Our Village Improvement Associations and Societies
“Will the Island of Mt. Desert become more beautiful and attractive or less so as the years pass? The answer depends upon us who, whether for twelve months or two, live upon the Island; and everyone who lives on it loves it and would do much to conserve its beauties.” While they were uttered nearly 100 years ago, Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association member William Lawrence’s words could just as easily be said today. The island’s beauty and its need to be protected is something that anyone who spends any amount of time here can agree upon.
Mount Desert's Maritime Past, Present, and Future
Look at any map of Mount Desert Island or visit one of its many harbors and you’ll see why boatbuilding has been one of the biggest local industries here since the 1700s. When sea captain, shipbuilder, and businessman Abraham Somes arrived on MDI from Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1761, he chose what became Somes Harbor as the site for a lumber mill and shipyard. By the 1800s, four other shipyards had joined his in Somes Harbor alone: the Herrick Yard, the Mason’s Point Yard, the A.J. Whiting Yard, and a second Somes-owned yard. The owner of the Whiting Yard built the current home of The Gallery at Somes Sound as a storehouse where two-masted schooners could dock nearby and unload cargo directly into the building using a ramp. While that might seem like a tight squeeze, at least 45 vessels were built and launched along that shore between 1763 and 1889.
A Conversation About Chickens: Reflections on Community
Our family moved from San Francisco to Mount Desert Island in the early frenzy of the pandemic in 2020. For my husband, it was a return to his childhood home in Somesville. For my daughter and me, it was claiming a place we love as our new home. The move gave us a backyard and a National Park to explore, the rediscovery of the seasons and time to notice the smell of winter in the morning air. I am honing my wood splitting skills. I am learning about annuals and perennials —that both are important for soil health— and how there may really be no such thing as a weed. We enrolled our daughter at Mount Desert Elementary School, knowing she’d walk the same hallways as her dad and uncle.
My Neighborhood
Set back from the road on a side street in downtown Bar Harbor, my childhood home is small and unassuming – it was originally built in the 1890s for the daughter of the homeowners to the left as a smaller replica of their house. Since my mom bought it almost 100 years later, the house and the street it sits on have shaped the person I am today.
Opening Show for Artemis Gallery to Benefit Mount Desert Makerspace
Artemis Gallery is kicking off its 11th year in business and 10th year tucked into a converted home at 1 Old Firehouse Lane in Northeast Harbor with an opening reception on May 26th. The first show of the 2022 season will feature works by five different artists.