It is not known who the people are in the image or the location.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.

It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC Barracks at Acadia National Park

CCC Barracks at Acadia National Park
Item 22185   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Barracks in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor. It is believed that this is an image of the Bar Harbor Camp.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.
It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

Civilian Conservation Corps workers, Acadia National Park, 1934

Civilian Conservation Corps workers, Acadia National Park, 1934
Item 22985   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers work on a diseased tree in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor.


CCC work, Acadia National Park, ca. 1934

CCC work, Acadia National Park, ca. 1934
Item 22184   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worker in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor. It is not known who this person it. It appears that he is painting a picture of the "Bubbles" at Jordan Pond.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.

It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men worked in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

Ocean Drive, Acadia National Park

Ocean Drive, Acadia National Park
Item 22252   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View from Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park.

George B. Dorr in Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

George B. Dorr in Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 22980   info
Acadia National Park

George B. Dorr was instrumental in the creation of Lafayette National Park - now known as Acadia National Park. He worked with Charles Eliot to obtain the land to be preserved and fulfilling the process to gain national park status. He is considered by some as the "father of Acadia National Park."

Mr. Dorr was also responsible for changing the names of mountains and ponds on Mount Desert Island from the ones the original permanent settlers gave them to ones that he believed were more dignified.

Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Jordan Pond, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 17467   info
Maine Historical Society

Jordan Pond at Acadia National Park near Bar Harbor. Acadia was the first national park in the eastern United States.

Arch Bridge at Bubble Pond

Arch Bridge at Bubble Pond
Item 19224   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Arch Bridge at Bubble Pond in Acadia National Park.

Acadia National Park, ca. 1920

Acadia National Park, ca. 1920
Item 19054   info
Maine Forest Service

A group of people, some of whom are Maine Forest Service employees, at Acadia National Park at Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1920.

Horse Cut on Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1930

Horse Cut on Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1930
Item 19208   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A lone car driving on a mountain road in Acadia National Park.

Jordon Pond and the Bubbles Acadia National Park, ca. 1900

Jordon Pond and the Bubbles Acadia National Park, ca. 1900
Item 79048   info
Northeast Harbor Library

This panoramic image shows a view of the Bubbles and Jordon Pond in Acadia National Park.

Jordon Pond has been a popular destination for tourists since the Jordon Pond House it was first built in 1898. Visitors can walk the entire perimeter of the pond on the carriage roads and access hiking trails to summit the twin peaks known as The Bubbles.

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1950

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1950
Item 22254   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Thunder Hole in Acadia National Park. When large waves come into this hole in the cliffs, it releases a thunderous boom, which has given it the name Thunder Hole.

Mountain road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Mountain road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 17471   info
Maine Historical Society

A cut on a mountain road at Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Island.

Sand Beach on Ocean Drive

Sand Beach on Ocean Drive
Item 19221   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Sand Beach on the Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor.

Profile of Acadia, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Profile of Acadia, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18318   info
Maine Historical Society

"Profile of Acadia, Bar Harbor, Maine" postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

Postcard sets such as this were produced especially for tourists.

Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66238   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "View from Rockefeller Drive, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Me." Today, the Park Loop Rd. winds through Acadia National Park for 27 miles providing scenic views such as this one.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Eagle Lake, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66240   info
Boston Public Library

A postcard image shows Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park. The park was first created in 1919 and renamed "Acadia National Park" in 1929.

The caption reads, "View from Eagle Lake, Carriage Road, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ca. 1938

Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ca. 1938
Item 66258   info
Boston Public Library

The area now known as Acadia National Park first attained federal status when President Woodrow Wilson, established it as Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916. In 1919, it became a national park with the name Lafayette National Park in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, an influential French supporter of the American Revolution. The park's name was changed to Acadia National Park on January 19, 1929.

From 1915 to 1933, philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. financed, designed, and directed the construction of a network of carriage trails throughout the park. The network encompassed over 50 miles (80 km) of gravel carriage trails, 17 granite bridges, and two gate lodges, almost all of which are still maintained and in use as of 2012.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938 as part of their Maine series. These, and other postcards, by the Tichnor Brothers Company are officially known as the Tichnor Gloss Series because the photographs were notoriously retouched on such a level that does not allow the postcards to be classified as photographs or paintings. The caption reads, "Along the shores of Rockefeller Drive, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine."

Cadillac Mountain road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Cadillac Mountain road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 17469   info
Maine Historical Society

The road leading to the summit of Cadillac Mountain at Acadia National Park.

CCC Worker in Acadia National Park, ca. 1934

CCC Worker in Acadia National Park, ca. 1934
Item 22179   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) worker in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor.

The CCC was designed to bring together wasted resources: young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC workers in Acadia National Park, 1934

CCC workers in Acadia National Park, 1934
Item 22986   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps workers work on a diseased tree in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor.

The CCC put young men to work during the Great Depression at state and national parks and working on forest disease and pest eradication projects.


Robinson Mountain, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1930

Robinson Mountain, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1930
Item 24985   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Robinson Mountain is now called Acadia Mountain. It is located on the west shore of Somes Sound in Acadia National Park.

CCC workers, Acadia National Park, ca. 1934

CCC workers, Acadia National Park, ca. 1934
Item 22178   info
Acadia National Park

Two unidentified men who were part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) are shown in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island.

Civilian Conservation Corps workers -- part of a Depression-era program to provide employment and preserve forests and national parks -- identified and eradicated forest pests and worked on trails in parks, among other tasks.

Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66224   info
Boston Public Library

A view from road at the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park, on Mount Desert Island. Many visitors come to Cadillac Mountain to see the home of "the nation's first sunrise." The inclusion of the paved road in this scenic view suggests that the postcard was sold to tourists traveling by car. The caption reads, "Mountain Road, Cadillac Mt., Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Me."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Sand Beach, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66231   info
Boston Public Library

A postcard of Sand Beach in Acadia National Park printed in the park's early years. A full third of the image is the road of Ocean Drive, reproducing the viewpoint of a tourist in a car. Many of the Tichnor Brothers postcards of this period were aimed at automobile travelers taking advantage of the new Maine Turnpike.

The caption reads, "Sand Beach from Ocean Drive, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66223   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Me."

Thunder Hole is located along Acadia's Park Loop Rd. and is a favorite attraction for visitors to the Park. At certain times as waves crash into the rocks, a large booming noise is created.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Great Head postcard, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Great Head postcard, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66225   info
Boston Public Library

An illustrated postcard featuring Great Head in Acadia National Park. The postcard caption reads, "Highest headland on Atlantic Coast, Great Head, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Campground, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Campground, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66239   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Entrance to Public Camp ground, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine." This is most likely a view of one of the Civilian Conservation Corps built campgrounds in Acadia, either Blackwoods or Seawall. In the 1930s the CCC was established, set up two camps on Mount Desert Island, and worked within Acadia National Park building and maintaining trails and roads, building these two campgrounds and performing many other forestry tasks.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66248   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Thunder Hole, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine." As the tide comes in at Thunder Hole, along the Park Loop Rd., a loud booming noise is made.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66237   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Ocean Drive, looking south, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine." Ocean Drive in Acadia National Park is now called the Park Loop Rd. and winds along the coastline of Mt. Desert Island in Acadia National Park for 27 miles.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Sieur de Monts Spring, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Sieur de Monts Spring, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 17468   info
Maine Historical Society

Sieur de Monts Spring, at the entrance to Acadia National Park.

George B. Dorr, a conservation advocate, formed a corporation to buy and conserve land in the Mount Desert Island area. By 1913, the group had purchased some 6,000 acres, which it gave to the federal government. In 1916, this land became Sieur de Monts National Monument.

In 1919, it became Lafayette National Park, the first national park east of the Mississippi. In 1929, the park name changed to Acadia.

Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Park Loop Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66241   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Ocean Drive, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Me." The Park Loop Road, as it is known today, is a 27-mile long road and was built along the shorelines of Mt. Desert Island in Acadia National Park.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Acadia National Park ranger and boys, ca. 1935

Acadia National Park ranger and boys, ca. 1935
Item 66154   info
Boston Public Library

The area now known as Acadia National Park first attained federal status when President Woodrow Wilson, established it as Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916. In 1919, it became a national park with the name Lafayette National Park in honor of the Marquis de Lafayette, an influential French supporter of the American Revolution. The park's name was changed to Acadia National Park on January 19, 1929.

From 1915 to 1933, philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, Jr. financed, designed, and directed the construction of a network of carriage trails throughout the park. The network encompassed over 50 miles (80 km) of gravel carriage trails, 17 granite bridges, and two gate lodges, almost all of which are still maintained and in use as of 2012.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938 as part of their Maine series. These, and other postcards, by the Tichnor Brothers Company are officially known as the Tichnor Gloss Series because the photographs were notoriously retouched on such a level that does not allow the postcards to be classified as photographs or paintings. The caption reads, "Ranger and boys looking Westward in Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt., Desert Island, Maine."

Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66249   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Cadillac Mt. Road, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine." The federally funded Civilian Conservation Corps built this road and the carriage paths in the park during the Great Depression.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935

Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1935
Item 66245   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "View from Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ME." Cadillac Mountain is the highest point on Mt. Desert Island, and this view from the mountain's one road looks out over the islands in Bar Harbor toward Winter Harbor.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1940

Cadillac Mountain Road, Acadia National Park, ca. 1940
Item 75170   info
Maine Historical Society

George W. French took this photograph is of Cadillac Mountain Road and Frenchman's Bay in Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island.

Cadillac Mountain Road winds 3.5 miles to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. The mountain, 1530 ft in elevation, has the highest peak on U.S. Atlantic Coast.

French, a native of Kezar Falls, worked for the Maine Development Commission from 1936-1955, taking photographs to promote tourism and economic development.

George B. Dorr, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1940

George B. Dorr, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1940
Item 78959   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This is an image of George B. Dorr (1855-1944) founder of Acadia National Park. This image depicts Dorr standing on the Beechcroft Trail looking out over, what he considered the heart of Acadia National Park, the Tarn and Sieur de Mont, towards Dry Mountain, that would later become Dorr Mountain.

Radio station crew, Otter Cliffs, 1919

Radio station crew, Otter Cliffs, 1919
Item 67313   info
National Archives at Boston

Staff of the Otter Cliffs Radio Station operating force pose on the lower levels of a radio tower.

The Navy operated a radio receiver on Otter Cliffs on Mount Desert Island. The area later became part of Acadia National Park. The station began operations in 1917 and continued until 1935.

The Preble House, Great Cranberry Island, ca. 1935

The Preble House, Great Cranberry Island, ca. 1935
Item 84816   info
Acadia National Park

In the early decades of the 20th century, the Preble House on Great Cranberry Island fell into disrepair. It was owned by family members who did not live on the Island and so rented the property out.

This photograph shows the front of the house before it was renovated in the 1940s.

Navy baseball team, Otter Cliffs, ca. 1918

Navy baseball team, Otter Cliffs, ca. 1918
Item 67314   info
National Archives at Boston

The Otter Cliffs Radio Tower baseball team was made up of Navy personnel assigned to the Navy's radio receiver facility on Mount Desert Island.

The receiver was commissioned in 1917 and closed in 1933. The area later became part of Acadia National Park.

Portrait of George B. Dorr, ca. 1915

Portrait of George B. Dorr, ca. 1915
Item 22979   info
Acadia National Park

George B. Dorr was instrumental in the creation of Lafayette National Park - now known as Acadia National Park. He worked with Charles Eliot to obtain the land to be preserved and to gain national park status. He is considered by some as the "father of Acadia National Park."

Dorr was also responsible for changing the names of mountains and ponds on Mount Desert Island from the ones the original permanent settlers gave them to ones that he believed were more dignified.

Jordan Pond House staff, ca. 1910

Jordan Pond House staff, ca. 1910
Item 22078   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The staff of the Jordan Pond House paused long enough for this staff picture around 1910. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McIntire are the center of the back row.

The Jordan Pond House was established in 1895, when Thomas and Nellie McIntire purchased the old Jordan Homestead and began adding on rooms to accommodate diners.

Tilting Rock Pamphlet, Acadia National Park-Day Mountain, Seal Harbor, ca. 1960

Tilting Rock Pamphlet, Acadia National Park-Day Mountain, Seal Harbor, ca. 1960
Item 81398   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This is an image of a page in a small, hand drawn pamphlet about a rock formation located on Mount Desert Island. The pamphlet was created by Charles K. Savage in honor of the naturally occurring granite formation in the woods that was of great geologic interest to him and others, called Tilting Rock.

Savage was known for his daily walk in the woods and his photographing of the flora and rocks he encountered on them. Savage also often took crews of workers into the woods with pulleys and other tools to remove rocks that he felt were particularly beautiful. Savage would then use the rocks to decorate the gardens that he designed or as sculptural features in many locations around Northeast Harbor.

This pamphlet includes Savage's text, quotes from geologists and other naturalists who had described this formation, personal photos, and a hand-lettered cover.

George B. Dorr in Lafayette National Park, ca. 1920

George B. Dorr in Lafayette National Park, ca. 1920
Item 22978   info
Acadia National Park

George B. Dorr was instrumental in the creation of Lafayette National Park - now known as Acadia National Park. He worked with Charles Eliot to obtain the land to be preserved and fulfilling the process to gain national park status. He is considered by some as the "father of Acadia National Park."

Mr. Dorr was also responsible for changing the names of mountains and ponds on Mount Desert Island from the ones the original permanent settlers gave them to ones that he believed were more dignified.

CCC vehicle, Sieur de Monts Springs, ca. 1934

CCC vehicle, Sieur de Monts Springs, ca. 1934
Item 22177   info
Acadia National Park

A Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) vehicle crosses a bridge at Sieur de Monts Springs in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island in 1934.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the CCC during the Great Depression to put men to work and to preserve forests and national parks. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, one at Bar Harbor and one at Southwest Harbor.

The Maine Forest Service operated other camps throughout the state.

CCC workers, Sieur de Monts Springs, 1934

CCC workers, Sieur de Monts Springs, 1934
Item 22176   info
Acadia National Park

Unidentified Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers are shown at Sieur de Monts Springs in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt created the CCC in 1933 during the Great Depression to put men to work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established Sieur de Monts National Monument for its connection to Samuel de Champlain and the topographic configuration, the geology, the fauna and flora of the island.

The name of the National Monument was changed in 1919 by an act of Congress to Lafayette National Park. A decade later, in 1929, the name of the park was changed to Acadia National Park.

Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935

Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935
Item 66100   info
Boston Public Library

A Tichnor Brothers publicity postcard of Bubble Pond in Acadia National Park. Bubble Pond lies between Pemetic Mountain and Cadillac Mountain, Acadia's highest peak, and is named for the North and South Bubble hills.

The caption reads, "Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Tracks up Green Mountain for the Green Mountain Rail Road, ca. 1890

Tracks up Green Mountain for the Green Mountain Rail Road, ca. 1890
Item 21726   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Railroad tracks wound up Green Mountain for the Green Mountain Rail Road. The train was a popular summer attraction, but didn't last very long.

Green Mountain is now called Cadillac Mountain and is one of the main attractions of Acadia National Park.

Train Number 1 for Green Mountain Rail Road

Train Number 1 for Green Mountain Rail Road
Item 21729   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Train Number 1 of the Green Mountain Rail Road. The train was a popular summer attraction, but didn't last very long. Green Mountain is now called Cadillac Mountain and is one of the main attractions of Acadia National Park.

Green Mountain Railway Car, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1883

Green Mountain Railway Car, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1883
Item 78953   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This W.H. Ballard photograph shows a steam locomotive and railway car of the Green Mountain Railroad, climbing what is now known as Cadillac Mountain, ca. 1883.

The steep track up the side of the mountain was 6,300 feet in length and gained 1,258 feet in elevation. Passengers ascended the mountain at the steady pace of two miles per hour. The car held eight wooden benches, sufficient to transport 48 passengers.

Green Mountain Rail Road Train and Car

Green Mountain Rail Road Train and Car
Item 21723   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Green Mountain Rail Road train and car ascending the mountain with a group of people. The train was a popular summer attraction, but didn't last very long. Green Mountain is now called Cadillac Mountain and is one of the main attractions of Acadia National Park.

Train Tracks Going up Green Mountain

Train Tracks Going up Green Mountain
Item 21725   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Train tracks going up Green Mountain for the Green Mountain Rail Road. At the base of the tracks is Eagle Lake which had to be crossed to arrive at the train tracks. This entire area is now a part of Acadia National Park.

Lithograph of Green Mountain Rail Road Train

Lithograph of Green Mountain Rail Road Train
Item 21727   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Lithograph of Green Mountain Rail Road train going up Green Mountain. The train was a popular summer attraction, but didn't last very long. Green Mountain is now called Cadillac Mountain and is one of the main attractions of Acadia National Park.

Lithograph of Green Mountain Rail Road Car and Train

Lithograph of Green Mountain Rail Road Car and Train
Item 21728   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Lithograph of Green Mountain Rail Road car and train. It is interesting to note the logs laying beside the track. The train was a popular summer attraction, but didn't last very long. Green Mountain is now called Cadillac Mountain and is one of the main attractions of Acadia National Park.

Green Mountain Rail Road track, Bar Harbor, ca. 1890

Green Mountain Rail Road track, Bar Harbor, ca. 1890
Item 21722   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The track for the Green Mountain Rail Road going up Green Mountain. The rail was reached after taking a steamer across Eagle Lake and being dropped at the dock seen at the base of the mountain.

The train was a popular summer attraction, but didn't last very long.

Green Mountain is now called Cadillac Mountain and is one of the main attractions of Acadia National Park.

View from Ocean Drive, Mt. Desert Island

View from Ocean Drive, Mt. Desert Island
Item 22274   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View from Ocean Drive, in Acadia National Park, on Mt. Desert Island.

Jordan Pond, 1927

Jordan Pond, 1927
Item 15012   info
Maine Historical Society

Jordan Pond near Seal Harbor, in Acadia National Park, when the park was known as Lafayette National Park.

Pemetic Mt. Mount Desert Island, ca. 1930

Pemetic Mt. Mount Desert Island, ca. 1930
Item 24980   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Pemetic Mountain is located in Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor. The summit is 1,248 feet.

Schooner Head, ca. 1911

Schooner Head, ca. 1911
Item 19108   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Schooner Head is located in Acadia National Park on the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. The summit of Schooner Head is 92 feet above sea level.

Otter Cliffs radio receiver,  1918

Otter Cliffs radio receiver, 1918
Item 67315   info
National Archives at Boston

Charles A. Hoxie of General Electric Co., developed the high speed radio receiver that is shown at the Navy's Otter Cliffs Radio Station. Hoxie is credited with the photographic telegraph recorder for radio reception.

The Navy operated the radio receiver on Mount Desert Island from 1917 to 1933.

Hoxie's receiver was first tested at GE at Chatham, Massachusetts, then sent to Otter Cliffs radio station in 1918.

Along the shore path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Along the shore path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18314   info
Maine Historical Society

Along the shore path, Bar Harbor, Maine postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine" that are bound together accordion style.

View from Robinson's Mountain, ca. 1885

View from Robinson's Mountain, ca. 1885
Item 22240   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View from Robinson's Mountain, now called Acadia Mountain, on Mount Desert Island. The water in the center of the picture is Somes Sound, and beyond that is Northeast Harbor.

Frenchman's Bay from Cadillac Mountain, ca. 1935

Frenchman's Bay from Cadillac Mountain, ca. 1935
Item 17470   info
Maine Historical Society

The postcard depicts a view of Frenchman's Bay from the Cadillac Mountain road at Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Island.

Bar Harbor and Mountains, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1960

Bar Harbor and Mountains, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1960
Item 23944   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Bar Harbor was first named Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

Copyright Ballard Photo, S. W. Harbor, ME

Mount Desert Island, ca. 1900

Mount Desert Island, ca. 1900
Item 24973   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of Mount Desert Island from Isleford, Little Cranberry Island. Some mountains of Acadia National Park are visible. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

The Bowl, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

The Bowl, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18335   info
Maine Historical Society

Postcard of Acadia National Park showing the Bowl, ca. 1930.

This postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

View at Bubble Pond, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1945

View at Bubble Pond, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1945
Item 22251   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View at Bubble Pond, Mt. Desert Island. This area is all part of Acadia National Park.

Seawall, Mt. Desert Island

Seawall, Mt. Desert Island
Item 22244   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View looking north from Seawall on the western side of Mt. Desert Island. On the right side of the picture is Great Cranberry Island. This area is a part of Acadia National Park.

Bridge Over Duck Brook, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Bridge Over Duck Brook, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18312   info
Maine Historical Society

This postcard of Bridge Over Duck Brook, Bar Harbor, is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine" that are bound together accordion style.

Champlain Monument, Seal Harbor, ca. 1930

Champlain Monument, Seal Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 23972   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Champlain Monument in Seal Harbor was originally erected in Seal Harbor to mark the supposed spot where explorer Samuel de Champlain landed and named the area, "Isle des Monts Déserts"in 1604.

Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, ca. 1920

Bar Harbor, Mount Desert, ca. 1920
Item 23949   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Aerial view of Bar Harbor. Bar Harbor was first named the Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918. Bar Island is located in the foreground and the mountains of Acadia National Park are in the background. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr., all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

Otter Cliffs, Bar Harbor, ca. 1907

Otter Cliffs, Bar Harbor, ca. 1907
Item 24979   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Otter Cliffs is located in Acadia National Park on the Park Loop Road. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929. The pink granite cliffs rise 110 feet above the ocean. The spot attracts climbers of all skill levels.

Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 23962   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of Bar Harbor from the water. Bar Harbor was first named Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918. The mountains of Acadia National Park are visible in the background. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

Eagle Lake, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1935

Eagle Lake, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1935
Item 66270   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Eagle Lake from Cadillac Mt. Road, Acadia National Park, Mt. Desert Island, Me." Eagle Lake is the largest fresh-water lake in Acadia National Park. It is popular for fishing and boating.

During the 1800s, a cog railway went between Eagle Lake and the summit of Cadillac Mountain.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Emery Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1902

Emery Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1902
Item 18313   info
Maine Historical Society

Stone steps on Emery Path, Bar Harbor.

This postcard is one of a set entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island."

Cadillac Mountain Road, Eagle Lake, ca. 1930

Cadillac Mountain Road, Eagle Lake, ca. 1930
Item 18315   info
Maine Historical Society

Cadillac Mountain Road and Eagle Lake, Bar Harbor, Maine postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine" that are bound together accordion style.

Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18321   info
Maine Historical Society

Bar Harbor from Bar Island showing Cadillac Mt. This postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

Eagle Lake, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935

Eagle Lake, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935
Item 66251   info
Boston Public Library

A promotional postcard of Eagle Lake in Acadia National Park. The caption reads, "Eagle Lake, from Mountain Road, Bar Harbor, Maine."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Great Head, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Great Head, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18334   info
Maine Historical Society

Postcard entitled, "South along shore from Great Head, Bar Harbor, Me."

This postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

Bar Harbor from the air, ca. 1930

Bar Harbor from the air, ca. 1930
Item 23947   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Aerial view of Bar Harbor which was first named Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918. Bar Island is located in the lower right of the image. In the background the mountains of Acadia National Park are visible. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

Fishing weir, Bar Harbor, 1903

Fishing weir, Bar Harbor, 1903
Item 23948   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of Bar Harbor from the water with a fishing weir in the foreground.

Bar Harbor was first named Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918. The mountains of Acadia National Park are visible in the background. George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to create a National Park. The park was named Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

Copyright, 1903, by Detroit Photographic Co.

Thunder Hole, Bar Harbor, 1930

Thunder Hole, Bar Harbor, 1930
Item 18319   info
Maine Historical Society

Thunder Hole, Bar Harbor, postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

Periodically, a booming sound is created at this rock formation as tidal waters wash in and out.

Great Head, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1930

Great Head, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1930
Item 18324   info
Maine Historical Society

Great Head (highest point on Atlantic Coast), Bar Harbor, postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style. Postcard sets such as this were produced especially for tourists.

Great Head & Stag Cove, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940

Great Head & Stag Cove, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 23996   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Great Head is one of the highest headlands on the Atlantic Coast with its highest point 145 feet above the ocean. The Great Head trail is 1.4 miles long and offers a view of Sand Beach. It is located in Acadia National Park.

Copyright W. H. Ballard, Southwest Harbor, ME

Hadlock Pond, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1930

Hadlock Pond, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 24001   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Upper Hadlock Pond and Lower Hadlock Pond are both part of Acadia National Park, nearest to Northeast Harbor.

This image is most likely Upper due to its proximity to Route 3, which is visible in the left of the image. Upper Hadlock is a 35-acre pond with shore depths between 5 and 17 feet, its deepest point 37 feet deep.

Mt. Desert from Sutton's Island, ca. 1900

Mt. Desert from Sutton's Island, ca. 1900
Item 79489   info
Northeast Harbor Library

This postcard shows a view of Mount Desert Island from Sutton Island.

The mountains seen in the background are part of Acadia National Park. The two lower peaks are twin peaks known as the Bubbles. The are located by Jordon Pond. Also visible are Penobscot and Cadillac Mountains.

Champlain Society Camp Asticou Log, Northeast Harbor, 1882

Champlain Society Camp Asticou Log, Northeast Harbor, 1882
Item 100479   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This logbook documents the scientific studies, discoveries and explorations of the Champlain Society, a group of undergraduate Harvard University students who camped on Mount Desert Island during the summer of 1882.

Scientific studies consisted of documenting, obtaining, and preparing geological, zoological, and plant materials. Activities in camp included sailing, rowing, forays to the post office, and socializing.

The campers also commented on events on the Island, including musicals, dances, and even a highway robbery. Of particular note is the entry for August 9, 1882, "Captain made a call on us. He announced that the gentlemen owning land near and at N.E. Harbor were trying to form a society to protect the natural beauties of this part of the Island. A discussion of the plan followed." These conversations were the birth of Acadia National Park.

This book includes the camp and yacht log from the summer of 1882.

Long Pond, ca. 1930

Long Pond, ca. 1930
Item 24010   info
Jesup Memorial Library

"From its perch above Long Pond on beautiful Mount Desert Island the Eyrie, summer home of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. overlooks the ocean off the rockbound coast of Maine." Text taken from the back of postcard. Long Pond is near Seal Harbor. It is also called "Little" Long Pond. There is a carriage road that follows its south side, but it is not within Acadia National Park. The Eyrie was built in 1914 and demolished in 1962.

Aerial photo by Luther S. Phillips

Rockefeller Drive, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1935

Rockefeller Drive, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1935
Item 66607   info
Boston Public Library

philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and family, donated 45 miles of carriage roads on Mount Desert Island and around Acadia National Park to ensure that the area remained automobile free.

The project spanned from 1913 to 1940 and resulted in a network of broken stone roads that are approximately 16 feet wide and are engineered to withstand Maine's extremes of weather. Since 2005 the Friends of Acadia, the federal government, volunteers and visitors have worked together to maintain the carriage roads.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938 as part of their Maine series. These, and other postcards, by the Tichnor Brothers Company are officially known as the Tichnor Gloss Series because the photographs were notoriously retouched on such a level that does not allow the postcards to be classified as photographs or paintings. The caption reads, "View from Rockefeller Drive, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Me."

Airplane View of Bar Harbor and Cadillac Mountain, ca. 1940

Airplane View of Bar Harbor and Cadillac Mountain, ca. 1940
Item 23935   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Aerial view of Bar Harbor, which was first named Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918. In the background the mountains of Acadia National Park are visible (Cadillac Mountain is the nighest peak visible). George B. Dorr and Charles W. Eliot, and later John D. Rockefeller Jr. all worked to establish a National Park, which opened in 1916. The park named was changed to Lafayette National Park in 1919 and then Acadia National Park in 1929.

Copyright by the Sportsman Magazine , Boston, Mass.

Bubble Pond, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Bubble Pond, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18329   info
Maine Historical Society

Postcard entitled, "Bubble Pond from new mountain road, Bar Harbor, Maine," ca. 1930.

This postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

Sieur de Monts Spring, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Sieur de Monts Spring, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18330   info
Maine Historical Society

Sieur de Monts Spring in Bar Harbor is featured on a postcard that is part of a series, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine, Mt. Desert Island."

Jordan Pond and the Bubbles, ca. 1935

Jordan Pond and the Bubbles, ca. 1935
Item 66153   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Jordon Pond and the Bubbles, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Me." The postcard misspells the name of the pond, which should be "Jordan."

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Cadillac Mountain Road and Jordan Pond, ca. 1930

Cadillac Mountain Road and Jordan Pond, ca. 1930
Item 18326   info
Maine Historical Society

Cadillac Mountain road and Jordan Pond, Mt. Desert Island, are featured as part of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18322   info
Maine Historical Society

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, Maine, Mt. Desert Island postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordian style. Postcard sets such as this were produced especially for tourists.

Bluffs, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1935

Bluffs, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1935
Item 66227   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "The Bluffs entering Bar Harbor, Maine." This scenic postcard shows one of the approaches to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park with islands in the distance.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Abbe Museum, Sieur de Monts, Bar Harbor, ca. 1970

Abbe Museum, Sieur de Monts, Bar Harbor, ca. 1970
Item 23934   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Abbe Museum at Sieur de Monts Spring was founded in 1927 by Dr. Robert Abbe and opened in what was then called Lafayette National Park (now Acadia National Park) on August 14, 1928. Some of the first supporters of the museum included George B. Dorr and John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

The museum has dioramas, eastern woodland native American artifacts including stone implements, basketry and beadwork.

September 29, 2001 the second Abbe Museum opened in downtown Bar Harbor where there are permanent and changing exhibits.

Photo by Augustus D. Phillips.

Bubble Pond, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1938

Bubble Pond, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1938
Item 66606   info
Boston Public Library

Bubble Pond is a glaciated valley between the Cadillac and Pemetic Mountains on Mount Desert Island. The "bubbles" are the rounded peaks at the end of the lake.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938 as part of their Maine series. These, and other postcards, by the Tichnor Brothers Company are officially known as the Tichnor Gloss Series because the photographs were notoriously retouched on such a level that does not allow the postcards to be classified as photographs or paintings. The caption reads, "Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Maine."

Bubble Pond stone bridge, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940

Bubble Pond stone bridge, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 75171   info
Maine Historical Society

The Bubble Pond stone bridge is one of many bridges in Acadia National Park. The bridge's stone facing is made of granite that was quarried locally from Mount Desert Island. John D. Rockefeller Jr. financed Acadia's carriage roads and bridges from 1913-1940.

George W. French, who took the photograph, was a Maine Development Commission photographer hired to promote the state's tourism industry.

Southwest Harbor CCC Camp

Southwest Harbor CCC Camp
Item 22186   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) workers at the Southwest Harbor Camp. It is not known who the individuals are in this image.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.
It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC workers in Ellsworth, 1934

CCC workers in Ellsworth, 1934
Item 22982   info
Acadia National Park

Civilian Conservation Corps workers in Ellsworth. There were two camps on Mount Desert Island: Bar Harbor and Southwest Harbor, and one in Ellsworth on the Beechland Road.

This image shows work being done on a tree at the Black House in Ellsworth.

Jordan Pond Path and South Bubble, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Jordan Pond Path and South Bubble, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18317   info
Maine Historical Society

Jordan Pond path and South Bubble, Bar Harbor, Maine postcard is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine" that are bound together accordion style. Postcard sets such as this were produced especially for tourists.

Long Pond from Rockefeller Road, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1930

Long Pond from Rockefeller Road, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1930
Item 18325   info
Maine Historical Society

The postcard entitled "Long Pond from Rockefeller Road, Bar Harbor, Maine" is one of a set of cards entitled, "Scenes of Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine Mt. Desert Island" that are bound together accordion style.

The road is now called the Cadillac Mountain Road.

Rocky Point, Salisbury Cove, ca. 1930

Rocky Point, Salisbury Cove, ca. 1930
Item 18332   info
Maine Historical Society

A postcard entitled, "Rocky Point at Salisbury Cove, Bar Harbor, Maine," is part of a set of postcards of Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, and Acadia National Park.

This is probably "star cave," located on shoreline of the current campus of Mt. Desert Island Biological Lab.

Campground, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1935

Campground, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1935
Item 66232   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Public Camp grounds, Bar Harbor, Maine." This advertising postcard might be showing an image of one of the two Acadia National Park-owned campgrounds: Blackwoods or Seawall. Beginning in 1933, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the two campgrounds.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Thunder Hole, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935

Thunder Hole, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935
Item 66264   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Surf at Thunder Hole, Mt. Desert Island, Bar Harbor, Me." Thunder Hole, located within Acadia National Park, 'thunders' because of the action of the tide and surf.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Bar Harbor from Newport House, Mount Desert Island, 1901

Bar Harbor from Newport House, Mount Desert Island, 1901
Item 18938   info
Jesup Memorial Library

This view of Bar Harbor's waterfront looks toward the town pier from Newport House. Today this area is called Agamont Park and Newport Drive.

Hotel on top of Green Mountain

Hotel on top of Green Mountain
Item 21724   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

One of the hotels on top of Green Mountain. A few different buildings stood on the mountain top to house the people who traveled on the Green Mountain Rail Road.

Little Long Pond, Mt. Desert Island

Little Long Pond, Mt. Desert Island
Item 22082   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Little Long Pond, Mt. Desert Island. The house on the left served as the first Seal Harbor Post Office and also had a store.

It was torn down when the Rockefellers purchased the property soon after the turn of the twentieth century.

Jordan Pond House, Seal Harbor, ca. 1910

Jordan Pond House, Seal Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 19215   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Jordan Pond House traces its history from 1847. The first settlers conducted a logging operation. The original farm house was built by the Jordan family of Seal Harbor, for whom the pond and house were named.

The Jordan Pond House was founded as a restaurant by Mr. Melvan Tibbetts in the early 1870s. In 1895, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McIntire began their association, which was to last over 50 years. They were responsible for the character and atmosphere of the original Jordan Pond House, with its birch bark dining rooms and massive field stone fireplaces.

Near the end of the McIntire's reign, Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased the property and gave it to the National Park Service to ensure its continuation. The Jordan Pond House has been operated by the Acadia Corporation, a small group of local people committed to preserving its traditions, since 1946.

On June 21, 1979, the original building was destroyed by fire. Through the efforts of the Island Foundation, private funds were contributed for a new Jordan Pond House.

Yachts, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1900

Yachts, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1900
Item 19205   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Two yachts at full sail in off the coast of Mt. Desert Island.

Seaside Inn, Seal Harbor, ca. 1920

Seaside Inn, Seal Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 22226   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The Seaside Inn in Seal Harbor, around 1920, taken from Ox Hill. On the left is Dodge Point, with a couple of houses on it; the one of the left being Firwood. In the distance is the large Bishop McKay Smith house.

Little Long Pond, Seal Harbor, ca. 1940

Little Long Pond, Seal Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 79051   info
Northeast Harbor Library

This photograph looks across Little Long Pond in Seal Harbor. Barely visible in the background is the Rockefeller Boathouse.

Little Long Pond, which is owned by the Rockefeller family is open to the public. It is a popular dog walking destination on Mount Desert Island, but also has miles of trails for running and walking.

Champlain Society Meeting Records, Mount Desert Island, 1882-1883

Champlain Society Meeting Records, Mount Desert Island, 1882-1883
Item 100477   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

The Champlain Society was a group of Harvard University undergraduate students who sailed, camped, and pursued scientific exploration on Mount Desert Island.

The Meeting Records of 1882-1883 summarize the expeditions of 1881 and 1882, and include the Champlain Society Member Directory, impromptu poety and song recitals, and abstracts of the various scientific findings in the fields of geology, meteorology, ornithology, botany, photography, and entomology.

Meetings generally took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Bay Drive, Bar Harbor, ca. 1920

Bay Drive, Bar Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 19157   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Bay Drive was first called Corniche Drive. Now it is called the Bluffs. The road is Route 3, which turns into Eden Street as you near Bar Harbor.

Champlain Society Camp Asticou Log, Northeast Harbor, 1883

Champlain Society Camp Asticou Log, Northeast Harbor, 1883
Item 100480   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This logbook documents the scientific studies, discoveries and explorations of the Champlain Society, a nature club comprised of Harvard University undergraduate students who camped on Mount Desert Island during the summer of 1883.

The logbook summarize the activities of the men at camp, including sailing, hiking, excursions to the post office, various scientific explorations, sports, and socializing.

Notable events included observation of the Western Mountain fire on August 26-28th, and the tragic buckboard accident near Harbor Brook on the road from Bar Harbor, ending in the death of Miss Mable Case on July 26th.

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, ca. 1902

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, ca. 1902
Item 23965   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Cathedral Rock is part of the Ovens, located between Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

Cathedral Rock Ovens, near Bar Harbor, ca. 1905

Cathedral Rock Ovens, near Bar Harbor, ca. 1905
Item 23966   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Cathedral Rock is part of the Ovens, located between Salsbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

Cathedral Rock at the Ovens, Bar Harbor, ca. 1902

Cathedral Rock at the Ovens, Bar Harbor, ca. 1902
Item 23968   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Cathedral Rock is part of the Ovens, located between Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, 1908

Cathedral Rock, Bar Harbor, 1908
Item 23969   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Cathedral Rock is part of the Ovens, located between Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1930

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 24002   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The harbor in Northeast Harbor is located on Mount Desert Island 's southern end at the entrance to the fjord Somes Sound. The harbor is well protected and typically full of fancy yachts and sailboats.

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 24977   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of Northeast Harbor from the Asticou Inn.

Seal Harbor, ca. 1900

Seal Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 24986   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Seal Harbor is located on the southeastern side of Mount Desert Island. The Nelson Rockefeller Cottage is visible in the upper middle of the image.

Ship Harbor, ca. 1900

Ship Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 24987   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Ship Harbor is located on the western side of Mount Desert Island.

M. V. Bluenose Ferry, Bar Harbor, ca. 1960

M. V. Bluenose Ferry, Bar Harbor, ca. 1960
Item 19228   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The M.V. Bluenose was built in 1955. It was 346 feet long and could hold 615 people, 165 cars and 18 trucks. The ferry at one time employed about 200 people in Bar Harbor and had a crew of 96.

The M.V. Bluenose Ferry ran from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia from circa 1960 to 1997. The Bluenose was replaced by "The Cat" in 1997. The terminal and docking facility for the M.V. Bluenose was built on the site of the Stotesbury Estate "Wingwood." This estate survived the Fire of 1947 but was demolished in the 1950s to make way for the Bluenose.

Photographer Willis H. Ballard took this image. He was born in Portland in 1907 and moved to Southwest Harbor in 1934, where he was a scenic photographer for about 45 years. Mr. Ballard died in 1980. His photographs were featured in several popular magazines and were displayed at major exhibitions.

This image is copyright material under the W.H. Ballard estate and is not to be reproduced.

Champlain Society Meeting Records, Northeast Harbor, 1883-1886

Champlain Society Meeting Records, Northeast Harbor, 1883-1886
Item 100911   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

The Champlain Society was a group of Harvard University students who camped, studied, and conducted scientific research during the summer months of the 1880's on Mount Desert Island.

During the years 1883-1886, the group's mission and membership requirements changed, and these meeting records document the members' transition from scientific purpose to more social pursuits.

A prophecy of the potential demise of the Champlain Society is eloquently stated in poem and prose, including on page 32: "The study of science no more held the place, it had held in the summers before, human nature, the study of heart and of face, interested the campers far more."

The Society's annual winter meetings and banquets in Cambridge, Massachusetts, were vividly described and illustrated with menus, telegrams, and seating charts.

Champlain Society Report of the Secretary, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1882-1883

Champlain Society Report of the Secretary, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1882-1883
Item 100916   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This report chronicles the activities of the Champlain Society, a group of Harvard University students who camped, explored, conducted scientific research, and socialized on Mount Desert Island. Areas of study included botany, geology, ornithology, and zoology.

The Secretary of the Champlain Society, Edward L. Rand, submited his report of the years 1882-1883 to the membership. Noteworthy in this report are the permanent establishment of the Champlain Society with articles of operation, the naming of Charles Eliot as "Captain Emeritus" and the move of the summer camp from Camp Pemetic to Camp Asticou, on the shores of Northeast Harbor.

Winter in Bar Harbor

Winter in Bar Harbor
Item 19206   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Frozen lake in Bar Harbor.

Unfinished Bridge on Carriage Trail

Unfinished Bridge on Carriage Trail
Item 19223   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Unfinished bridge on one of the carriage trails on Mount Desert Island.

Appalachian Mountain Club Camp, Southwest Harbor, ca. 1925

Appalachian Mountain Club Camp, Southwest Harbor, ca. 1925
Item 23936   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Appalachian Mountain Club Camp is possibly what is now called Appalachian Mountain Club Echo Lake Camp, which was founded in 1925. The postcard was hand colored.

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1920

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 23938   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Asticou Inn has overlooked Northeast Harbor since 1883 when it was built by Augustus Chase Savage. In 1899 a fire destroyed the original Inn, which was rebuilt and running by 1901. It survived the Great Fire of 1947. The Inn is well recognized and a popular spot for vacationers to stay.

Photograph by Chas. A. Townsend, Belfast, ME.

Birches on the Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1920

Birches on the Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 23961   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Shore Path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Cathedral Rock and The Ovens, ca. 1960

Cathedral Rock and The Ovens, ca. 1960
Item 23967   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Cathedral Rock is part of the Ovens, located between Salsbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

Color photo by Paul A. Knaut, Jr.

Gull Rock, Somesville, ca. 1930

Gull Rock, Somesville, ca. 1930
Item 24000   info
Jesup Memorial Library

"Like a gigantic period, this Glacial Bowlder [Boulder] 'Gull Rock', at Somesville, Maine, marks the extreme northern end of Somes Sound. It may be seen from Babson Bridge, Rt. 198." Text taken from back of postcard.

Inner Bay, Somesville, ca. 1930

Inner Bay, Somesville, ca. 1930
Item 24005   info
Jesup Memorial Library

In 1761 Abraham Somes settled the first village on Mount Desert Island, Somesville. Somesville was declared a National Historic District in 1975.

Mount Desert Information Booth, Bar Harbor, ca. 1945

Mount Desert Information Booth, Bar Harbor, ca. 1945
Item 24974   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of the Municipal Pier in Bar Harbor from Agamont Park. Commercial fishermen operated from the pier. Today cruise ships anchor offshore and ferry their passengers to the pier for a day of shopping in Bar Harbor.

The Ocean by Night, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1931

The Ocean by Night, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1931
Item 25008   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Sailing ship on the sea near Mount Desert Island illuminated by moonlight.

The Ovens at Salisbury Cove, ca. 1910

The Ovens at Salisbury Cove, ca. 1910
Item 25009   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Ovens is located between Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

The Ovens, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900

The Ovens, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 25010   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Ovens is located between Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

The Ovens, Mt. Desert Island, 1940

The Ovens, Mt. Desert Island, 1940
Item 25011   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Ovens is located between Salisbury Cove and Hulls Cove. The location is known because of the strange geological formations caused by the ocean's tide and waves. The tide has carved caves into the rock that resemble ovens. One oven resembles a cathedral, giving Cathedral Rock its name. During high tide the rock is mostly under water, so it is best viewed at low tide.

The Pines, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940

The Pines, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 25012   info
Jesup Memorial Library

This postcard is titled "The Pines" which may refer to a vacation property out of view or the trees along the rocky coastline. However, these trees are not pines but balsam and spruce.

Bar Harbor and the Porcupines, ca. 1900

Bar Harbor and the Porcupines, ca. 1900
Item 25013   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Porcupine Islands (Long, Burnt, Bald, and Sheep) are located east of Bar Harbor in Frenchman's Bay.

Bar Harbor was first named Town of Eden in 1796, then renamed Bar Harbor in 1918.

The Sounding Sea, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1934

The Sounding Sea, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1934
Item 25015   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of a sailing ship with breaking waves off of Mount Desert Island.

Yachts, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1930

Yachts, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1930
Item 25018   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Yachts returning from Dark Harbor to Bar Harbor along Mount Desert Island's shoreline.

Torpedo Boat Destroyers and Warships in the Lower Harbor, Bar Harbor, ca. 1908

Torpedo Boat Destroyers and Warships in the Lower Harbor, Bar Harbor, ca. 1908
Item 18956   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of torpedo boat destroyers and warships in the Lower Harbor taken from a residential neighborhood off Main Street, Bar Harbor.

Shore Path

Shore Path
Item 18974   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

The Gorge Road in Bar Harbor

The Gorge Road in Bar Harbor
Item 19222   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Gorge Road looking toward either Green (Cadillac) or Dorr Mountain in Bar Harbor.

Pemetic Mountain, ca. 1925

Pemetic Mountain, ca. 1925
Item 22275   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Pemetic Mountain, Mt. Desert Island.

Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1915

Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1915
Item 24989   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

A bit of the Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900

A bit of the Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 24990   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Surf Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Surf Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 25002   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Muskie, Udall at Cadillac Mountain, 1962

Muskie, Udall at Cadillac Mountain, 1962
Item 25773   info
Edmund S. Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library

Maine Senator Edmund S. Muskie, left, with Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall and an unidentified National Park Service employee at Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park.

Bay Drive entering Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Bay Drive entering Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 18327   info
Maine Historical Society

A postcard shows Bay Drive entering Bar Harbor. It is part of a bound set of scenes of the area.

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McIntire, Mount Desert, ca. 1940

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McIntire, Mount Desert, ca. 1940
Item 21174   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McIntire, the original owners of the Jordan Pond House.

The McIntires purchased the old Jordan Farm and transformed it into a popular tea house in 1895. Mrs. McIntire made the popovers that made the Jordan Pond House famous.

Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, Bar Harbor, 1940

Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, Bar Harbor, 1940
Item 21574   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

Aerial view of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp that was located on the Eagle Lake Road in Bar Harbor in 1940.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work Act, it was designed to bring together what were considered wasted resources, young men and the land

The men worked in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks and worked with the Forest Service on disease and pest control.

Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Bar Harbor, 1940

Civilian Conservation Corps camp in Bar Harbor, 1940
Item 21575   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

The barracks at the Civilian Conservation Corps camp (CCC) in Bar Harbor on the Eagle Lake Road. It was one of two camps on Mount Desert Island.

Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program.
It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

Civilian Conservation Corps Bar Harbor Camp Library

Civilian Conservation Corps Bar Harbor Camp Library
Item 21577   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

The Library at the Bar Harbor Camp # 154 of the Civilian Conservation Corps Camp that was located on the Eagle Lake Road.
Originally called the Emergency Conservation Work (ECW) Act, on March 9, 1933 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called 73rd Congress into Emergency Session to hear and authorize his program - the Civilian Conservation Corps).
It was designed to bring together what was considered wasted resources, young men and the land. These young men would work in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC Rec Room, Bar Harbor Camp

CCC Rec Room, Bar Harbor Camp
Item 21578   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

The Rec Room at the #154 Bar Harbor Camp that was located on the Eagle Lake Road.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a New Deal program aimed at putting young men to work and helping to preserve forests and state and national parks.

Civilian Conservation Corps Mess Hall, Bar Harbor

Civilian Conservation Corps Mess Hall, Bar Harbor
Item 21579   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

The Mess Hall was part of the #154 Bar Harbor Camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) located on the Eagle Lake Road.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was designed to bring together "wasted resources," young men and the land. These young men worked in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

Moonlight, from Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Moonlight, from Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 24025   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Hotel Bar Harbor, Bar Harbor, ca. 1950

Hotel Bar Harbor, Bar Harbor, ca. 1950
Item 66276   info
Boston Public Library

The Bar Harbor Hotel has been through many renovations and locations since it's inception in 1874. It began as a social club and reading room, operated as a yacht club, and finally opened as the Bar Harbor Hotel in 1950.

In 1987 David J. Witham bought the hotel, renamed it the Bar Harbor Inn, and remodeled in 1999.

Bar Harbor and Bar Island, ca. 1930

Bar Harbor and Bar Island, ca. 1930
Item 18328   info
Maine Historical Society

A postcard of Bar Harbor and Bar Island from the air, ca. 1930

It is part of a set of scenes of the Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert area.

Balance Rock and Bar Island, ca. 1930

Balance Rock and Bar Island, ca. 1930
Item 18333   info
Maine Historical Society

The postcard is entitled, "Shore path showing Balance Rock and Bar Island, Bar Harbor, Maine," ca. 1930.

It was part of a bound set of postcards.

Mountain Road

Mountain Road
Item 21176   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Large postcard showing the Mountain Road and Pemetic Mountain, Lafayette National Park.

Civilian Conservation Corps at Bar Harbor

Civilian Conservation Corps at Bar Harbor
Item 21576   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

Civilian Conservation Corps employees at the Bar Harbor Camp #154 located on Eagle Lake Road.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Congress created the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933 to bring together what were considered wasted resources: young men and the land.

These men worked in National and State Parks to revitalize the forests and landscape that made up the parks.

CCC Mess Hall workers, Bar Harbor, 1940

CCC Mess Hall workers, Bar Harbor, 1940
Item 21580   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

Workers in the Mess Hall at the #154 Bar Harbor Camp of the Civilian Conservation Corps located on the Eagle Lake Road.

Part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, the CCC put young men to work in state and national parks and forests.

Jordan Pond and the Bubbles, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1940

Jordan Pond and the Bubbles, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1940
Item 22262   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Jordan Pond and the Bubbles, Mt. Desert Island.

Shore Path and Steamer Morse, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940

Shore Path and Steamer Morse, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 24991   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor and Steamer Morse in background. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Civilian Conservation Corps Bar Harbor Football Team, 1934

Civilian Conservation Corps Bar Harbor Football Team, 1934
Item 82368   info
Maine Conservation Corps

This group photograph is of the members of the Bar Harbor Camp Civilian Conservation Corps, 154th company, Football Team in 1934.

The Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. The program was part of the New Deal of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who provided unskilled manual labor jobs related to the conservation and development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, state and local governments.

The CCC was designed to provide jobs for young men, to relieve families who had difficulty finding jobs during the Great Depression in the United States while at the same time implementing a general natural resource conservation program in every state and territory.

Charles K. Savage and family, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1946

Charles K. Savage and family, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1946
Item 81727   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

Pictured here are Charles K. Savage with his wife, Katharine Larchar Savage (1905-2001), daughter Mary Ann Savage Habib (1939-), and son C. Kenneth Savage, Jr.(1943-) in front of the fireplace at their home across from the Asticou Inn, called Clover Cottage.

Charles K. Savage (1903-1979) was the manager and owner of the Asticou Inn from 1922 to 1964. In addition to these responsibilities, Savage was Manager of the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park, a member of the Board of the Acadia Corporation, the designer of the Asticou Azalea and Thuya Gardens, and a community leader until his death in 1979.

Green Mountain Railway

Green Mountain Railway
Item 22259   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

One of the trains and cars going to the summit of Green Mountain, Mt. Desert Island. Green Mountain is now Cadillac Mountian and is a part of Acadia. The train brought people to the Summit House, a hotel on the top. This postcard was published by W.H. Ballard, though he did not take the picture.

Green Mountain House, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1885

Green Mountain House, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1885
Item 21316   info
Acadia National Park

The Green Mountain House Hotel was located at the summit of Green Mountain (now Cadillac) on Mt. Desert Island.

The artist is not known.

The Green Mountain House was built about 1880 and was a popular tourist resort for many years. The original building burned and was immediately rebuilt.

Green Mountain hotel, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1885

Green Mountain hotel, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1885
Item 21317   info
Acadia National Park

The Green Mountain House was a hotel located at the top of Green Mountain (now Cadillac) on Mt. Desert Island.

Guests took the Steamer Wauwinet on Eagle Lake to the base of the mountain where they then boarded the Green Mountain Railway to go to the summit of the mountain.

The hotel burned and was immediately rebuilt. The railroad stopped operations in 1890.

Green Mountain Railway Pass

Green Mountain Railway Pass
Item 21318   info
Acadia National Park

A ticket for passage on the Green Mountain Railway and Steamer for transportation to the summit of Green Mountain on Mt. Desert Island. This ticket was #420 and was for the Season of 1887 for Frank D. Pullen.

Steamer 'Wauwinet' season pass, Mt. Desert Island, 1885

Steamer 'Wauwinet' season pass, Mt. Desert Island, 1885
Item 21319   info
Acadia National Park

A pass made out to Frank D. Pullen allowed him to travel on the Steamer Wauwinet with the Green Mountain Railway on Mt. Desert Island in 1885.

The steamer was used to ferry customers from the northern shore of Eagle Lake in Eden (now Bar Harbor) to the base of Green Mountain (now Cadillac) so they could ride the Green Mountain Railway to the top of the mountain and possibly stay in the hotel at the summit.

Green Mountain Cog Railroad

Green Mountain Cog Railroad
Item 21320   info
Acadia National Park

Passengers and crew are waiting to take the Green Mountain Cog Railroad to the summit of Green Mountain (now known as Cadillac). This Cog Railroad is very similar to the Cog Railroad in New Hampshire.

Green Mountain Railway on Mount Desert Island

Green Mountain Railway on Mount Desert Island
Item 21321   info
Acadia National Park

Green Mountain Railway was a Cog Train to the summit of the Green Mountain (now known as Cadillac Mountain) on Mount Desert Island. Guests could ride the railway and then spend the night in the Green Mountain Hotel.

Green Mountain Tea House, ca. 1880

Green Mountain Tea House, ca. 1880
Item 21322   info
Acadia National Park

Green Mountain Tea House was the original building on Green Mountain. It became the Green Mountain Hotel and was located at the summit of Green Mountain (now Cadillac Mountain). Guests could take the Green Mountain Railroad from the base at Eagle Lake to the summit.

Steamer Norumbega Aground, ca. 1920

Steamer Norumbega Aground, ca. 1920
Item 23198   info
Acadia National Park

Maine Central Railroad Steamboat Norumbega aground on Clark's Point, Southwest Harbor. She hit the ledge after the engineer got in the habit of running from Northeast Harbor to Southwest Harbor on banked steam, and then running out of power and running into the ledge on the tide. She was later pulled off the ledge with the Steamer Moosehead.

Capt. Samuel Hadlock Jr., London, 1824

Capt. Samuel Hadlock Jr., London, 1824
Item 82320   info
Acadia National Park

This painted silhouette of Captain Samuel Hadlock Jr. (1792-ca. 1830) of Great Cranberry Island was made while Hadlock toured Europe.

He traveled with four Inuit Indians, 10 sled dogs, and exotic Arctic and Native American artifacts.

Hadlock built the Preble House on Great Cranberry Island upon his return to Maine with his second wife and child in 1827, and died at sea three years later.

View from Bear Island, ca. 1895

View from Bear Island, ca. 1895
Item 22238   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View from Bear Island Lighthouse looking north. The house on the hill is that of Harvard President, Charles Eliot. The lighthouse was established in 1839, and the current tower was constructed in 1889.

Otter Cliffs, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1938

Otter Cliffs, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1938
Item 66613   info
Boston Public Library

The rugged cliffs, along with the thousands of rounded and smooth boulders at its side, creates the very striking, and easily recognizable, geographical feature of Otter Cliff, in Acadia National Park. At 110 feet high, it is also one of the highest coastal headlands north of Rio de Jeneiro. Otter Cliff juts out from the east coast of Mount Desert Island.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1938 as part of their Maine series. These, and other postcards, by the Tichnor Brothers Company are officially known as the Tichnor Gloss Series because the photographs were notoriously retouched on such a level that does not allow the postcards to be classified as photographs or paintings. The caption reads, "Otter Cliffs, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Me."

Sonogee, Duck Brook, Bar Harbor, ca. 1950

Sonogee, Duck Brook, Bar Harbor, ca. 1950
Item 24993   info
Jesup Memorial Library

In 1903 Sonogee was built for Henry Lane Eno who became chief ornithologist for Lafayette National Park, which became known as Acadia National Park in 1919.

The next occupant was A. Atwater Kent from Burlington, Vermont.

Sonogee was well-known due to Kent's extravagant parties with three orchestras and tons of guests, some of whom arrived in the family yacht that was used as a shuttle during the parties.

Kent died in 1949. In 1976 the cottage became a nursing home.

Sand Beach, Bar Harbor, ca. 1938

Sand Beach, Bar Harbor, ca. 1938
Item 66280   info
Boston Public Library

Sand Beach is nestled between mountains on the east side of Mount Desert Island in Acadia National Park. The beach is largely comprised of unique sand of shell fragments created by the pounding surf.

The caption reads, "Surf at sand beach, Great Head, Bar Harbor, Maine." This postcard is from the Tichnor Brothers printing company Maine vacation series, which was printed from about 1930 - 1945.

Charles K. Savage, Asticou Azalea Garden, ca. 1960

Charles K. Savage, Asticou Azalea Garden, ca. 1960
Item 81399   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This photograph of Charles K. Savage shows him standing outdoors at the Asticou Azalea Garden around 1960. This photograph was a typical one of Savage during the summer months when he wore a suit and tie most every day. Savage was the creator of the Asticou Azalea Garden and the owner and manager of the nearby Asticou Inn as well as the General Manager of the Jordan Pond House in Acadia National Park, at the time that this photograph was taken.

Morneault House, Van Buren, 1857

Morneault House, Van Buren, 1857
Item 9812   info
L'Heritage Vivant Living Heritage

The Morneault house is a large one-room farm house donated to the Acadian Village by Mrs. Norma Beaupre. The house belonged to her great grandfather, Abel Morneault, who was a prosperous lumber contractor.

Found in this house are the famous "ships knees" that were used to strengthen the construction of ships in Acadia. In this house they were used to strengthen the upstair walls.

The addition on the side of the house was the local Post Office. The Morneault house holds a collection of textiles and implements to make fabrics.

Climbing Newport (Champlain) Mountain, 1886

Climbing Newport (Champlain) Mountain, 1886
Item 80719   info
Abbe Museum

This illustration is part of an article about the various things to do on Mount Desert Island in the late 19th century.

Climbing the mountains in what is now Acadia National Park was a favorite activity for rusticators. Their choice of clothing for this activity, at least for the women, is quite different from what hikers wear today in 2013.

The original drawing was by Charles S. Reinhart and the Engraving was made for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 73, No. 435, August 1886, pg. 419.

Bar Harbor steamboat landing, ca. 1885

Bar Harbor steamboat landing, ca. 1885
Item 80717   info
Maine Historic Preservation Commission

According to Harper's Magazine rusticators, such as those seen arriving in this photograph, found Bar Harbor alive with vehicles waiting to sweep them up whirl them to their hotels.

In the latter 1800s, visitors traveled to Mount Desert Island by yacht, train, steamboat, or stagecoach—or a combination of these. As for Wabanakis, some followed tradition, paddling age-old canoe routes. Others rode the same trains, steamboats, and stagecoaches as everyone else, placing their belongings—including canoes—in the cargo holds. Most Wabanakis had third class tickets. Travel fares were sometimes reimbursed by Indian agents who controlled the tribes’ annual budget of state-allocated funds comprised of money set aside from the sale or use of Indian lands.

Before 1857, steamboat service to Mount Desert Island had just one port of call: Southwest Harbor. That changed when store and innkeeper Tobias Roberts built a simple wooden wharf at the end of Main Street in Bar Harbor, making it possible for the steamboat Rockland to add the town to its run. In 1867 the wharf was expanded, and the Lewiston began making regular stops there as well. With two steamboats making stops tourism took a great leap forward. In 1881 the Mount Desert Herald reported: “Thirteen years ago the little steamer Rockland made one trip a week between Rockland and Millbridge, touching at Bar Harbor. Now we have steamers City of Richmond, Lewiston, Mt. Desert, Little Buttercup, Acadia, and Queen City of Bangor all running to and from this port.”

In 1884, a railroad extension from Bangor through Ellsworth connected to a new Mount Desert ferry terminal. From there it was just a short ride to Bar Harbor by steamboat or canoe.

Wabanaki family inside tent, Bar Harbor, ca. 1885

Wabanaki family inside tent, Bar Harbor, ca. 1885
Item 80721   info
Maine Historic Preservation Commission

This half of an albumin stereograph depicts a Wabanaki family inside their tent at an Indian encampment in Bar Harbor around the turn of the century.

When resorts started opening near areas where the Wabenaki had formerly set up summer encampments, they continued to set up near their usual sites but took to engaging with the tourists by offering guided tours, and selling a variety of items to tourists as a means of income for the tribe. Upon careful inspection one can see some the of items for sale, including a seal skin, deer antlers and a selection of baskets.

Docks at Bar Harbor, ca. 1910

Docks at Bar Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 18958   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Postcard showing the docks in Bar Harbor.

View of the harbor, Bar Harbor, ca. 1920

View of the harbor, Bar Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 19156   info
Jesup Memorial Library

View of the boats in the harbor at Bar Harbor.

Pemaquid, near Bar Harbor, ca. 1880

Pemaquid, near Bar Harbor, ca. 1880
Item 14447   info
Bar Harbor Historical Society

The Pemaquid stuck in the ice off Bar Harbor. The Pemaquid was connected with the Maine Central Railroad.

Dr. Abbe's Sun-dial Garden, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900

Dr. Abbe's Sun-dial Garden, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 23990   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Dr. Robert Abbe was a distinguished surgeon from New York who summered in Bar Harbor. Dr. Abbe lived in an estate called "Brook End" located on Eden Street. The house was built in 1881 in the 'shingle style' designed by William Ralph Emerson. Abbe purchased the estate in 1889 from Civil War General W.F. Smith and owned it until 1928. The house was torn down in the early 1960s.

Criterion & Star Tickets, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935

Criterion & Star Tickets, Bar Harbor, ca. 1935
Item 80798   info
Northeast Harbor Library

Collected movie stubs from the Star Theatre and the Criterion Theatre, both of which were located in down town Bar Harbor.

The Criterion Theatre was built in 1932 and one of several running theaters in it's hayday. It still stands and shows movies in downtown Bar Harbor.

The Star Theatre opened in around 1913 and closed in 1931.

Sunset, Frenchman's Bay, Bar Harbor ca. 1910

Sunset, Frenchman's Bay, Bar Harbor ca. 1910
Item 25001   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The image portrays a sunset on Frenchman's bay in Bar Harbor.

The postcard is addressed to Miss Anne Moran in Seal Harbor and was postmarked in Bar Harbor on May 11, 10:00 am, 1910.

The note reads: "Haven't time for a letter this morning but will write one tonight. Have just five minutes to get to work. -H."

Blaines and guests, Bar Harbor, 1889

Blaines and guests, Bar Harbor, 1889
Item 20919   info
Maine Historical Society

At the summer residence of politician James G. Blaine (1830-1893) in Bar Harbor are, front row, from left, James G. Blaine Jr., Mrs. Henry Cabot Lodge, President Benjamin Harrison, Harriet Stanwood Blaine, wife of James G. Blaine, who is next to her, and Harriet Blaine, their daughter.

In the back row, from left, are Henry Cabot Lodge, Walker Blaine, son of James Sr. and Harriet; and E.W. Halford, private secretary to President Harrison.

Blaine served in the Maine House of Representatives, the U.S. House, where he was Speaker from 1869-1875. He was U.S. Secretary of State in 1881 and 1889-1892 and a candidate for president in 1884.

Henry Cabot Lodge (1850-1924) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts at the time the photo was taken. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1893-1924.

Eastern Yacht Club Pier, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900

Eastern Yacht Club Pier, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 19155   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Eastern Yacht Club pier in Bar Harbor.

Road to Seal Harbor

Road to Seal Harbor
Item 19212   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The old bridge on the road from Northeast Harbor to Seal Harbor.

Thuya Garden & Asticou Terraces, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1961

Thuya Garden & Asticou Terraces, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1961
Item 81106   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This photograph is of the Thuya Garden after the installation of the new design of Charles K. Savage and the introduction of a series of rhododendron from the dismantled estate of Beatrix Farrand on Reef Point in Bar Harbor.

The construction of the garden and addition of fencing and other garden features was completed from 1956-1961 under the supervision of Charles K. Savage who was trustee of the Asticou Terraces Trust at that time. The funds for this renovation were from the Trust endowment and through generous support of John D. Rockefeller Jr.

The large urn in the foreground is a pot created by Eric Soderholtz, a European potter who lived in Gouldsboro Maine and created garden sculpture during the 1940's and 50's. The apple tree incorporated into the garden design was the only remaining tree from a small orchard planted sometime after 1912 but before 1924 by Joseph H. Curtis, the original owner of the Thuya Lodge and the adjacent property.

Bathing Beach and Shore Club, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940

Bathing Beach and Shore Club, Bar Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 23957   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Bathing Beach and Shore Club, now Bar Harbor Hotel.

Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 22247   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

View from the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The Shore Path is a walking path between some of Bar Harbor's majestic homes and the water.

Steamer Moosehead

Steamer Moosehead
Item 19095   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Image of the Steamer Moosehead passing by the Bar at Bar Harbor.

Navy Dirigible Shenandoah, Bar Harbor, 1925

Navy Dirigible Shenandoah, Bar Harbor, 1925
Item 95   info
Maine Historical Society/MaineToday Media

On July 2, 1925, Navy Dirigible Shenandoah left New Jersey bound for Bar Harbor, Maine to meet attendees of the annual conference of Governors. The conference was held at the world famous Poland Spring Hotel, but Governors from across the country toured the state in the airship, along with other modes of transportation.

The Navy Airship Shenandoah was the first of four rigid US Navy airships. Two months after the Governors convention, the Shenandoah was torn apart and crashed over Ohio.

Steamer Moosehead at Bar Harbor, ca. 1915

Steamer Moosehead at Bar Harbor, ca. 1915
Item 22269   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Steamer Moosehead at Bar Harbor. The Moosehead was built at Bath Iron Works in 1911 and was wrecked in 1941. It was owned by Maine Central Railroad and provided service from the train station on the mainland to Bar Harbor and other Mt. Desert Island ports.

Mount Desert Steamship at the Bar Harbor wharf, ca. 1890

Mount Desert Steamship at the Bar Harbor wharf, ca. 1890
Item 132   info
Maine Historical Society

The Mt. Desert steamship was owned by the Boston and Bangor Steamship Company and sailed to and from Mt. Desert and Rockland between 1879 and 1904.

Bar Harbor from Newport House, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1901

Bar Harbor from Newport House, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1901
Item 23946   info
Jesup Memorial Library

This view of Bar Harbor's waterfront looks toward the town pier from Newport House. Today this area is called Agamont Park and Newport Drive.

Copyright, 1901, by Detroit Photographic Co.

The Indian Village, Bar Harbor, ca. 1909

The Indian Village, Bar Harbor, ca. 1909
Item 25006   info
Jesup Memorial Library

In the summers Native Americans came to Bar Harbor and set up shop at "Indian Village" to sell their crafts. It was demolished in the 1930s to make way for a ball park.

Main Street, Bar Harbor, ca. 1910

Main Street, Bar Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 26474   info
Penobscot Marine Museum

This circa 1910 view of Main Street, Bar Harbor, captures the appearance of the commercial district of one of America ’s leading Victorian summer resorts.

Visible are Perlinskey’s dry and fancy goods, Moran the New York tailor and Millar the merchant tailor on the left and the clothing stores of H.S. Nason and Hart, Scheffner & Marx on the right.

At the far right is the First National Bank, beyond which is the Bradley Block.

Wabanaki guides with canoes, Bar Harbor, 1881

Wabanaki guides with canoes, Bar Harbor, 1881
Item 80729   info
Abbe Museum

This image shows Wabanaki guides with birch bark canoes and guns ready to guide sport hunters and sightseers at the Bar Harbor shore, 1881.

Many Wabanaki men at the Bar Harbor encampments made themselves available as guides to take summer people in canoes for sightseeing, fishing, or hunting. This was one of the many ways that the Wabenaki earned their annual income to support their families.

Indian encampment, Bar Harbor, 1881

Indian encampment, Bar Harbor, 1881
Item 80722   info
Abbe Museum

This stereo view shows a shoreside view of the Indian encampment at the foot of Bar/Bridge Street in Bar Harbor around 1881. Notice the canvas sale tent (upper left) and the boy (lower right) holding a bow and arrow. He may have been practicing his aim since Wabanaki youngsters often added to the family income by shooting arrows at pennies and other small objects tossed in the air.

With the influx of tourists from the many resorts that opened in the area where the Wabanaki made their home, at the turn of the century, the Wabanaki capitalized on the tourist trade by selling wares, and entertainments to tourists.

Garden at Beau Desert, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900

Garden at Beau Desert, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 19198   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The garden at Beau Desert, a vacation home built in ca. 1882 by Mr. and Mrs. Gurnee was located just north and west of the village of Bar Harbor. The house was considered one of the most beautiful of the 'cottages' in Eden, at that time.

Nurses in Front of MDI Hospital

Nurses in Front of MDI Hospital
Item 17220   info
Bar Harbor Fire Department

Chief Roy Albee is sitting with some nurses at the Mt. Desert Island Hospital. The nurses had been given a lesson in handling firefighting equipment.

Indian Encampment at Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1900

Indian Encampment at Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1900
Item 78949   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This stereoview of an Indian encampment on the shore of Frenchmen's Bay, Bar Harbor shows a Native American family and their temporary summer homes. These villages were common to the Mount Desert Island area during the summer months prior to the 1920's. At the Indian encampments, the Wabanaki came to the shore from Orono, Old Town, and Penobscot County tribal lands to fish, clam, and sell their handmade goods and guiding services to summer visitors. Men and women of the tribes are shown in the photo along with boats and canoes used for fishing and transportation.

Wabanaki encampment, Bar Harbor, ca. 1887

Wabanaki encampment, Bar Harbor, ca. 1887
Item 80702   info
Maine Historic Preservation Commission

Tents behind Ells’ Store in the Bar Harbor Indian encampment when it was situated along Eddy Brook between the shore and Eden Street, from around 1887.

Wabanaki Indians (especially Passamaquoddies and Penobscots) came to Mount Desert Island seeking relief from the confines of reservation life, along with the economic opportunities presented by a popular resort. For them, the island was a familiar place long frequented by their ancestors for fishing, hunting, and gathering. No longer able to survive solely on the old lifeways, Wabanakis began to market their traditional arts, crafts, and canoeing skills to rusticators who visited their tented encampments. At its peak, in 1885, Bar Harbor’s summer Indian village at the foot of Holland Avenue was home to 250 Wabanakis.

The location of the Bar Harbor Indian encampment shifted over the years in response to real estate development and the Village Improvement Society’s concerns about the safety and sanitation of the makeshift village. The greatest number of images of the encampment were made when it was situated shoreside at the foot of Bridge Street, just east of the bar.

Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1921

Shore Path, Bar Harbor, ca. 1921
Item 18975   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of a portion of the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Wabanaki encampment, Bar Harbor, ca. 1890

Wabanaki encampment, Bar Harbor, ca. 1890
Item 80705   info
Abbe Museum

This postcard shows the Wabanaki sale tents at the southeast end of Ledgelawn Avenue in Bar Harbor during the 1890s.

Wabanaki Indians (especially the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots) came to Mount Desert Island seeking relief from the confines of reservation life, along with the economic opportunities presented by a popular resort. For them, the island was a familiar place long frequented by their ancestors for fishing, hunting, and gathering and the rusticators who vacationed there provided a new opportunity to earn a living while remaining true to their heritage.

Steamer Moosehead

Steamer Moosehead
Item 21047   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Steamer Moosehead passing the Breakwater in Bar Harbor, Maine. Newport Mountain shown in the background.

Frank "Big Thunder" Loring, Bar Harbor, ca. 1890

Frank "Big Thunder" Loring, Bar Harbor, ca. 1890
Item 80728   info
Abbe Museum

Frank Loring is pictured here, with unidentified boy, sitting by boat shed just west of the Bar Harbor steamboat wharf, around 1890. Loring would rent out canoes to rusticators, or take them out on guided canoe trips around Frenchman's Bay.

While Loring was a many of many talents, entertainer, medicine man and hunter to name a few, he also spent many summers renting canoes to rusticators, often with himself or his son Mitchell as paddler and guide.

Clifton House, Northeast Harbor

Clifton House, Northeast Harbor
Item 22220   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

With the coming of the summer people and the realization of the potential profits that could be gained from them, hotels began springing up in town. 1883 saw the construction of the Asticou Inn and the Roberts House, both at the head of the harbor, run by A.C. Savage and William Roberts, respectively. The Rock End Hotel was built by Herman L. Savage, son of A.C. Savage, in 1884; and in 1886 Squire Kimball built the Kimball House. Eventually the town also had the Indian Head, the Clifton House, the Harbourside Inn, and the Gaynor Hotel. The Clifton House was constructed in 1885 by James Soulis for Clarence A. Kimaball. The thirty room hotel was constructed to plans drawn in Bar Harbor by John E. Clark. The Clifton House was torn down in 1939.

Main Street, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1980

Main Street, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1980
Item 79362   info
Northeast Harbor Library

Shown is a view of Main Street in Northeast Harbor from the 1980s.

On the left side of the photograph you can see the Holmes Store and the Northeast Harbor Post Office, on the right is the Bar Harbor Banking & Trust Co. As of 2013, those three businesses are still in operation.

Bar Harbor train leaving Bangor, ca. 1900

Bar Harbor train leaving Bangor, ca. 1900
Item 34499   info
Bangor Public Library

Although this postcard was postmarked in 1908, the photograph itself is earlier. The Maine Central Station (Union Station) was not yet built, and the train is preparing to enter a covered bridge over the Penobscot River, which had been gone for some time before 1908.

The train to Bar Harbor contains at least one early baggage car, seen here situated immediately behind the engine.

St. John's Church towers above a hill in the background. The structures visible on the far side of the bridge are probably temporary log booms set to prevent the bridge pylons being threatened by log rafts.

Seaside Inn, Seal Harbor, 1891

Seaside Inn, Seal Harbor, 1891
Item 78872   info
Northeast Harbor Library

This image depicts two children standing in Stanley Brook in front of Seaside Inn, formerly the Seaside House, located in Seal Harbor in 1891.

The Seaside House was a private residence owned by the Clement Family. Over the years the Seaside house went through a few transitions; first in 1870 it was renovated into a 10-room boarding house and then in 1882 a large annex was added. Then in 1891 Amos and James Clement hired Bar Harbor-based architect John E. Clark to redesign the house into a large hotel, renaming it the Seaside Inn. In 1963 it was torn down.

Asticou Azalea Gardens, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1959

Asticou Azalea Gardens, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1959
Item 22233   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Charles K. Savage created the Asticou Azalea Gardens at Northeast Harbor in 1956-1957. A lifelong resident of Northeast Harbor, Savage was owner and general manager of the Asticou Inn, which is across the street from the gardens.

The azaleas and rhododendrons seen in the photo came Reef Point, the Bar Harbor estate of Beatrix Farrand, a noted landscape architect.

Canoeing at Bar Harbor, 1886

Canoeing at Bar Harbor, 1886
Item 80730   info
Abbe Museum

Rusticators canoeing in Frenchman Bay. Original drawing by Charles S. Reinhart. Engraved for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol. 73, No. 435, August 1886, pg. 419.

Rusticators were vacationers who flocked to the island from cities, which sought relief from the noise and pollution of crowded urban life without forsaking any of the comforts of urban life.

Boasting as many as 300 members, the Mount Desert Island Canoe Club encouraged “cooing, wooing, and canoeing,” as well as serious training in the “fine art of paddling.” Most members of this rusticators’ club aspired to having their own Indian-made paddle and birchbark canoe, and many turned to proven experts from the Indian encampment for instruction. Rusticators also took great pleasure in seeing Wabanaki paddling skills displayed at the Club’s annual canoe races.

Steamer "J.T. Morse," ca. 1910

Steamer "J.T. Morse," ca. 1910
Item 22265   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

In 1903, William McKie built the J.T. Morse,/em> in East Boston for the Eastern Steamship Corporation. She was 214 feet long and was powered by a 600 HP single beam engine.

J.T. Morse,/em> ran from April to October or November each year on the Rockland to Bar Harbor run with many stops in between. She was sold to New York in 1933 and was removed from service in 1941.

J.T. Morse at Seal Harbor, ca. 1910

J.T. Morse at Seal Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 22266   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The J.T. Morse at the Steamboat Wharf in Seal Harbor. The J.T. Morse was built in 1903 by William McKie in East Boston for the Eastern Steamship Corp. She was 214' long and was powered by a 600 hp single beam engine. She ran from April to October or November each year on the Rockland to Bar Harbor run with many stops in between. She was sold to New York in 1933 and was removed from service in 1941.

Steamer Moosehead, Bar Harbor, ca. 1911

Steamer Moosehead, Bar Harbor, ca. 1911
Item 19203   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Steamer Moosehead in Frenchman Bay, Bar Harbor with the Porcupine Islands in the background.

M. V. Bluenose ca. 1950

M. V. Bluenose ca. 1950
Item 24012   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The M. V. Bluenose (named after a famous racing schooner in Nova Scotia) were built in 1955. The ferry was 346 feet long and could hold 615 people, 165 cars and 18 trucks. At one time it employed about 200 people in Bar Harbor and had a crew of 96.

The M.V. Bluenose Ferry ran from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia from circa 1960 to 1997. The Bluenose was replaced by "The Cat" in 1997. The terminal and docking facility for the M.V. Bluenose was built on the site of the Stotesbury Estate "Wingwood". This estate survived the Fire of 1947 but was demolished in the 1950's to make way for the Bluenose.


Cottage Street, Northeast Harbor, 1908

Cottage Street, Northeast Harbor, 1908
Item 18331   info
Maine Historical Society

Postcard entitled "Cottage Street, Northeast Harbor, Maine" has a postmark of August 12, 1908 and is addressed to Mrs. Helen Stover of South Harpswell, Me. from Inez.

Green Mountain Advertisement

Green Mountain Advertisement
Item 21071   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

In the 1880's traveling to the top of Green Mountain was a great activity for rusticators to do. They took a steamboat across Eagle Lake, boarded the cog railroad, and went to the top of Green (now Cadillac) Mountain. On the top there was a hotel for those who chose to stay the night.

The Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ca. 1960

The Roscoe B. Jackson Memorial Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ca. 1960
Item 25007   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Jackson Laboratory was founded by Clarence Cook Little in 1929. It is an independent, non-profit cancer research facility. In 1938 the National Cancer Institute designated the lab a Cancer Institute.

Steamer J.T. Morse, ca. 1930

Steamer J.T. Morse, ca. 1930
Item 22264   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The J.T. Morse was built in 1903 by William McKie in East Boston for the Eastern Steamship Corp. She was 214' long and was powered by a 600 hp single beam engine. She ran from April to October or November each year on the Rockland to Bar Harbor run with many stops in between. She was sold to New York in 1933 and was removed from service in 1941.

Asticou Azalea Garden, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1958

Asticou Azalea Garden, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1958
Item 81108   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This image shows the inaugural year of the Asticou Azalea Garden, as it looked its inaugural year. The garden was constructed by Charles K. Savage, in a pond and swamp area adjacent to the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, using a Japanese influenced designed.

Savage used many azaleas and rhododendron salvaged from the exquisite gardens of Reef Point, an estate garden created at the home of Beatrix Farrand in Bar Harbor. Stones, trees, paths, sand garden, and pots created by Eric Soderholtz were used as garden features in addition to the plant materials brought from Reef Point.

This image shows an area of the garden, "Pebble Point", which no longer exists. This original garden feature was created with pebbles brought in from Jasper Beach, near Machias. The feature washed away the following spring and the area became submerged into the pond. At the time of construction, the garden was owned by Savage. It later passed to the Town of Mount Desert and then was transferred to a non-profit organization, the Mount Desert Land & Garden Preserve.

Mt. Desert Island Hospital

Mt. Desert Island Hospital
Item 17375   info
Mt. Desert Island Hospital

Mt. Desert Island Hospital in Bar Harbor. In 1897 a group of people got together to develop a plan for a new hospital in Bar Harbor. In August 1899 the first patient was admitted.

Surf on the Shore Path

Surf on the Shore Path
Item 18976   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Surf on the Shore Path in Bar Harbor. The path runs along the eastern shore of Mount Desert Island. The path was created in 1880.

Green Mountain Railroad

Green Mountain Railroad
Item 19216   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Postcard showing scenes of the Green Mountain Railroad. The railroad ran from Eagle Lake in Bar Harbor to the top of Green Mountain. Today Green Mountain is known as Cadillac Mountain.

Egg Rock Light, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930

Egg Rock Light, Bar Harbor, ca. 1930
Item 23991   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Egg Rock Light is located on Egg Rock, near Winter Harbor. The station was established in 1875. The current tower (40 feet tall, 64 foot high focal plane) was built in 1875. The original optic was a 5th-order Fresnel, but now is VRB-25. The lighthouse flashes red every 5 seconds and the fog signal sounds two blasts every 30 seconds. It was automated in 1976. The lighthouse is an active aid to U. S. Coast Guard navigation. It is part of the Maine Coastal Islands Wildlife Refuge and maintained by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The lighthouse (1875), keeper's house (1875), fog signal building (1904), oil house, boathouse, and generator house are still standing.


Egg Rock Light, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900

Egg Rock Light, Bar Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 23992   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Egg Rock Light is located on Egg Rock, near Winter Harbor. The station was established in 1875. The current tower (40 feet tall, 64 foot high focal plane) was built in 1875. The original optic was a 5th-order Fresnel, but now is VRB-25. The lighthouse flashes red every 5 seconds and the fog signal sounds two blasts every 30 seconds. It was automated in 1976. The lighthouse is an active aid to U. S. Coast Guard navigation. It is part of the Maine Coastal Islands Wildlife Refuge and maintained by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The lighthouse (1875), keeper's house (1875), fog signal building (1904), oil house, boathouse, and generator house are still standing.

Charles Kenneth Savage, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1960

Charles Kenneth Savage, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1960
Item 81564   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This photograph of Charles Kenneth Savage in his signature summer outfit, of a sport jacket and hat, was probably taken at either the Asticou Azalea Garden in Northeast Harbor or at Reef Point estate in Bar Harbor. The large pink blooming azalea bush that Savage is standing in front of was from the Beatrix Farrand plant collection.

Trying out blubber, 1880

Trying out blubber, 1880
Item 80723   info
Abbe Museum

This image, from Scribner's Magazine, depicts a man stirring a cauldron of blubber. Cooking pots at the Wabanaki encampment in Bar Harbor were also used for “trying” (extracting) porpoise oil by boiling the blubber.

Porpoise hunting was common among Wabanaki men, especially the Passamaquoddy. The oil was in great demand for fueling lighthouses and lubricating clockworks.

Steamer Sappho, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1940

Steamer Sappho, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1940
Item 24998   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Sappho steamboat was built in 1886 for Maine Central Railroad's Bar Harbor ferry service. She was built for transporting the wealthy vacationers to Mount Desert Island. The ship was 275 tons, 140 feet long, 28 foot beam, and 600 horse power.

In 1917 the Blackstone Navigation Company bought the ship, renamed it Pawtucket, and ran it between Pawtucket, RI and New York.

During the war she transported explosives on the Delaware River.

She returned to Rockland, ME in 1924 to be rebuilt, changing her tonnage to 589.

The Colonial Line set her to work on Long Island Sound as a freight service.

She was purchased by a Norfolk freighter on Chesapeake Bay, Dismal Swamp Canal and the North Carolina Sounds. They did some reconstruction and replaced the steam engine with Diesels.

Photo copyright W. H. Ballard



City of Richmond steam ship, ca. 1882

City of Richmond steam ship, ca. 1882
Item 5949   info
Maine Historical Society

The 'City of Richmond' steamship sailed from Portland to Bar Harbor three days a week during the summer months in the late 1800s. In 1881 she ran aground on the Mark Island Ledge. She was rebuilt by the Portland Company and continued in service until 1892.

Beaded purse, ca. 1880

Beaded purse, ca. 1880
Item 80714   info
Abbe Museum

This beaded purse was probably made by someone of the Mi'kmaq tribe in the late nineteenth century.

Beaded purses made on wool with silk ribbon and glass beads were made by many Native American artisans to sell to non-Native tourists as a souvenir of their visit to places like Bar Harbor and Niagara Falls.

The Bluenose, ca. 1960

The Bluenose, ca. 1960
Item 25005   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The M. V. Bluenose (named after a famous racing schooner in Nova Scotia) were built in 1955. The ferry was 346 feet long and could hold 615 people, 165 cars and 18 trucks. At one time it employed about 200 people in Bar Harbor and had a crew of 96.

The M.V. Bluenose Ferry ran from Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia from circa 1960 to 1997. The Bluenose was replaced by "The Cat" in 1997. The terminal and docking facility for the M.V. Bluenose was built on the site of the Stotesbury Estate "Wingwood". This estate survived the Fire of 1947 but was demolished in the 1950's to make way for the Bluenose.

Picture frame, Passamaquoddy, ca. 1900

Picture frame, Passamaquoddy, ca. 1900
Item 80748   info
Abbe Museum

Birch bark has been an essential material for the Wabanaki for generations. It was used to create everything from canoes to shelters.

With the growing market for Native crafts exemplified by the Bar Harbor encampments, Wabanaki birch bark artisans developed new forms and decorative styles to appeal to buyers.

Depictions of Wabanaki life and stories, along with scenes from the natural world, were popular at the turn of the century.

Trophy Cup Fancy Basket, ca. 1900

Trophy Cup Fancy Basket, ca. 1900
Item 14422   info
Abbe Museum

After the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution brought newfound wealth to the nation. Summer resorts such as Bar Harbor boomed and Wabanaki basketmakers found an eager and concentrated market for their wares.

Fancy baskets were invented and Native weavers responded to market demand to create a wide variety of baskets for the tourist trade. These baskets were smaller, more portable and highly decorated. Recognizing the Victorian taste for elaborate decor, basketmakers created fancy baskets decorated with elegant handles, complex twisted weaves, sweetgrass and dyed splints.

Jean P. Ouellette Letter on CCC, Upper Frenchville, 1985

Jean P. Ouellette Letter on CCC, Upper Frenchville, 1985
Item 82308   info
Maine Conservation Corps

Jean P. Ouellette wrote to Norman "Red" Wetherington about his experiences serving in the Civilian Conservation Corps.

He wrote about why he joined. He said, "At the time I was only a ninety-five pound weakling."

Ouellette (1923-2007) from Upper Frenchville, served in the CCC in Bar Harbor. He later became a painting contractor. He studied at Wagner School of Sign Painting.

Weathering collected memories of CCC members in Maine, and coordinated CCC reunions. He is the author of "In the Public Interest: The Civilian Conservation Corps in Maine."

Somes Sound, Mt. Desert Island, ca.1900

Somes Sound, Mt. Desert Island, ca.1900
Item 21186   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Somes Sound, on Mt. Desert Island, Maine.

Mt. Desert Island from Islesford, ca. 1915

Mt. Desert Island from Islesford, ca. 1915
Item 25023   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The postcard is a view of Mount Desert Island taken from Islesford. Islesford, located on Little Cranberry Island is located southeast of Mount Desert Island and can be accessed by boat from Northeast Harbor. The image was captured by the Albertype Co. of Brooklyn, New York. The company utilized the innovation of collotype to photo-mechanically reproduce images of towns and landscapes throughout the northeast.

Old Mill on Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1890

Old Mill on Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1890
Item 21407   info
Trenton Cemetery & Keeping Society

Old Mill falling down somewhere on Mt. Desert Island.

Bear Island Light, off Mt. Desert Island

Bear Island Light, off Mt. Desert Island
Item 22237   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Bear Island Light was established in 1839 and approved by President Martin Van Buren. The construction of the lighthouse cost $3000. The original lighthouse was a stone house with a tower on top. It burned in 1852, and in 1853 a brick tower was built at one end of the house. The current tower and keeper's dwelling was constructed in 1889. Its original optic was a fifth order Fresnel. This picture shows the island from the southwest, and the white triangular structure housed the bell, weighing 1000 lbs. This bell was tolled using a wind up system to warn seamen of the pending danger ahead.

Bear Island Light off Mt. Desert Island

Bear Island Light off Mt. Desert Island
Item 22236   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Bear Island Light was established in 1839, and approved by President Martin Van Buren. The construction of the lighthouse cost $3000. The original lighthouse was a stone house with a tower on top. It burned in 1852, and in 1853 a brick tower was built at one end of the house. Thecurrent tower and keeper's dwelling was constructed in 1889. Its original optic was a fifth order Fresnel. This postcard was taken from near the present Clifton Dock in Northeast Harbor.

WWII Buoy Boat testing, Mt. Desert, ca. 1943

WWII Buoy Boat testing, Mt. Desert, ca. 1943
Item 21101   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Testing the hauling capabilities of a WWII Buoy Boat. This boat was constructed by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard for the war effort.

Granite mountains, Mount Desert, 1837

Granite mountains, Mount Desert, 1837
Item 6422   info
Maine Historical Society

Plate XXI from the book Atlas of plates illustrating the Geology of the State of Maine accompanying the first report on the geology of the state, by Charles T. Jackson, engraving and lithography by Thomas Moore, 1837.

The title of the drawing, made by Franz Graeter, is Granite Mountains Mount Desert.

Navy Yawl, Mt. Desert, ca. 1943

Navy Yawl, Mt. Desert, ca. 1943
Item 21114   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Navy Yawl built by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard during World War II. Used for training excercises.

Hall's Quarry, Mount Desert

Hall's Quarry, Mount Desert
Item 22076   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Cyrus Hall's Quarry on the edge of Somes Sond, Mt. Desert Island.

The quarry's location alongside of Somes Sound proved very beneficial, as it allowed the schooners to land very close to the quarry to load the granite and transport it to various ports.

The granite industry brought a great deal of money to the Island, and many of the stonecutters who came to work in the quarry still have relatives in the area.

Buoy Tender built by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard

Buoy Tender built by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard
Item 21092   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Bow area of a buoy tender built by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard during World War II.

Windjammer Off the Coast of Mount Desert Island

Windjammer Off the Coast of Mount Desert Island
Item 19214   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A windjammer off the coast of Mt. Desert Island. It is not known what the name of this windjammer was. Today it is still possible to enjoy a cruise on a windjammer from one of the companies on MDI.

This image was taken by W.H. Ballard and is copyright material.

Mount Desert Island from Porcupine Island, ca. 1910

Mount Desert Island from Porcupine Island, ca. 1910
Item 7777   info
Maine Historical Society

This image was taken towards Mt. Desert Island from Porcupine Island, ca. 1910.

This is part of a collection of photographs that include scenes of Mt. Desert Island, Porcupine Island, Eggemoggin Reach to Rockland in Penobscot Bay and the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine.

Navy training yawl launch, Mount Desert, ca. 1942

Navy training yawl launch, Mount Desert, ca. 1942
Item 21116   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Launching of a Navy training yawl at Mt. Desert Yacht Yard on Somes Sound. The boats were used by the Navy to train new students.

Race, Great Harbor, Mount Desert, ca. 1930

Race, Great Harbor, Mount Desert, ca. 1930
Item 21161   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Northeast Harbor A Boats Racing in the Great Harbor of Mt. Desert.

Buoy Boat on Union River, Mount Desert, ca. 1943

Buoy Boat on Union River, Mount Desert, ca. 1943
Item 21103   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

E. Farnham Butler runs a Buoy Boat up the Union River. Butler was the owner of Mt. Desert Yacht Yard, which built boats at the head of Somes Sound.

Mt. Desert Yacht Yard also built boats in Ellsworth during World War II.

Buoy Boats, Mount Desert, ca. 1943

Buoy Boats, Mount Desert, ca. 1943
Item 21104   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Buoy Boats on a trailer ready to be shipped to be used for the war effort.

The Mt. Desert Yacht Yard built the boats.

Bullseyes Racing in the Great Harbor of Mt. Desert, ca. 1955

Bullseyes Racing in the Great Harbor of Mt. Desert, ca. 1955
Item 21165   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Bullseyes owned by the Northeast Harbor Fleet racing west of Bear Island Light.

Manchester Brothers Garage, Mt. Desert

Manchester Brothers Garage, Mt. Desert
Item 22268   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

With the influx of the Rusticators in the 1880, A.L. Manchester built the house and barn seen in this picture to live in and rent horses and carriages. The single story stucco part was added in the 1930's to house the car repair parts and a place for chauffeurs to relax when not doing their duties.

Christmas Pageant, Mount Desert, ca. 1925

Christmas Pageant, Mount Desert, ca. 1925
Item 22087   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Christmas Pageant on the stage of the Pastime Theater in Mount Desert, ca. 1925.

Back Row: A. Coombs, unidentified, Dr. Whitaker, John Manchester, Augusta Smith, unidentified, A. Manchester, two unidentified, Fred Lurvey, two unidentified, A. Phillips, Eunice Shaw, Mary Phillips, unidentified, Grace Smith, three unidentified, Doug Burr, Harry Burr.

Middle Row: Hilda Haskell, Eleanor Tracy Burr

Front Row: Four unidentified, Elliot Higgins, unidentified, Peter Haskell, Buss Tracy, two unidentified, D. Coombs.

Immigrant workers at Hall Quarry, Mount Desert, 1905

Immigrant workers at Hall Quarry, Mount Desert, 1905
Item 19465   info
Maine Granite Industry Historical Society

Local and immigrant men made up the workers at the Granite Quarry in Hall Quarry.

Men from Scotland, Italy and Sweden came to Mount Desert Island and other area granite quarries to find employment. Hall Quarry had several boarding houses that served as home for these men.

In 1905 when this picture was taken the Arthur McMullen Granite Company ran the quarry operation.

Northeast Harbor Fleet Race, ca. 1930

Northeast Harbor Fleet Race, ca. 1930
Item 21180   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Northeast Harbor Fleet sailboats racing in the Great Harbor of Mt. Desert in the 1930's.

Steamboat at Seal Harbor, ca. 1920

Steamboat at Seal Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 22227   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

A Maine Central Railroad steamer at the Seal Harbor ferry terminal. Steamers were the main transportation to Mt. Desert Island at the turn of the century. In the lower right of the picture is the roof of the Seaside Inn.

Mount Desert Rock lighthouse, 1877

Mount Desert Rock lighthouse, 1877
Item 6655   info
Maine Historical Society

Charles Edwards painted this watercolor of the Mount Desert Rock Lighthouse in 1877. This island is located about 8 miles off the coast of Mt. Desert Island.

30 Square Meter and MDI Class Sailboat, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945

30 Square Meter and MDI Class Sailboat, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945
Item 21746   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

A 30 Square Meter and MDI Class sailboat sailed in the Great Harbor of Mt. Desert. Both were active classes at the Northeast Harbor Fleet during the 1940s.

Babson Cove, Mt. Desert, ca. 1911

Babson Cove, Mt. Desert, ca. 1911
Item 23940   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Babson Cove, looking down Somes Sound.

Horse and Carriage Near Head of Somes Sound, 1909

Horse and Carriage Near Head of Somes Sound, 1909
Item 21169   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Man driving his horse and carriage near the head of Somes Sound on Mount Desert Island.

Herring fishing, Mt. Desert, ca. 1940

Herring fishing, Mt. Desert, ca. 1940
Item 26562   info
Northeast Historic Film

Home movie footage of commercial fishing around Mt. Desert Island, showing the herring seining process.

Lobster Country, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1980

Lobster Country, Mount Desert Island, ca. 1980
Item 24008   info
Jesup Memorial Library

"This is typical of the many quaint and colorful lobster villages scattered along Mt. Desert Island." Text taken from the back of the postcard.

Color photo by Paul A. Knaut, Jr.

Stern Area of Buoy Boat, ca. 1943

Stern Area of Buoy Boat, ca. 1943
Item 21107   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Stern area of 38' Buoy Boat built during World War II by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard.

Engine on 38' Buoy Boat, ca. 1943

Engine on 38' Buoy Boat, ca. 1943
Item 21097   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Engine area on 38' Buoy Boat built by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard for the War effort.

Pogey press, Mount Desert, ca. 1850

Pogey press, Mount Desert, ca. 1850
Item 21075   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The pogey industry was a thriving industry at Mt. Desert in the mid 19th century. Pogies (also called porgies) were caught, boiled in large cast iron pots, and then pressed for their valuable oil.

Looking toward Somesville, ca. 1910

Looking toward Somesville, ca. 1910
Item 7780   info
Maine Historical Society

A view towards Somesville, Maine on Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1910 perhaps from Mt. Robinson.

This is part of a collection of photographs that include scenes of Mt. Desert Island, Porcupine Island, Eggemoggin Reach to Rockland in Penobscot Bay and the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine.

Hall Quarry Company Store, Mount Desert, ca. 1900

Hall Quarry Company Store, Mount Desert, ca. 1900
Item 19446   info
Maine Granite Industry Historical Society

The Standard Granite Company Store in Hall Quarry was owned by the same company that owned the quarrying business. Built in the 1880s, the store provided the necessities for the quarry workers.

The upper floor was used for social events such as dances, minstrel shows and concerts. The company store was considered the hub of the village. The store also served as the first post office. Hall was was reputed to have charged employees well below retail prices.

View of Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert Island, 1886

View of Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert Island, 1886
Item 71172   info
Boston Public Library

This bird's-eye view shows Bar Harbor village with its buildings and important points of interest, with the mountains of Mt. Desert Island exaggerated in the background. Important hotels are shown as insets. The hotel owners helped to pay for the publication of this map in order to advertise their establishments.

The full title of this view is, "Bird's eye view of Bar Harbor, Mount Desert Island, Hancock Co., Maine."

30-Square Meter Sailboats off Northeast Harbor

30-Square Meter Sailboats off Northeast Harbor
Item 21734   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Three 30 Square Meter Sailboats sailing in the Great Harbor of Mt. Desert.

Northeast Harbor Main Street, ca. 1905

Northeast Harbor Main Street, ca. 1905
Item 21051   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Horse drawn carriage in front of Herrick Livery, and what was known as the Sylvester Brown Block. The gambrel-roofed building to the far right of the picture is the Gaynor Hotel, which burned "suspiciously" in 1910. This photograph was taken between 1905, when electricity came to town, and 1910, when the Gaynor burned.
Prior to the Herrick Livery being on Main Street, it was located next to the Union Church where it served as a school. In this picture, the bell tower is still on top of the old school. See item number 21074 for the bell from the school.

Cunningham Boarding House, Mount Desert, ca. 1905

Cunningham Boarding House, Mount Desert, ca. 1905
Item 19424   info
Maine Granite Industry Historical Society

The Cunningham Boarding house in Hall Quarry was one of a number of boarding houses that were home to the transient population that worked at Hall Quarry.

The boarding houses were known as well-built structures with small sleeping rooms and a wood or coal fired stove heating only the downstairs main lounge. This room was sometimes known as the "Smoking Room."

Gambling was not permitted so the workers would sit around and play cribbage or read the newspaper.

Rambler, Mount Desert, 1953

Rambler, Mount Desert, 1953
Item 21120   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

A 1952 Bunker and Ellis boat, Rambler, soon after being launched.

This was the first of four boats built for this owner.

This boat was last owned by the New England Aquarium but cannot be located now.

Steamer J.T. Morse Passing Mark Island, off Stonington, ca. 1930

Steamer J.T. Morse Passing Mark Island, off Stonington, ca. 1930
Item 22271   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Steamer J.T. Morse passing Mark Island, off Stonington. The J.T. Morse was built in 1903 by William McKie in East Boston for the Eastern Steamship Corp. She was 214' long and was powered by a 600 hp single beam engine. She ran from April to October or November each year on the Rockland to Bar Harbor run with many stops in between. She was sold to New York in 1933 and was removed from service in 1941.

Mount Desert, bearing N.W. 10 miles, 1837

Mount Desert, bearing N.W. 10 miles, 1837
Item 6423   info
Maine Historical Society

This scene of Mount Desert Island is Plate XX from the book Atlas of plates illustrating the Geology of the State of Maine accompanying the first report on the geology of the state, by Charles T. Jackson, engraving and lithography by Thomas Moore, 1837.

Francis Graeter, a native of Germany, was the illustrator for many of the images in the book. He lived in the U.S. from 1826 to 1842, when he returned to Germany.

Buoy Boat Sea Trials, ca. 1943

Buoy Boat Sea Trials, ca. 1943
Item 21100   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Five Buoy Boats on sea trials in Somes Sound, off Mt. Desert Island. They were constructed by Mt. Desert Yacht Yard during World War II. These boats were constructed on the Union River in Ellsworth rather than at the yard on Somes Sound.

Loading whale boat film, Mt. Desert, ca. 1940

Loading whale boat film, Mt. Desert, ca. 1940
Item 26563   info
Northeast Historic Film

The title on the home movie of fishing around Mt. Desert reads "50 bushel to a whale boat," and shows the process of loading a boat with herring and moving them onto a "sardine" boat.

Bunker and Ellis Rambler, Mount Desert, 1952

Bunker and Ellis Rambler, Mount Desert, 1952
Item 22106   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Bunker and Ellis Rambler preparing for launching. This boat was built in 1952 and was the first of four boats constructed by the Bunker and Ellis team for the same man.

The boat was later sold to U. Haskell Crocker in Manchester, Massachussetts. His family later gave the boat to the New England Aquarium in 1968. After the Aquarium, it is unknown what happened.

Construction, Navy yawl, Mount Desert, ca. 1942

Construction, Navy yawl, Mount Desert, ca. 1942
Item 21115   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Constructing a Navy Yawl at Mt. Desert Yacht Yard. These boats were used for Naval training.

New Road into Northeast Harbor

New Road into Northeast Harbor
Item 22272   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

New road coming into Northeast Harbor, 1957.

Steamer Samoset Breaking Ice at Sullivan Harbor

Steamer Samoset Breaking Ice at Sullivan Harbor
Item 21185   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Steamer Samoset breaking ice to get into Sullivan Harbor. The mountains of Mt. Desert are in the background.

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 7779   info
Maine Historical Society

The photograph shows Northeast Harbor in about 1910.

The community is on Somes Sound on Mount Desert Island. It faces Soutwest Harbor on the island's western peninsula and the Cranberry Isles to the south.

Boats at Northeast Harbor, ca. 1955

Boats at Northeast Harbor, ca. 1955
Item 21113   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Boats at the newly dredged and improved Northeast Harbor. One of the houses on Harbourside Road can be seen in the distance.

Men working on nets, Southwest Harbor, ca. 1940

Men working on nets, Southwest Harbor, ca. 1940
Item 22108   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Men working on fishing nets at Southwest Harbor.

Steamboat Wharf at Seal Harbor

Steamboat Wharf at Seal Harbor
Item 22107   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The steamer Islesford at the steamboat wharf in Seal Harbor. The Islesford was owned by Gilbert Hadlock of Little Cranberry Island and ran from 1893 to 1908. This picture was taken during the summer of 1902. In the background is the Dodge Homestead on Dodge Point.

Coal Wharf, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1925

Coal Wharf, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1925
Item 22221   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Established by Thomas Manchester in the latter half of the 19th Century, the coal wharf eventually became owned by the Branscom family under the name Branscom's Coal and Wood and provided a thriving business until the 1970's. A private home now sits on the property, using the coal wharf as a private dock. A schooner is shown at the dock unloading its cargo.

Friendship Sloops off Rock End Dock, Northeast Harbor

Friendship Sloops off Rock End Dock, Northeast Harbor
Item 22075   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Friendship Sloops off Rock End Dock in Northeast Harbor. These boats could be rented by rusticators during the summer, and were often fishing boats during the winter. During the 1930's, this cove was filled with racing sloops affiliated with the Northeast Harbor Fleet. This picture was taken from the W. West Frazier house, which is no longer standing.

Northeast Harbor Fleet Office, Main Street, Northeast Harbor

Northeast Harbor Fleet Office, Main Street, Northeast Harbor
Item 21720   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Prior to the construction of the current Fleet House on Gilpatricks Cove, this office on Main Street served as headquarters. This is now the Pine Tree Market building in Northeast Harbor.

Atwood and Burr Livery, Northeast Harbor

Atwood and Burr Livery, Northeast Harbor
Item 22081   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Group photo of men in front of the Atwood and Burr Livery, Northeast Harbor. Charles Burr had his livery on Main Street in Northeast Harbor at what is now Main Street Variety. Probably Edwin Atwood joined with Charles Burr for a period of time until building his own livery.

Bullseyes at Northeast Harbor Fleet

Bullseyes at Northeast Harbor Fleet
Item 22070   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Northeast Habor Fleet Bullseyes getting ready to go sailing. The Northeast Harbor Fleet began running a sailing school during World War II and it continues to this day. Since this picture was taken, the Fleet has modernized their sailing school and now uses fiberglass Cape Cod Mercuries, Optimists, and 420's to teach students.

International One Design Sailboats Racing off Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945

International One Design Sailboats Racing off Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945
Item 21170   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

International One Design Sailboats racing off Northeast Harbor in the 1940's. The boats came from Norway in 1938 and were designed by Bjarne Aas.

Charles W. Eliot, Mount Desert, 1904

Charles W. Eliot, Mount Desert, 1904
Item 21053   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Charles W. Eliot (1834-1926) was one of the founders of the Northeast Harbor summer colony.

He was president of Harvard from 1869 to 1909.

Eliot's son, Charles came to Northeast Harbor beginning in 1880 with some of his college peers. Together they set up the Champlain Society and studied many of the scientific aspects of Mt. Desert Island.

The younger Eliot encouraged his father to purchase property in Northeast Harbor, and by the fall of 1881, the Eliots had moved into their new house, called Blueberry Ledge, designed by Peabody and Stearns.

New Road at Harbourside, Northeast Harbor, 1957

New Road at Harbourside, Northeast Harbor, 1957
Item 22260   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

New road through the Harbourside section of Northeast Harbor. Harbourside was a summer house development on the way to Northeast Harbor and lining the harbor. This picture was taken in the driveway to Garden Court, across the street from Harbourvilla.

Asticou Dock, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1950

Asticou Dock, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1950
Item 22232   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Asticou Dock in Northeast Harbor. This dock is now owned and maintained by the Island Foundation, which also owns the Thuya Gardens and Azalea Gardens. This picture was probably taken by George Fennelly.

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1950

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1950
Item 21177   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Yacht anchorage at Northeast Harbor in the 1950s. At the head of the harbor is the Asticou Inn.

Somes Sound Looking South

Somes Sound Looking South
Item 16460   info
Southwest Harbor Public Library

A black and white photograph of Somes Sound looking toward the south. Marion Quincy Winslow, Henry L. Rand's wife, is in the foreground.

Play at Northeast Harbor

Play at Northeast Harbor
Item 22105   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The cast of some type of theatrical production, ca. 1910

Left to Right:
Myrtle Norwood, Ruth Frazier, Kay Foster, Marion Smallidge, Rachel Manchester, Annie Reed, Gladys Frost, Harriet Frost, Henrietta Gilpatrick, Emily Phillips, Millie Reed, Eleanor Tracy, Cora Mae Phillps, Lizzie Frost, Emily Whitmore, Frederick Frazier, Laura Tracy, Philena Manchester, Dorothy Branscom

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1935

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1935
Item 68656   info
Boston Public Library

The caption reads, "Asticou Inn from Clifton Dock, North East Harbor, Maine." A.C. Savage built the first Asticou Inn in 1883. This inn burned in 1899, and was rebuilt and open for business in 1900.

The Tichnor Brothers printing company published this type of postcard circa 1930-1945.

Gaynor Hotel, Northeast Harbor

Gaynor Hotel, Northeast Harbor
Item 22256   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The Gaynor Hotel was built by Frank Gaynor of Bangor. The venture failed following attempts to salvage the operation by bringing in beverages and other entertainment from his Bangor enterprises.

Frank Gaynor phoned the telephone operator at Northeast Harbor on May 8, 1910 to see if anything interesting was happening in the village, and when told that his hotel was burning, the operator suspected he had prior knowledge. He smuggled alcohol during Prohibition, and became known as the Potentate, and was the subject of a locally-written poem by that name.

Main Street Northeast Harbor, ca. 1920

Main Street Northeast Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 21175   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Main Street in Northeast Harbor in the 1920s. This scene looks nearly the same today (2006), except for the right side of the road, where the buildings burned in the late 1960s.

Northeast Harbor Pier, ca. 1958

Northeast Harbor Pier, ca. 1958
Item 21167   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Pier at Northeast Harbor with Schooner and Sardine Carrier tied to it. This picture was taken after the harbor was dredged in the late 1950's.

Northeast Harbor's First Ambulance

Northeast Harbor's First Ambulance
Item 22072   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Northeast Harbor's first ambulance, purchased in 1937, in front of the Fire Station and Municipal Offices. The ambulance was a Packard and cost $4000. From left to right, Fred Kimball, Larry Wass, Elliot Kimball.

Granite Carving Tools, ca. 1910

Granite Carving Tools, ca. 1910
Item 19455   info
Maine Granite Industry Historical Society

The granite industry required a variety of tools. Five of them are shown here. They include a Point, Chisel, Hand Plug Drill and a Hand Hammer. Hall Quarry was home to a major granite industry from the late 1800s to the 1960s.

Tuna at Northeast Harbor, 1953

Tuna at Northeast Harbor, 1953
Item 21741   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Tuna hanging at the old Sea Street Dock in Northeast Harbor. At left is Capt. Bill Black and at right is Lawrence "Flicker" Flye. The photograph was developed on October 23, 1953. The tuna weighed more than 800 pounds.

Manchester Point, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945

Manchester Point, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945
Item 21119   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Manchester Point in Northeast Harbor, site of the first settlement in what was then called Sand Point, by John Manchester in 1775. In the background is Fernald Point, site of the Jesuit Settlement in 1613.

Steamship Norumbega

Steamship Norumbega
Item 19204   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The steamship Norumbega was owned by the Maine Central Railroad Company. It ferried people to and from towns on Mt. Desert Island and along the Maine Coast.

Seal Harbor Neighborhood House, ca. 1935

Seal Harbor Neighborhood House, ca. 1935
Item 22246   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The Seal Harbor Neighborhood House, in Seal Harbor. In 1913, after the success of constructing the library, the Neighborhood House Corporation sold $10,000 in stock to build a 40 foot by 70 foot two story building to hold community events. The original building, designed by Duncan Candler, burned in 1919 after a basketball practice when somebody threw a cigarette butt into a trash can. The hall burned on January 28, and by October 11 was ready for occupancy. The second hall was much bigger and had a large auditorium, stage and balcony on the main level. On the lower level was a banquet room, two Sunday school rooms, and a kitchenette. On the third floor were fraternal society rooms. The hall was leased by the Jackson Lab when the 1947 fire burned the lab. The Neighborhood House was torn down in the 1970's and turned into a park, and later a new firehouse was built there.

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910

Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 7831   info
Maine Historical Society

Northeast Harbor, Mt. Desert Island, Maine, ca. 1910 with sailboats.

This is part of a collection of photographs that include scenes of Mt. Desert Island, Porcupine Island, Eggemoggin Reach to Rockland in Penobscot Bay and the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine.

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, ca. 1910

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, ca. 1910
Item 7813   info
Maine Historical Society

Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, ca. 1910. The lighthouse sits at the entrance to Bass Harbor on Mt. Desert Island. It was built in 1858.

This is part of a collection of photographs that include scenes of Mt. Desert Island, Porcupine Island, Eggemoggin Reach to Rockland in Penobscot Bay and the Belgrade Lakes region of Maine.

Gilpatrick's Cove and Rock End Dock, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1900

Gilpatrick's Cove and Rock End Dock, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1900
Item 22074   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Gilpatrick's Cove and Rock End Dock at the turn of the twentieth century. The boats at the dock could be rented by the day or season as could many of the boats in the cove. This area later turned into the Northeast Harbor Fleet.

Postcard advertising Maine

Postcard advertising Maine
Item 22230   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Postcard with various activities and places on the front to advertise all of the activities that can be done in Maine, such as hunting, motoring, camping, golfing, bathing, and fishing. In the center of the card is Mt. Katahdin.

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1945
Item 22234   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor during the 1940s. A.C. Savage opened up his "Harbor Cottage" in 1870 to boarders, and built the first Asticou Inn in 1883. The first inn burned in 1899, and opened in June of 1900 to clients. The Inn left the Savage family in the 1960's.

Somes Souns, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1940

Somes Souns, Mt. Desert Island, ca. 1940
Item 24992   info
Jesup Memorial Library

Somes sound is a five-mile long glacier-carved fjord. At the mouth it separates Southwest Harbor and Northeast Harbor.

Kimball House, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1960

Kimball House, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1960
Item 21735   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

Kimball House, Northeast Harbor, Maine. The Kimball House was started by Squire Daniel Kimball in the 1880's after the influx of rusticators. It was owned by the Kimball family until the 1960s when it was sold to the Asti-Kim Corporation, which bought both the Kimball House and Asticou Inn. It was torn down in the mid 1960s. At the time this picture was taken, L.E. Kimball was the President of the hotel, and J.B. Kelley was the Resident Manager.

Northeast Harbor Swimming Pool, ca. 1900

Northeast Harbor Swimming Pool, ca. 1900
Item 22224   info
Great Harbor Maritime Museum

The Northeast Harbor Swim Club. In 1897, Bishop Doane along with Samuel Eliot and James Terry Gardiner established the Village Improvement Society “to make Northeast Harbor a desirable summer place.” They furthered and helped in the direction of the swimming pool, the golf course, and the tennis club. The Village Improvement Society was primarily managed by summer people, but a few local residents were on the board of directors though not invited to join in on the activities.

Sailboat racing, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1939

Sailboat racing, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1939
Item 18320   info
Maine Historical Society

Sailboat racing, Northeast Harbor, Maine postcard, with a postmark of Aug. 1939.

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor ca. 1950

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor ca. 1950
Item 23937   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Asticou Inn has overlooked Northeast Harbor since 1883 when it was built by Augustus Chase Savage. The name Asticou comes from the name of the region of Northeast Harbor in which it is located. Asticou is believed to be from the Penobscot language meaning 'boiling kettle.' In 1899 a fire destroyed the original inn, which was rebuilt and running by 1901 and designed by A.C. Savage's son Fred L. Savage. It survived the Great Fire of 1947. With a long history of prominent guests, the Inn is well recognized and a popular spot for vacationers to stay.

Postcard with Asticou Maine postmark, 1906

Postcard with Asticou Maine postmark, 1906
Item 81722   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

Asticou, a hamlet of Northeast Harbor, was populous enough to warrant its own post office until the office was closed during WW II. The physical location of the post office changed several times, moving from the Roberts' home to several of the Savage houses over the time that it was in operation.

This postcard illustrates the Asticou postmark on a piece of mail received on September 7, 1906 from Philadelphia, PA. The postcard is addressed to the
"Asticou Inn
Asticou
Maine"

Asticou was a summer colony and destination after several large inns and adjacent cottages were built there in 1883 and thereafter run by the Savage and Roberts families.

Asticou Valley View, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1950

Asticou Valley View, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1950
Item 81075   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This photograph was taken from the western side of Northeast harbor, near the Asticou Inn, by Charles K. Savage. This is an unusual photograph because it is taken from the hilltop on the western shore of the harbor.

Savage was an amateur photographer who took thousands of negatives, mostly in black and white. Savage's photographs are mostly held among private personal collections of families on Mount Desert Island.

Garden Party at the Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor,  ca. 1935

Garden Party at the Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1935
Item 81082   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

A photograph of the lower garden on the lawn of the Asticou Inn, overlooking Northeast Harbor. For many years it was customary on nice August afternoons to hold tea parties in the garden for guests. As part of their room and board, under the American Plan, guests received three meals and other daily refreshments, as provided.

This photograph was taken by Charles K. Savage, owner and manager of the Asticou Inn from 1922 to 1964.

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1920

Asticou Inn, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1920
Item 23939   info
Jesup Memorial Library

The Asticou Inn has overlooked Northeast Harbor since 1883 when it was built by Augustus Chase Savage. In 1899 a fire destroyed the original Inn, which was rebuilt and running by 1901. It survived the Great Fire of 1947. The Inn is well recognized and a popular spot for vacationers to stay.

Asticou Inn lobby with Post Office, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1905

Asticou Inn lobby with Post Office, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1905
Item 81762   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

The Asticou Inn lobby was a hub of activity for guests of the Savage family at nearby cottages, guests of the Inn, and local families such as the Eliots, Peabodys, and Curtis' who owned property and rusticator cottages in the Asticou area. In this view of the lobby, of the second hotel built in 1901, the post office is located adjacent to the main desk.

At this time the Asticou village post office was located in the lobby of the Asticou Inn although it had been located at the Roberts House and other locations previously. The Inn closed in October each year and it is probable that post office transactions were moved to another Savage family property during the off-season months prior to the Inn reopening in May.

Asticou Inn dining room, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1905

Asticou Inn dining room, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1905
Item 81761   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

The dining room of the Asticou Inn was a gathering place for guests of the Inn and other nearby lodgings owned by the Savage family of Northeast Harbor from 1883 until 1964, when ownership of the Inn passed out of the family.

The Inn was first built in 1883 but the original hotel burned to the ground in 1900 and was replaced in a similar exterior layout with an additional wing during the year after the fire. Almost on schedule, the inn re-opened in 1901. The dining room was replicated almost precisely as it had been in the earlier hotel although the windows were larger and the square footage had been increased to include at least four more tables.

Asticou Inn employees, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910

Asticou Inn employees, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1910
Item 81105   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This group photograph taken at the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor was removed from a Savage family photo album. The petite woman in the front center may be Mabelle Strout Savage, wife of George Savage who took over management of the Inn after the death of his father, A.C. Savage, in 1911.

The uniforms indicate that this photo was taken prior to the first world war.

Map of Asticou Corner, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1954

Map of Asticou Corner, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1954
Item 81071   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This hand drawn map shows the areas called "Asticou", which abuts the junction of Route 198 and Route 3 in Northeast Harbor. The map was created by Charles K. Savage to show the area that he had saved from being purchased by the telephone company for a small utility building.

This map is an example of the type of documents and visual aids that Savage developed when he was explaining the visual impact that certain changes in the community would have on the beauty and intent of the land. Savage was successful in convincing the telephone company to relocate their utility station across Route 198 on land that was made available to them through the generosity of John D. Rockefeller, Jr.

Charles Kenneth Savage, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1904

Charles Kenneth Savage, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1904
Item 81066   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

A photograph of Charles Kenneth Savage (1903-1979) as a toddler outside of the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor. Savage went on to be the owner and general manager of the Asticou Inn from 1923 to 1964. he also designed and created the Asticou Azalea Garden in 1957, and developed the Thuya Garden from 1958 to 1962.

Augustus Chase Savage & Family, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1890

Augustus Chase Savage & Family, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1890
Item 81737   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

this Savage family photograph was taken at the Asticou Inn before the turn of the century. The man on the far left in a hat is A.C. Savage, owner of the hotel at that time. The boy, standing on the porch to the far right is probably A.C. and Emily Savage's seventh child, John Chase Savage (1874-1938). The mustached man in a hat below the youth presumed to be John Chase Savage is A.C. and Emily's fourth child, Fred Lincoln Savage (1861-1924).

Fred Lincoln Savage was the architect of many of the Savage owned hotels and cottages and other period cottages and estate buildings on Mount Desert Island. The Inn depicted in this photograph burned to the ground in 1900 and was rebuilt that same year, designed by Fred Savage who had returned to Asticou after an apprenticeship in the Boston architecture firm of Robert Swain Peabody.

Charles K. Savage Memorial, Thuya Garden, Northeast Harbor, 2012

Charles K. Savage Memorial, Thuya Garden, Northeast Harbor, 2012
Item 81406   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This is a photograph of the northeast corner of the Thuya Garden where there is a memorial plaque and planted area in memory of Charles K. Savage. Savage designed the Thuya Garden and was the sole trustee of the Asticou Terraces Trust from 1930 to 1964. Savage's work and longevity as trustee were significant in the history and shaping of this public property after it was given to the town of Mount Desert by early Mount Desert Island rusticator and philanthropist Joseph Henry Curtis.

Northeast Harbor from Asticou, ca. 1915

Northeast Harbor from Asticou, ca. 1915
Item 24978   info
Jesup Memorial Library

A view of Northeast Harbor from the Asticou Inn.

Champlain Society Report of the Secretary, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1886-87

Champlain Society Report of the Secretary, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1886-87
Item 101782   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

Edward L. Rand, Secretary of the Champlain Society, reported the group's meetings that took place during the winter months of 1886-1887 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Champlain Society was a group of Harvard University students who camped, explored, conducted scientific research, and socialized on Mount Desert Island. Areas of study included botany, geology, ornithology, and zoology.

In addition to the attendance report of the five meetings and a treasury assessment, Mr. Rand noted an excursion in Massachusetts Bay in 1886, a list of published titles authored by the Champlain Society members, and missing books and maps from the group's library.

Charles Kenneth Savage portrait, ca. 1960

Charles Kenneth Savage portrait, ca. 1960
Item 81065   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

Charles Kenneth Savage (1903-1979) was a native and lifelong resident of Northeast Harbor. He was the owner and general manager of the Asticou Inn from 1922-1964 and also participated in Mount Desert island businesses such as Jordan Pond House, Asticou Terraces Trust and Thuya Garden, and the Asticou Azalea Garden.

In addition to owning and operating MDI businesses, Savage was the designer of both the Thuya Garden and the Asticou Azalea Garden and carved many unique wood signs and other art pieces during his lifetime.

Visitors at Champlain Society Camp, Mount Desert Island, 1880

Visitors at Champlain Society Camp, Mount Desert Island, 1880
Item 81690   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

Visitors to the Champlain Society at Camp Pemetic on Somes Sound in 1880.

In 1880 and 1881 the Champlain Society set up a tent camp on the shores of Somes Sound in Northeast Harbor of Mount Desert Island to conduct their research for the summer. They named their encampment Camp Pemetic. In subsequent summers the camp was relocated near Asticou and renamed Asticou Camp.

Charles Kenneth Savage, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1949

Charles Kenneth Savage, Northeast Harbor, ca. 1949
Item 81087   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This photograph of Charles K. Savage shows him walking in the woods during early winter, carrying his own camera and film bag. Savage walked the woods on a daily basis during his lifetime, often taking photographs of natural forms and native plants. He would later develop the photographs in his homemade darkroom in the basement of Clover Cottage in Asticou.

Correspondence, Beatrix Farrand to Charles K. Savage, Northeast Harbor, 1957

Correspondence, Beatrix Farrand to Charles K. Savage, Northeast Harbor, 1957
Item 81110   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This letter was written by Beatrix Farrand, landscape architect and gardener, to Charles K. Savage, owner of the Asticou Inn, friend, and designer of the Asticou Azalea Garden, commending his local beautification efforts.

Farrand had driven by the garden shortly after Savage finished the first phase of re-planting many of Farrand's plants in the revived pond and swamp area across the road from the Inn. Farrand and Savage knew each other from 1935 through the mid-1950's.

Savage was a member of the Board of the Max Farrand Foundation, a research organization founded by Beatrix Farrand to house her library and extensive gardens, herbarium, and native plant collection at Reef Point. Prior to this correspondence, Farrand had left Reef Point and Savage had purchased many of the species of azaleas and rhododendron from her estate garden.

John D. Rockefeller Jr. letter to Charles K. Savage, Northeast Harbor, 1957

John D. Rockefeller Jr. letter to Charles K. Savage, Northeast Harbor, 1957
Item 81112   info
Mount Desert Island Historical Society

This letter, written by John D. Rockefeller, Jr. to Charles K. Savage, September 2, 1957 from the Rockefeller summer residence in Seal Harbor refers to the financial contribution that Rockefeller made to the creation of the Asticou Azalaea Garden. In the letter Rockefeller also expresses his his confidence in Savage and his personal pleasure in being Mr. Savage's "silent partner" in the creation of this public garden.

This is one of many pieces of correspondence between Savage and Rockefeller related to land and other transactions between the two, mostly related to preserving land and landscapes on Mount Desert island.

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