Nellie Carroll Thornton descended from early settlers of Southwest Harbor and was related, in one way or another, to practically all of her neighbors. She inherited her aunt Mary Ann Carroll’s notes for a planned history of the town. Nellie was the author of the SWH social column in the Bar Harbor Times from c. 1921 until c. 1958. She combined her notes from the Times with those from Mary Ann and a good deal of scholarship to produce a very complete history of the town, full of opinion, local mythology and history. She was an astute observer and made a laudable effort to distinguish mythology from history. She left the town she loved its most valuable gift. Traditions and records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine by Mrs. Seth S. Thornton (Nellie C. Thornton) was originally published by Merrill & Webber Company in 1938. It was reproduced in 1988 by the Southwest Harbor Public Library and digitized in 2010.
Description: Nellie Carroll Thornton descended from early settlers of Southwest Harbor and was related, in one way or another, to practically all of her neighbors. She inherited her aunt Mary Ann Carroll’s notes for a planned history of the town. Nellie was the author of the SWH social column in the Bar Harbor Times from c. 1921 until c. 1958. She combined her notes from the Times with those from Mary Ann and a good deal of scholarship to produce a very complete history of the town, full of opinion, local mythology and history. She was an astute observer and made a laudable effort to distinguish mythology from history. She left the town she loved its most valuable gift. Traditions and records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine by Mrs. Seth S. Thornton (Nellie C. Thornton) was originally published by Merrill & Webber Company in 1938. It was reproduced in 1988 by the Southwest Harbor Public Library and digitized in 2010. [show more]
Mailed to: Mr. Hesley Reed Yacht Trade Winds, Marster’s Dock, New London, Conn. Text reads: “Dear Father, I have the wood all split and piled up. Donald has been riding my bike but it is a little to big for him. I have been working for Mrs. Scott today. Your son, Wesley”
Description: Mailed to: Mr. Hesley Reed Yacht Trade Winds, Marster’s Dock, New London, Conn. Text reads: “Dear Father, I have the wood all split and piled up. Donald has been riding my bike but it is a little to big for him. I have been working for Mrs. Scott today. Your son, Wesley”
From “The New England Coast, Long island and the Jersey Shore, An Illustrated Guide and Souvenir” by Josiah Browne Bowditch, 1895 - published by Continental Printing Co., Providence, R. I., p. 103
Description: From “The New England Coast, Long island and the Jersey Shore, An Illustrated Guide and Souvenir” by Josiah Browne Bowditch, 1895 - published by Continental Printing Co., Providence, R. I., p. 103
A. L. [Arthur A.] Gilley's barber shop is on the left - a small building which forms but a fraction of the structure. It is possible that, at the time this photograph was taken, Maurice Marshall was renting the barber shop. The gasoline pumps shown on the right are in what is now the Post Office parking lot. The bandstand can just be seen across Main Street in the back of the photograph. The automobile is definitely c. 1925-1926 - very possibly a 1925 Maxwell 5 Passenger Sedan. To read about the Maxwell Motor Car Company - See “Maxwell Motor and the Making of the Chrysler Corporation” by Anthony J. Yanik, published by Wayne State University Press, 2009.
Description: A. L. [Arthur A.] Gilley's barber shop is on the left - a small building which forms but a fraction of the structure. It is possible that, at the time this photograph was taken, Maurice Marshall was renting the barber shop. The gasoline pumps shown on the right are in what is now the Post Office parking lot. The bandstand can just be seen across Main Street in the back of the photograph. The automobile is definitely c. 1925-1926 - very possibly a 1925 Maxwell 5 Passenger Sedan. To read about the Maxwell Motor Car Company - See “Maxwell Motor and the Making of the Chrysler Corporation” by Anthony J. Yanik, published by Wayne State University Press, 2009. [show more]
The first building at left (363 Main Street) also housed Mayo's Ice Cream Parlor. There is a surveyor working at the edge of the road. The second building on the left, “The Ashmont” hotel at 371 Main Street was built in 1884.
Description: The first building at left (363 Main Street) also housed Mayo's Ice Cream Parlor. There is a surveyor working at the edge of the road. The second building on the left, “The Ashmont” hotel at 371 Main Street was built in 1884.
"Dick: that is my house with the arrow over it. the place has changed some since that was taken. on that wharf there is a large factory now and eleven houses down there in the field. [on face of postcard] [on reverse of postcard] To Mr. Dexter Fowler, 56 Pine Street, Bath, Maine. Dear Friend Dick – I guess you thought I had forgotten you. But I should say not. I am a great fellow to put off writing. Have they had any fights at the shop since I left: I arrived home Sat. and went to work Wed. Raymond Whitmore, Southwest Harbor"
Description: "Dick: that is my house with the arrow over it. the place has changed some since that was taken. on that wharf there is a large factory now and eleven houses down there in the field. [on face of postcard] [on reverse of postcard] To Mr. Dexter Fowler, 56 Pine Street, Bath, Maine. Dear Friend Dick – I guess you thought I had forgotten you. But I should say not. I am a great fellow to put off writing. Have they had any fights at the shop since I left: I arrived home Sat. and went to work Wed. Raymond Whitmore, Southwest Harbor" [show more]
Insets at left and right show Hotel Des Iles, Bradley Block, Grand Central Hotel, Rodick House, Episcopal Church and West End Hotel. References at bottom add: Green Mountain, Eagle Lake, Ogden's Point, Bar Island, Abby's Retreat, Indian Camp, Steamboat Wharf, Mt. Kebo, Union Church, Rockaway House, School Houses, Newport House, Atlantic House, Lookout House, Belmont Hotel, St. Sauveur House, Agamont House, Wayside Inn, Rodick Cottages, Ash Cottage, Deering House, Exchange, Boat Wharf, and Steamer Lewiston. Artist's name A. F. Poole appears at lower left of main image.
Description: Insets at left and right show Hotel Des Iles, Bradley Block, Grand Central Hotel, Rodick House, Episcopal Church and West End Hotel. References at bottom add: Green Mountain, Eagle Lake, Ogden's Point, Bar Island, Abby's Retreat, Indian Camp, Steamboat Wharf, Mt. Kebo, Union Church, Rockaway House, School Houses, Newport House, Atlantic House, Lookout House, Belmont Hotel, St. Sauveur House, Agamont House, Wayside Inn, Rodick Cottages, Ash Cottage, Deering House, Exchange, Boat Wharf, and Steamer Lewiston. Artist's name A. F. Poole appears at lower left of main image. [show more]
From the 1880s to the end of World War I, the fashionable resort of Bar Harbor attracted thousands of summer visitors with the money and leisure to pursue "the simple life on a grand scale," as A. Atwater Kent put it. They came to rusticate, dance, sail, picnic, flirt--and they did it all with style. Many relaxed at Bar Harbor's lavish hotels, while others built even more lavish and fanciful "cottages" for their own summer retreats. That dazzling era is just a memory now. The Depression and World War II undermined the summer colony, and the Great Fire of 1947 dealt the final blow. Those summer homes and hotels that survived the blaze generally succumbed to changing times, and only a handful stand today. Eighty-six vanished summer palaces are pictured in Lost Bar Harbor. Many never before published photographs from the Bar Harbor Historical Society are supplemented by lively text describing the estates and their colorful inhabitants. It is the most comprehensive collection of early Bar Harbor photographs ever assembled, providing an unparalleled glimpse of one of the world's great resort communities.
Description: From the 1880s to the end of World War I, the fashionable resort of Bar Harbor attracted thousands of summer visitors with the money and leisure to pursue "the simple life on a grand scale," as A. Atwater Kent put it. They came to rusticate, dance, sail, picnic, flirt--and they did it all with style. Many relaxed at Bar Harbor's lavish hotels, while others built even more lavish and fanciful "cottages" for their own summer retreats. That dazzling era is just a memory now. The Depression and World War II undermined the summer colony, and the Great Fire of 1947 dealt the final blow. Those summer homes and hotels that survived the blaze generally succumbed to changing times, and only a handful stand today. Eighty-six vanished summer palaces are pictured in Lost Bar Harbor. Many never before published photographs from the Bar Harbor Historical Society are supplemented by lively text describing the estates and their colorful inhabitants. It is the most comprehensive collection of early Bar Harbor photographs ever assembled, providing an unparalleled glimpse of one of the world's great resort communities. [show more]