Description: Lawler purchased the building in 1923. The other half of the building was occupied by the Robinson Brother's Automobile Accessories salesroom
The Gilley and Salisbury plumbing shop was at first built by George H. Gilley on his lot near his home on the Main Road and was used there as a plumber's shop for some years. Then it was moved to its present situation and in 1929 it was moved to the rear of the lot and the show rooms and upstairs living apartment were built. Mr. Gilley's grandson, Wendell H. Gilley, now carried on the business. Gilley Plumbing was a part of the Gilley family for at least three generations. Maud Holmes Gilley ran the business with her son Wendell after the death of her husband, Frank Gilley, in 1920.
Description: The Gilley and Salisbury plumbing shop was at first built by George H. Gilley on his lot near his home on the Main Road and was used there as a plumber's shop for some years. Then it was moved to its present situation and in 1929 it was moved to the rear of the lot and the show rooms and upstairs living apartment were built. Mr. Gilley's grandson, Wendell H. Gilley, now carried on the business. Gilley Plumbing was a part of the Gilley family for at least three generations. Maud Holmes Gilley ran the business with her son Wendell after the death of her husband, Frank Gilley, in 1920. [show more]
Ronald Dean Rich's boat shop. Ronald was the son of Clifton Melbourne Rich and the brother of Robert "Bobby" Rich and Roger Clifton Rich, all other skilled boat builders.
Description: Ronald Dean Rich's boat shop. Ronald was the son of Clifton Melbourne Rich and the brother of Robert "Bobby" Rich and Roger Clifton Rich, all other skilled boat builders.
Started as a contracting business in 1949, Archie McEachern bought out his uncle Jasper Hutchins in 1957 and transitioned the business to a lumber and hardware supply. The store expanded to multiple locations and was taken over by Archie's son, Les.
Description: Started as a contracting business in 1949, Archie McEachern bought out his uncle Jasper Hutchins in 1957 and transitioned the business to a lumber and hardware supply. The store expanded to multiple locations and was taken over by Archie's son, Les.
John C. Ralph’s Studio has a complicated history. The J.C. Ralph Studio and Store, on Main Street in Southwest Harbor, proclaimed itself, "Eyeglasses and Spectacles - Jeweler and Optician." "Jeweler John C. Ralph moved from Bar Harbor to Southwest Harbor in 1888 to open a jewelry window in J.T.R. Freeman's store. Over the course of his 22-year tenure in Southwest Harbor, this ambitious man established many businesses...As described in the newspaper, Ralph never walked when he could run." -“Mount Desert Island - Somesville, Southwest Harbor, and Northeast Harbor” by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. and Lydia B. Vandenbergh - Images of America Series, p. 57 – 2001. “John D. Lurvey purchased the lot and built thereon a small building which he used as a storehouse for coffins which he made, as he was a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker. Later this building was used as a public library and was twice moved; once to the northern end of the lot and again to the place now occupied by the Lawton Variety store, where it was used as a drug store, a jeweler’s store, a barber shop and the post office. John C. Ralph kept the post office there and enlarged the building.” - “Traditions and Records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine” by Mrs. Seth S. Thornton, p. 148 – 1938.
Description: John C. Ralph’s Studio has a complicated history. The J.C. Ralph Studio and Store, on Main Street in Southwest Harbor, proclaimed itself, "Eyeglasses and Spectacles - Jeweler and Optician." "Jeweler John C. Ralph moved from Bar Harbor to Southwest Harbor in 1888 to open a jewelry window in J.T.R. Freeman's store. Over the course of his 22-year tenure in Southwest Harbor, this ambitious man established many businesses...As described in the newspaper, Ralph never walked when he could run." -“Mount Desert Island - Somesville, Southwest Harbor, and Northeast Harbor” by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. and Lydia B. Vandenbergh - Images of America Series, p. 57 – 2001. “John D. Lurvey purchased the lot and built thereon a small building which he used as a storehouse for coffins which he made, as he was a skilled carpenter and cabinet maker. Later this building was used as a public library and was twice moved; once to the northern end of the lot and again to the place now occupied by the Lawton Variety store, where it was used as a drug store, a jeweler’s store, a barber shop and the post office. John C. Ralph kept the post office there and enlarged the building.” - “Traditions and Records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine” by Mrs. Seth S. Thornton, p. 148 – 1938. [show more]
After earning an associate's degree from a college in northern Maine, Stanley returned to Southwest Harbor. Not sure what occupation he wanted to pursue, he decided to try to build a boat. So he earned the money he needed to buy wood and other construction materials and, during the winter of 1951-1952, he built a 28-foot lobster boat. The boat turned out well and a local person bought it. This led to orders for other boats. "I've been building (boats) ever since," he said. Stanley learned how to build boats not by apprenticing himself to another boatbuilder but mainly by keenly observing and using boats and by observing the activities of several professional boatbuilders who specialized in the Mt. Desert Island version of the Maine lobster boat.
Description: After earning an associate's degree from a college in northern Maine, Stanley returned to Southwest Harbor. Not sure what occupation he wanted to pursue, he decided to try to build a boat. So he earned the money he needed to buy wood and other construction materials and, during the winter of 1951-1952, he built a 28-foot lobster boat. The boat turned out well and a local person bought it. This led to orders for other boats. "I've been building (boats) ever since," he said. Stanley learned how to build boats not by apprenticing himself to another boatbuilder but mainly by keenly observing and using boats and by observing the activities of several professional boatbuilders who specialized in the Mt. Desert Island version of the Maine lobster boat. [show more]
Left to Right: Unknown man Joseph Christopher Lawlor (1925-2002) Christopher Wendell Lawlor (1893-1956) Chris, like many people of his time, used the chassis or wheels or parts of a worn out Ford Model A automobiles or trucks as the base for his hay and ice wagons. The wagon shown here has Model A. wheels.
Description: Left to Right: Unknown man Joseph Christopher Lawlor (1925-2002) Christopher Wendell Lawlor (1893-1956) Chris, like many people of his time, used the chassis or wheels or parts of a worn out Ford Model A automobiles or trucks as the base for his hay and ice wagons. The wagon shown here has Model A. wheels.