Light House on Mount Desert Island

Mount Desert Island, in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of 108 square miles (280 km²) it is the 50th largest island in the United States.^[1]. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States,^[2] it is actually second behind only Long Island. Hancock County is a county located in the state of Maine. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 39th  - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²)  - Width 210 miles (338 km)  - Length 320 miles (515 km)  - % water 13. ... A square mile is an English unit of area equal to that of a square with sides each 1 statute mile (≈1,609 m) in length. ... Square kilometre (U.S. spelling: square kilometer), symbol km², is a decimal multiple of SI unit of surface area square metre, one of the SI derived units. ... Satellite image of the Big Island of Hawaii, the largest island in the United States. ... This article is about the island in New York State. ...

Some natives stress the second syllable (de-ZERT), in the French fashion, although many others pronounce it in a fashion similar to the English name of a landscape devoid of vegetation (DEH-zert). French explorer Champlain's observation that the summits of the island's mountains were free of vegetation as seen from the sea led him to call the island "Isles des Monts Desert", or Island of the bare mountains. It has a permanent population of about 10,000 although it is estimated that about four million tourists a year visit the Acadia National Park on the island. The island is home to numerous well-known summer colonies such as Northeast Harbor, Maine (Village), and Bar Harbor. Current residents include David Rockefeller. Acadia National Park preserves much of Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands, off the Atlantic coast of Maine. ... This article cites very few or no references or sources. ... Northeast Harbor is a village on Mount Desert Island in the Town of Mount Desert, in Hancock County, Maine, in the United States. ... 1936 photo of the wharf Bar Harbor is a town located in Hancock County, Maine. ... David Rockefeller, Sr. ...

History

Schooner Head in c. 1920

Deep shell heaps indicate American Indian encampments dating back 6,000 years in Acadia National Park, but prehistoric records are scanty. The first written descriptions of Maine coast Indians, recorded 100 years after European trade contacts began, describe American Indians who lived off the land by hunting, fishing, collecting shellfish, and gathering plants and berries. The Wabanaki Indians knew Mount Desert Island as Pemetic, "the sloping land." They built bark-covered conical shelters, and traveled in exquisitely designed birch bark canoes. Historical notes record that the Wabanaki wintered in interior forests and spent their summers near the coast. Archeological evidence suggests the opposite pattern; in order to avoid harsh inland winters and to take advantage of salmon runs upstream, American Indians wintered on the coast and summered inland. Image File history File links Schooner_Head,_Bar_Harbor,_ME.jpg‎ Summary Schooner Head, Bar Harbor, ME; from a c. ... Image File history File links Schooner_Head,_Bar_Harbor,_ME.jpg‎ Summary Schooner Head, Bar Harbor, ME; from a c. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the people indigenous to the United States. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... Cooked mussels Shellfish is a term used to describe shelled molluscs and crustaceans used as food. ... The Abenaki (also Wabanuok or Wabanaki) are a tribe of Native Americans/First Nations belonging to the Algonquian peoples of northeastern North America. ... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... Canoe at El Nido, Philippines A canoe is a relatively small human-powered boat. ... For other uses, see Salmon (disambiguation). ...

The first meeting between the people of Pemetic and the Europeans is a matter of conjecture. But it was a Frenchman, Samuel de Champlain, who made the first important contribution to the historical record of Mount Desert Island. He led the expedition that landed on Mount Desert on September 5, 1604 and wrote in his journal, "The mountain summits are all bare and rocky..... I name it Isles des Monts Desert." Champlain's visit to Acadia 16 years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock destined this land to become known as New France before it became New England. Statue symbolizing Samuel de Champlain in Ottawa. ... This article is about a particular group of seventeenth-century European colonists of North America. ... Plymouth Rock, described by some as the most disappointing landmark in America because of its small size and poor visitor access. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ...

In 1613, French Jesuits, welcomed by Indians, established the first French mission in America on what is now Fernald Point, near the entrance to Somes Sound. They had just begun to build a fort, plant their corn, and baptize the natives when an English ship, commanded by Captain Samuel Argall of Virginia, destroyed their mission. The Society of Jesus (Latin: Societas Iesu), commonly known as the Jesuits, is a Roman Catholic religious order. ... Entrance of Somes Sound, Mount Desert Island, Maine (1855) by Fitz Hugh Lane Somes Sound is a body of water running deep into Mount Desert Island, the main site of Acadia National Park in Maine, United States. ... Sir Samuel Argall (1572? - 1626?) was an English adventurer and naval officer. ...

The English raid at Fernald Point doomed Jesuit ambitions on Mount Desert Island, leaving the territorys east of the Penobscot River in a state of limbo, lying between the French, firmly entrenched to the north, and the English, whose settlements in Massachusetts and southward were becoming increasingly numerous. No one wished to settle in this contested territory and for the next 150 years, Mount Desert Island's importance was primarily its use as a landmark for seamen, as for example when John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony, sketched the island's mountains on his voyage to the New World. Panorama of the Penobscot River in Millinocket, Maine. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... John Winthrop (12 January 1587/8–26 March 1649) led a group of English Puritans to the New World, joined the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1629 and was elected their first governor on April 8, 1630. ... A map of the Massachusetts Bay Colony Capital Charlestown, Boston History  - Established 1629  - New England Confederation 1643  - Dominion of New England 1686  - Province of Massachusetts Bay 1692  - Disestablished 1692 The Massachusetts Bay Colony (sometimes called the Massachusetts Bay Company, for the institution that founded it) was an English settlement on...

There was a brief period when it seemed Mount Desert would again become a center of French activity. In 1688, Antoine Laumet, an ambitious young man who had immigrated to New France and bestowed upon himself the title Sieur de la Mothe Cadillac, asked for and received 100,000 acres (400 km²) of land along the Maine coast, including all of Mount Desert. Cadillac's hopes of establishing a feudal estate in the New World, however, were short lived. Although he and his bride resided here for a time, they soon abandoned their enterprise. Cadillac later gained lasting recognition as the founder of Detroit. The island's highest point, at 466 meters (1530') the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the United States, bears the name Cadillac Mountain, and is notable for the fact that its summit is the first point in the United States touched by the rays of the rising sun. Statue of Cadillac commemorating his landing, in Detroits Hart Plaza Antoine Laumet, dit de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac (March 5, 1658 – October 15, 1730), a French explorer, was a colourful figure in the history of New France. ... Motto: Speramus Meliora; Resurget Cineribus (We Hope For Better Things; It Shall Rise From the Ashes - this motto was adopted after the disastrous 1805 fire that devastated the city) Nickname: The Motor City and Motown Location in Wayne County, Michigan Founded Incorporated July 24, 1701 1815  County Wayne County Mayor... Cadillac Mountain is the highest coastal point on the East Coast of the United States, at 1,532 feet. ...

Seal Harbor in c. 1906

In 1759, after a century and a half of conflict, British troops triumphed in Quebec, ending French dominion in Acadia. With Indians scattered and the fleur-de-lis banished, lands along the Maine coast opened for English settlement. Governor Francis Bernard of Massachusetts obtained a royal land grant on Mount Desert Island. In 1760, Bernard attempted to secure his claim by offering free land to settlers. Abraham Somes and James Richardson accepted the offer and settled their families at what is now Somesville. Image File history File links Seal_Harbor,_Mount_Desert_Island. ... Image File history File links Seal_Harbor,_Mount_Desert_Island. ... Year 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... This article is about the Canadian province. ... Flag History  - Established 1604  - English conquest 1713 Acadia (1754) Acadia (in the French language lAcadie) was the name given to a colonial territory in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day New England, stretching as far south as Philadelphia. ... Fleurs-de-lys on the flag of Quebec The fleur-de-lis (also spelled fleur-de-lys; plural fleurs-de-lis or -lys) is used in heraldry, where it is particularly associated with the France monarchy (see King of France). ... Sir Francis Bernard (1712-1779) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor in New Jersey and Massachusetts. ... Abraham Somes, (March 14, 1732-December 17, 1831) was the primary founder of English settlements on the scenic Mount Desert Island, which is now part of Acadia National Park in present-day Maine. ... There have been a number of notable people named James Richardson: James Richardson (wrongfully accused) was a man who spent 21 years inside a Florida prison for a crime he did not commit. ...

The onset of the Revolutionary War ended Bernard's plans for Mount Desert Island. In its aftermath, Bernard, who had sided with the British government, lost his claim. Massachusetts, now free of British rule, granted the western half of Mount Desert Island to John Bernard, son of the governor, who, unlike his father, sided with the rebels. The eastern half of the island was granted to Marie Therese de Gregoire, granddaughter of Cadillac. Bernard and de Gregoire soon sold their landholdings to nonresident landlords. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war fought primarily between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. ...

Their real estate transactions probably made very little difference to the increasing number of settlers homesteading on Mount Desert Island. By 1820, when Maine separated from Massachusetts and became a separate state, farming and lumbering vied with fishing and shipbuilding as major occupations. Settlers converted hundreds of acres of trees into wood products ranging from schooners and barns to baby cribs and hand tools. Farmers harvested wheat, rye, corn, and potatoes. By 1850, the familiar sights of fishermen and sailors, fish racks and shipyards, revealed a way of life linked to the sea. Quarrying of granite, which could be cut from hills close to deep water anchorage for shipment to major cities on the east coast, was also a major industry. Two-masted fishing schooner A schooner (IPA: ) is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts. ... Small shipyard in Klaksvík (Faroe Islands), reparing fishing vessels Fish ladder and shipyard in Grave, the Netherlands Construction hall of Schichau Seebeck Shipyard, Bremerhaven Gdynia Shipyard Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. ... For other uses, see Quarry (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see granite (disambiguation). ...

Rock Inn in c. 1908

It was the outsiders, artists and journalists, who revealed and popularized this island to the world in the mid-XIX Century. Painters of the Hudson River School, including Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, glorified Mount Desert Island with their brushstrokes, inspiring patrons and friends to flock here. These were the "rusticators". Undaunted by crude accommodations and simple food, they sought out local fishermen and farmers to put them up for a modest fee. Summer after summer, the rusticators returned to renew friendships with local islanders and, most of all, to savor the fresh salt air, beautiful scenery, and relaxed pace. Soon the villagers' cottages and fishermen's huts filled to overflowing, and by 1880, 30 hotels competed for vacationers' dollars. Tourism was becoming the major industry. Image File history File links Rock_Inn,_Northeast_Harbor,_ME.jpg‎ Summary Rock Inn, Northeast Harbor, ME; from a c. ... Image File history File links Rock_Inn,_Northeast_Harbor,_ME.jpg‎ Summary Rock Inn, Northeast Harbor, ME; from a c. ... Year 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... An artist is someone who employs creative talent to produce works of art. ... A journalist is a person who practices journalism. ... Thomas Cole (1801-1848) View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm or The Oxbow 1836 The Hudson River School was a mid-19th century American art movement by a group of landscape painters, whose aesthetic vision was influenced by romanticism. ... Thomas Cole, ca. ... Frederic Edwin Church (May 4, 1826 - April 7, 1900) was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. ...

For a select handful of Americans, the 1880s and the "Gay Nineties" meant affluence on a scale without precedent. Mount Desert, still remote from the cities of the East, became a retreat for prominent people of the time. The Rockefellers, Morgans, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors, chose to spend their summers here. Not content with the simple lodgings then available, these families transformed the landscape of Mount Desert Island with elegant estates, euphemistically called "cottages." Luxury, refinement, and ostentatious gatherings replaced buckboard rides, picnics, and day-long hikes of an earlier era. Some rusticators also formed "Village Improvement Societies" which constructed hiking trails and walking paths connecting the Island's villages to its interior mountains. For over 40 years, the wealthy held sway at Mount Desert, but the Great Depression and World War II marked the end of such extravagance. The final blow came in 1947 when a fire of monumental proportions consumed many of the great estates. Rockefeller is a surname, and may refer to: // John D. Rockefeller, Sr. ... This article is about the financier. ... Henry Ford (1919) Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. ... The Vanderbilts are a prominent family in the history of the United States. ... Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and philanthropist, for whom are named Carnegie Steel Company The Carnegie Building, a building on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for which he provided funds. ... The Astor family, founded by the German immigrant John Jacob Astor and his wife Sarah Todd, became the wealthiest family in the United States during the 19th century. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Mountain Road in c. 1920

In 1901, George B. Dorr, disturbed by the growing development of the Bar Harbor area and the dangers he foresaw in the newly invented gasoline powered portable sawmill, established along with others the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations. The corporation, whose sole purpose was to preserve land for the perpetual use of the public, acquired 6,000 acres (24 km²) by 1913. Dorr offered the land to the federal government, and in 1916, President Wilson announced the creation of Sieur de Monts National Monument. Dorr continued to acquire property and renewed his efforts to obtain full national park status for his beloved preserve. In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act establishing Lafayette National Park, the second national park east of the Mississippi. Dorr, whose labors constituted "the greatest of one-man shows in the history of land conservation" became the first park superintendent. Image File history File links Mountain_Road,_Mount_Desert_Island. ... Image File history File links Mountain_Road,_Mount_Desert_Island. ... Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856—February 3, 1924), was the twenty-eighth President of the United States. ...

Mount Desert Island, Maine, (1864) by Jervis McEntee

John D. Rockefeller Jr. gifted the park with much of its land area. Like many rusticators, Rockefeller, whose family fortune was derived from the petroleum industry, wanted to keep the island free of automobiles; but local governments allowed the entry of automobiles on the island's roads. Rockefeller constructed approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) of carriage roads around the eastern half of the island. These roads were closed to automobiles and included many scenic vistas and beautiful stone bridges. Approximately 65 kilometers (40 miles) of these roads are within Acadia National Park and open only to hikers, bicyclists, horseback riders, horse-drawn carriages and cross country skiers. Image File history File links McEnteeJervisMountDesertIslandMaine1864. ... Image File history File links McEnteeJervisMountDesertIslandMaine1864. ... Jervis McEntee (July 14, 1828 - January 27, 1891) was a American painter of the Hudson River School. ... John D. Rockefeller, Jr. ...

In 1929, the park name changed to "Acadia".

Geology

As mentioned above, quarrying of granite was historically an important industry. Mount Desert Island has three granite units, the Cadillac Mountain granite, the fine grained Sommesville granite, and the medium grained Sommesville granite. Surrounding DCg, is a zone of brecciated material, known as DSz (Devonian Shatter Zone).^[3] For other uses, see granite (disambiguation). ... Breccia, derived from the Latin word for broken, is a sedimentary rock composed of angular fragments in a matrix that may be of a similar or a different material. ...

It is in fact the second national park established east of the Mississippi, The first, Being in Michigan in the late 1800's

See also

• Otter Cliffs Radio Station

References

1. ^ Article Mount Desert Island on Encyclopædia Britannica on line
2. ^ [1] Google search: tens of thousands of hits for "mount desert island third largest eastern seaboard"
3. ^ Wiebe, R.A.: "Silicic magma chambers as traps for basaltic magmas: the Cadillac Mountain Intrusive Complex, Mount Desert Island", Journal of Geology, 1994.

Art

Fog off Mount Desert (1850), by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)

Newport Mountain, Mount Desert (1851), by Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900)

Entrance of Somes Sound, Mount Desert, Maine (1855) by Fitz Hugh Lane

Beacon, off Mount Desert Island (1851) by Frederic Edwin Church