Description: Black & white photo depicting the Bar Harbor Express Railroad train leaving Mt. Desert Ferry. Locomotive under full steam with exhaust clearly visible and is along shoreline.
Description: Richard C. Paine Jr., the founder of the Seal Cove Auto Museum, sold cars through his Seal Cove Garage. Business card from the Seal Cove Garage featuring a map of Mount Desert Island.
Description: Richard C. Paine Jr., the founder of the Seal Cove Auto Museum, sold cars through his Seal Cove Garage. Advertising for the Saab 93, for sale at the Seal Cove Garage.
Description: Richard C. Paine Jr., the founder of the Seal Cove Auto Museum, sold cars through his Seal Cove Garage. Information sheet for the Saab 93 highlighting features of the car, including technical information.
Description: Richard C. Paine Jr., the founder of the Seal Cove Auto Museum, sold cars through his Seal Cove Garage. Stationary from the Seal Cove Garage.
Description: Pamphlet with race cards for six auto races held at the Brooklands Automobile Racing Club track in Surrey, England. The race cards include the names of drivers and information about their cars for each race. People Mentioned: L. Aspinall, F. C. Baisley, G. S. Barwick, M. Ross Browne, O. E. Bush, W. E. Bushby, F. Coleman, E. De Rodakowski, M. Duray, A. V. Ebblewhite, S. F. Edge, A. Farnell, F. R. Fry, S. Girling, G. W. Goldsmith, H. V. Hermon, J. B. Hissey, H. E. Hives, J. Hodierne, H. C. L. Holden, G. L. Hinds Howell, J. E. Hutton, E. M. C. Instone, G. Ison, D. Jameson, Charles Jarrott, N. Littlejohn, W. T. Lord, N. Macklin, A. S. Manning, E. Manville, P. Martin, H. J. S. Moyses, F. Newton, H. Owen, W. E. D. Owen, H. R. Pope, A. Rawlinson, B. Redwood, D. Resta, C. D. Rose, C. Sangster, S. Saunderson, T. Sopwith, G. E. Taylor, T. Thornycroft, H. C. Tryon, Adrien de Turckheim, H. Vincent, A. Huntley Walker, C. Grahame White, C. Harman Wigan, W. R. Wills [show more]
Description: A homemade car built by Leslie Brewer, Freddy Richardson and William Dolliver of Bar Harbor, Maine. The message on the back claims it is "the first auto in town." People Mentioned: Leslie Brewer, Willie Dolliver, Freddy Richardson Black and white
Description: In July 1888, a group of young people from Philadelphia set off for a holiday in Maine, destination Mount Desert Island. This privately published travel journal recounts with humor their adventures during those days of fun and discovery. This volume belongs to Sarah Carter and contains 36 sepia photographs. The entire journal (cover image) as well as the individual photographs have been scanned. From the Preface: "As the summer of 1888 drew near, some young friends put their heads together to arrange a pleasant trip, and realizing that it is not good for man (and consequently woman) to be alone, they decided to take pity on a few of the sons of Adam, of George Fox persuasion, inviting them to join in an excursion to Mt. Desert; for which said sons of Adam desire to express their true and lasting gratitude." From the estate of John Welsh Drayton and Cynthia Whitney Drayton. Donated to the Library by Mr. Whitney Drayton. [show more]
Description: Red Cross station wagon pulling a trailer on Main Street, Northeast Harbor. In background are: Knowles Co., Ash House, Odd Fellows Hall, and Gilman High School. (May have been providing food for firemen in Oct. 1947.)
Description: The Green Mountain Railway was finalized in 1883 by Frank H. Clergue of Bangor, Maine. It was 6,300 feet long and started on the shores of Eagle Lake. Its cost was $110.000. It closed down in 1893 after only 10 years of operation. (From Item 2162).
Description: The front of the bus says "Charter" and the destinations on the side list Ellsworth, S.W Harbor, Bernard, McKinley (now Bass Harbor) and Manset.
Description: Horse-drawn buggy. Photograph likely taken in front of "Little Orchard". In the background is the Abram Gilpatrick House, visible is also the back side of the Rock End Hotel.
Description: Classic car with Maine license plate parked in front of Northeast Livery (present day gas station on Main Street). House in the background is the Manchester House.
Description: Harriet Somes Sanderson standing outside electric car. Small car, seats two. Door open, inside and door lined with ticking type material. Woman inside car wears wire rim glasses, black wide-brimmed hat with dark dress. Sanderson wears hat with large feather covering crown. One side of brim turns up. Carries fur coat or stole over hands. Wears long velvet skirt with shorter dress or coat of a lighter color over skirt. Small trees in meadow in the background. Marked on back, “Mama and her electric car.” [show more]
Description: Echo Lake from route 102 across from Echo Vista. Looking towards Beech Cliff. Echo Vista restaurant on left. Sign on building reads Dairy Creem. Cars parked in front. Marked on back, “Side view of Echo Vista - Mt. Desert Island showing general location and a little [?] view. Echo Vista is on Echo Lake Road, halfway between Somesville and S.W. Harbor - Route 3/102 to Mt. Desert from Info booth as you leave the causeway. Gift of M.L. Hughs.
Description: Harriet Somes Sanderson standing outside electric car. Small car, seats two. Door open, inside and door lined with ticking type material. Woman inside care wears wire rim glasses, black wide brimmed hat with dark dress. Sanderson wears hat with large feater covering crown. One side of brim turns up. Carries fur coat or stole over hands. Wears long velvet skirt with shorter dress or coat of a lighter color over skirt. Small trees in meadow in the background. Marked on back, “Mama and her electric car.” [show more]
Description: Former Green Mountain railway as Mount Washington Railway. Engine and car. Engine pushing car over trestle. Two men sitting on top of engine, one man standing next to coal car. Several people standing outside passenger car, others inside.
Description: Two photos of the Northeast Harbor Fire Company's first ambulance, a 1939 Packard, in front of the Municipal Building, Main Street. In one photograph three men stand in front of the ambulance. They are identified as: Fred Kimball, Larry Wass, and Elliott Kimball Copy of photograph taken by Ronald Chase
Structures, Civic, Public, Public Safety, Fire Station
Transportation, Truck, Fire Truck
Creator:
Chase - Ronald Chase
Date:
1954
Place:
Mount Desert, Northeast Harbor
Description: Town of Mount Desert Municipal Building and Northeast Harbor Firehouse, winter of 1954. Two fire engines are visible through the windows of the doors. The sign over the left door reads "W.S. Grant, Jr., Ladder No. 1" and over the right reads "Engine No. 1" Photograph by Ronald Chase
Description: 1. Postcard of a Mallard Drake, bird carving by Wendell Gilley. 3. - 7. Several photographs taken during a sculpture exhibit (Agnes Yarnall). 14. - 20. Other photographs depicting Air Force planes, ca. 1940's. 21. Postcard of Northeast Harbor Landing, Bear Island Light in distance
Description: Carriage. Buckboard, two beige upholstered bench seats with upholstered backs, and matching beige carpet floor mats, wooden whip holder, thin red lines painted as decoration on seat sides and other areas, brass tag reads: "Davis B.H. B.C. Bar Harbor, Me". Wooden wheels with iron cladding. From the old barn at the Red House - the Towns/Lim house.Willie Granston December 2016: "…. The buckboard is in really good condition…. I know of only two Davis Buckboards on MDI, and neither is this model. One is privately owned by Martha Stewart, and one is a really sweet little 2 seater with a rear groomsman's seat owned by Bar Harbor Historical Society and kept at Seal Cove Auto Museum. The buckboard at Seal Cove is missing its bottom cushion, and Martha's has been reupholstered, so those cushions, with the flaps, are super important. ...This is really important object."The Living Past,Virginia Somes-Sanderson p. 229: "People came in droves from Bar Harbor, some in their private carriages, often with coachmen and footmen, others in hired vehicles, but the majority in buckboards. These riding conveyances had rows of seats, all facing front; the largest carried fifteen persons, but theer were others built for ten, seven, five, four and two passengers ... Unfortunately, the tax on them became so high that the owners could not make them pay, so they disappeared from the scene."The donor recalls: "The buckboard has been there all my life. I'm quite sure it came with the property. I would imagine it's been there since the Crosbys owned the barn-- if not before. I believe that they owned it around 1915 because there was a drawing of a heart on a barn stall shutter with one of the Crosby boys' names and some girl's name and the date, I think it was 1915. As children, my friends and I used to play "Wagon Train" (an old, old TV show) on it. I was always Flint McCullough. He was my favorite, played by the actor, Robert Horton. Ward Bond played the Wagonmaster on TV. Whoever played his part on the buckboard would wave their arm forward and yell. "Wagons---ho !" We were all girls, as I recall, (I do remember pitching apples at and withClayton Savage and Dickie Haydock but I don't think we let them play Wagon Train.)"See also http://www.skylinefarm.org/carriage-museum, Slide 9. [show more]
Description: Horse-drawn cart. Location: Head of Sea Street in front of old Manchester home. Building at left is the Gaynor Hotel, which stood on the site of the present Holmes store and burned, 1910. Digital image from Jeff Dobbs Productions.
Description: Copy of a poem by Herbert Weir Smyth, Harvard professor, about the vote of residents of Mount Desert banning automobiles in the town. This was published August 23, 1913 in Bar Harbor Life. See also item 1564
Description: August 6, 1959 A poem written by professor H. W. Smyth, summer resident of Seal Harbor, Maine in response to a town meeting regarding automobiles on Mount Desert Island.
Description: Shows chain-drive Mack open cab delivery truck and several men in front of dock building. Location was near site of current town dock. For book Mount Desert, 1989
Description: Passengers travel up Cadillac Mountain the Green Mountain cog railway. Inscription on the back reads "R. H. Hyson" in blue pen. Black and white
Description: View looking down the tracks of the Green Mountain Railway on Mount Desert Island, ME. Inscription on the back reads "R. H. Hyson" in blue pen. Black and white
Description: View looking down the tracks of the Green Mountain Railway, toward the station on Mount Desert Island, ME. Inscription on the back reads "R. H. Hyson" in blue pen. Black and white
Description: Tourists and a horse and buggy on the grounds of the Mount Desert House in Somesville, ME. Inscription on the back reads "R. H. Hyson" in blue pen and "Mt. Desert House/ Somesville" in black pen. Black and white
Description: Fisherman's shack at Otter Creek Cove. Inscription on back reads "Fisherman's shack at Otter Creek Cove" in pencil and a stamp for LaRue Spiker is at the bottom right. Black and white
Description: B/W Photograph of U.S. Navy Airship "Shenandoah" hovering off Bar Island in Frenchman's Bay (July 3/4, 1925). The vessel to the left is Harry Haskell's yacht "Vanda." Some months later the airship was destroyed by lightning in one of the central States of the USA.
Description: Shows Herrick House, Pastime Theatre, F. T. Brown Co. Municipal offices built in 1917. See also Item 5941 (post 0133). Digital image from Jeff Dobbs Productions.
Description: An information sheet comprised of the opinions of hoteliers in resort towns regarding automobiles being allowed in their communities. The original request, made by W. M. Roberts, was to gain insight from the experiences of others ahead of the issue being discussed during Bar Harbor's annual town meeting. People Mentioned: W. M. Roberts, Edward S. Marshall, H. W. Staples, C. H. Greenleaf, Damon Winfield Jr., John Anderson, A. E. Reynolds, W. K. Hill, F. C. Sheldon, H. S. Mudgett, W. S. Cummings, N. J. Murphy, W. E. Carter, G. H. Brackett, Dave H. Morris, A. L. Westgard, C. W. Bickford, L. H. Cilley, P. E. Naylor, G. W. Stearns, James Cunningham, William P. Whitehouse, Edgar Jay Sherman, Frank T. Tyler [show more]
Description: A letter from the acting director of the National Park Service, Arno B. Cammerer, to the Lafayette National Park custodian, George B. Dorr. Cammerer informs Dorr that a proposed road project in Lafayette National Park has been approved. Cammerer believes the proposed plan will provide access to more of the park and states that the planning recognized the importance of keeping some areas remote from the development to maintain their wild character. People Mentioned: E. C. Finney, Frederick Hale, Bert Manfred Fernald, John Edward Nelson [show more]
Description: A letter from Senator George Wharton Pepper to Harold Peabody. Senator Pepper includes a copy of the text from a letter he wrote to Loren Kimball, outlining his position on the construction of roads in Lafayette National Park. Pepper tells Peabody that he feels the Jordan Pond Valley is spoiled but hopes that the Bubble Pond Valley may yet be saved. People Mentioned: George B. Dorr, John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Description: A letter from Barrington Moore suggesting arguments to Harold Peabody for advancing his campaign against the further construction of roads in Lafayette National Park. Moore argues that while roads are necessary for the park to fulfill its mission of providing access to the public, certain areas must be kept wild, not only for the enjoyment of those seeking solitude in nature but also to serve as natural laboratories for scientists. People Mentioned: George B. Dorr [show more]
Description: A letter from Frederic Delano Weekes to Frank B. Rowell, the secretary of the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association. Weekes states his hope that high-ranking officials in the National Park Service will share his and Rowell's view that road construction in Lafayette National Park should be curtailed. Weekes goes on to suggest that those involved with the various path committees should confer and create a plan to prevent over-development in the park. People Mentioned: Robert Sterling Yard, Arno B. Cammerer, Harold Peabody [show more]
Structures, Civic, Public, Public Safety, Fire Station
Transportation, Automobile
Creator:
Velma Ashley
Date:
1972
Place:
Mount Desert, Northeast Harbor
Description: Eleven b/w scanned photographs of Main Street, Northeast Harbor, in 1972. Photo 1887 a: Fire House Photo 1887 b: Carlo's car Photo 1887 c: Bank Photo 1887 d: P. P. Hill's Photo 1887 e: Kimball Shop Photo 1887 f: Kimball Shop (from lower end) Photo 1887 g: McGrath's Photo 1887 h: Dot (Renault) Photo 1887 i: Dad getting into car in front of drug store Photo 1887 j: Drug store Photo 1887 k: Where Bank will be. Tracy's paint shop in white building [show more]
Description: B/W photograph of Main St., Northeast Harbor building holding Ober's Market, a Bakery, and a dentist. Two men aboard a horse-drawn buggy in front of wooden sidewalk. Several people pose in front of store.
Description: A letter from Harold Peabody to the director of the National Park Service, Stephen T. Mather. Peabody believes that he and Mather share a similar desire to see wild places conserved and that Mather will see that the natural character of Mount Desert Island will be preserved by the National Park Service by not allowing further development of Lafayette National Park. People Mentioned: William C. Endicott
Description: The Bar Harbor Club was built by J.P. Morgan and opened in 1930. The Bar Harbor Club in Bar Harbor, Maine. People Depicted: J. P. Morgan Black and white
Structures, Civic, Public, Public Safety, Fire Station
Transportation, Automobile, Motor Ambulance
Transportation, Truck, Fire Truck
Place:
Mount Desert, Northeast Harbor
Description: 1: Northeast Harbor Fire Company, Inc building with 2 fire trucks ('Little Andy' and 'Toad') and ambulance lined up in front. 2-4: Ambulance 5: Ambulance parked with open doors and people on ground--photo by Carol Dana
Description: Spurling & Ladd boat slip, later known as Clifton Dock, show people and horse-drawn carriage on the ramps. See also item 4865 (photo 1219)
Description: Alice Graves was Mrs. T. N. Graves. Winter scene with Model T Ford in foreground. 1921 rented to Percy C. Madeira, 1925 to Montgomery family.
Description: A photograph of Main Street, Northeast Harbor, taken in the 1930's, the Herrick House has been replaced by Brown's Taxi shown at the right.
Description: Enlargement of a smaller Photograph looking south on Main Street, Northeast Harbor with the Pastime Theater on the right, and kiosk in center of road. Digital image from Jeff Dobbs Productions
Description: Small B/W photograph of the Des Isles Building on Main Street, Northeast Harbor at the start of the fire which destroyed it in 1965. Photograph shows truck parked in front of building and adults and children (one with bike.)
Description: David Stanley ran Stanley's Fish Market in Northeast Harbor. Photos 2188 a-f: Stanley's Fish Market Photo 2188 g: woody (Plymouth or Buick) from about 1950's.
The Newcomen Society of England, American Branch, New York
Date:
1979
Place:
Maine
Description: By E. Spencer Miller, member of the Newcomen Society, chairman of the board of the Maine Central Railroad Company, Portland, and president from 1952-1977. With a 1979 map of Maine Central Railroad Company.
The Newcomen Society of England, American Branch, New York
Date:
1945
Place:
New England
Description: By Howard S. Palmer, member of the Newcomen Society, president of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. With an opening poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes, "The Broomstick Train".
Structures, Civic, Public, Public Safety, Fire Station
Transportation, Truck, Fire Truck
Creator:
H. Eaton
Date:
1949-1950
Place:
Mount Desert, Northeast Harbor
Description: Northeast Harbor Fire House on Main Street with three trucks parked in front, one a 1948 snub-nosed Ford. The two men sitting in open truck are Fred Kimball of the police department and William S. Grant who donated the truck.
Description: Passenger cars and locomotive of the Green Mountain Railway at Eagle Lake shore. The locomotive was taken for use on Mt. Washington. Green Mountain is now Cadillac Mountain.
Description: B/W photograph of Green Mountain locomotive pushing passenger car to top of mountain (now Cadillac Mountain). Engineer is Walter H. Dunton.
Description: B/W 8x10 photograph looking down the rail tracks on Green Mountain with Eagle Lake in mid-distance and Eagle Lake Rd. and McFarland Hill in background. Green Mountain is now Cadillac Mountain.
Structures, Civic, Public, Public Safety, Fire Station
Transportation, Truck, Fire Truck
Place:
Mount Desert
Description: Photographs: Old fire house and fire trucks: 1 folder Photographs: 1995 INT 1250 GPM Pumper (taken in Canada during construction) and Practice burn at Walls House, 1989: 1 folder Photographs: Training Burn in Town Hill: 1 folder Photographs: Otter Creek Community Hall 1994: 1 folder Photographs: Jordan Pond House Fire, 1979: 1 folder
Description: It contains drawings of various places on Mount Desert Island and a map of Bar Harbor village. 1. Photo 2101 a: Bar Harbor from Bar Island 2. Photo 2101 b: Bar Harbor from Scotts Hill 3. Photo 2101 c: Harbor View 4. Photo 2101 d: Great Heat 5. Photo 2101 e: Schooner Head 6. Photo 2101 f: Otter Cliffs 7. Photo 2101 g: Cathedral Rock 8. Photo 2101 h: The Profile 9. Photo 2101 i: View at Bar Harbor 10. Photo 2101 j: West End Hotel 11. Photo 2101 k: On the Road to Otter Cliffs 12. Photo 2101 l: Balance Rock 13. Photo 2101 m: Bass Head Light House 14. Photo 2101 n: The Spouting Horn 15. Photo 2101 o: Drive to Great Head 16. Photo 2101 p: The Rodic House 17. Photo 2101 q: Southwest Harbor 18. Photo 2101 r: Mount Desert as seen from M.C.R.R. Station 19. Photo 2101 s: Eagle Lake 20. Photo 2101 t: The Grand Central 21. Photo 2101 u: Green Mountain House, 1522 feet above sea level 22. Photo 2101 v: Green Mountain Railway 23. Photo 2101 w: Echo Lake and Cliffs 24. Photo 2101 x: Grenn Mountain Railway 25. Photo 2101 y: Head Somes Sound 26. Photo 2101 z: Anemone Cave 27. Photo 2101 z1: Mossley Hall, Bar Harbor. Private Residence 28. Plan of Bar Harbor [show more]
Description: Automobiles along the road at front - Left to Right: The automobile with the hood open is a 1954 Ford Hardtop. 1948 Chrysler 1950-1951 Studebaker Behind tree - 1953 Ford station wagon. W.H. Ballard wrote this note on the negative sleeve for the photograph: "“Bluenose” Ferry Terminal, Bar Harbor, ME; taken the day the Bar Harbor-Yarmouth ferry was officially welcomed (service had been on since the early part of January). Blowing a hard SE gale, and I had to press down so hard on the camera that the tripod sagged. I was the only one who remained on the ridge." [show more]
Description: The cars are probably a 1936 Ford and a 1936 Oldsmobile. The building on the left is the Dudley Luther Mayo house. The white building, then the Carroll Building on Main Street in Southwest Harbor, housed Carroll Drug Store and the A&P. The village green is just visible to the right of the building.
Description: Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh are standing at the side of Lockheed Vega Model 5 Executive NC395H airplane while stopping at Bolling Field, Washington, D.C. en route to South America. The five-place monoplane was manufactured during August 1929 by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, Burbank, California. It left the factory with a Pratt & Whitney Wasp B engine (S/N 1815) of 450 HP. The aircraft was loaned to Col. Lindbergh by Morgan Belmont (1892–1953), the son of August Belmont Jr. who built the Belmont Park Racetrack in New York, for Lindbergh’s 7000 mile South American trip. The Lindberghs took off from Bolling Field, the first stop on their trip (which had begun at Roosevelt Field on Long Island) on September 18, 1929. The Lockheed Vega model was designed by John Knudsen Northrop (1895-1981) and Gerard Freebairn Vultee (1900-1938) and manufactured by Lockheed Aircraft Limited and first flown on July 4, 1927. Lockheed delivered the Vega 5 in 1929." [show more]
Description: Robert Lindsay Smallidge, Sr's 1921 Harley-Davidson JDS Sidecar Model was identified by fender and sidecard shapes using pictures and description from “The Encyclopedia of the Harley-Davidson” by Peter Henshaw & Ian Kerr, p. 18, 21, 30, 135 - 2006. Corroborating identification was made using several web sites. Judging from photographs of previous Harley-Davidson models we assume that Robert bought the cycle new in anticipation of his honeymoon. Robert and Nathalie's honeymoon was spent exploring northern Maine on Robert's motorcycle and it seems probable that this photograph was taken on that trip. Their son, Robert Lindsay Smallidge Jr. remembered their telling their children that Robert was passing a car while driving the cycle and Nathalie, in the sidecar, collided with the other vehicle. This photograph was probably taken by Helen Nathalie (Turner) Smallidge. [show more]
Description: A transcript of the hearing held before the Secretary of the Interior, Hubert Work, on the issue of road construction in Lafayette National Park. The transcript includes statements from the Secretary of the Interior, politicians, park administrators and citizens. People Mentioned: Hubert Work, Arno B. Cammerer, John Edward Nelson, George Wharton Pepper, George B. Dorr, Frederick Hale, Wallace Humphrey White Jr., George L. Stebbins, Harold Peabody, Robert Sterling Yard, Joseph Allen, Lincoln Cromwell, Mary Parkman Peabody, Charles Marlatt, Fred C. Lynam, Mrs. J. H. Huddilston, Clarence Little, A. L. T. Cummings, Willis Parsons, James Q. Gulnac, Fulton J. Redman, Harlan P. Kelsey, Ira G. Hersey, Harris A. Reynolds, Warren H. Manning, Daniel W. Hoegg [show more]
Description: A list of the names of individuals speaking during the hearing before the Secretary of the Interior on roads in Lafayette National Park on March 26, 1924. People Mentioned: Hubert Work, Arno B. Cammerer, John Edward Nelson, George Wharton Pepper, George B. Dorr, Frederick Hale, Wallace Humphrey White Jr., George L. Stebbins, Harold Peabody, Robert Sterling Yard, Joseph Allen, Lincoln Cromwell, Mary Parkman Peabody, Charles Marlatt, Fred C. Lynam, Mrs. J. H. Huddilston, Clarence Little, A. L. T. Cummings, Willis Parsons, James Q. Gulnac, Fulton J. Redman, Harlan P. Kelsey, Ira G. Hersey, Harris A. Reynolds, Warren H. Manning [show more]
Description: A petition by Frank B. Rowell to collect signatures of those opposed to planned road construction in Lafayette National Park. The petition is to be presented at a hearing in Washington, D.C. on the matter of the road projects. People Mentioned: George Wharton Pepper
Description: An unsigned letter from the Bar Harbor Path Committee to George B. Dorr, the custodian of Lafayette National Park. The letter states that the various Mount Desert Island path committees are eager to cooperate with Dorr and asks that he confer with them regarding any planned road construction in the park. The path committees understand the need for limited automobile access to the park but would like the pedestrian trail system to be left untouched. People Mentioned: William Jay Turner [show more]
Description: A letter from Fred C. Lynam to the secretary of the Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association, Frank B. Rowell. Lynam disagrees with Senator George Wharton Pepper's objection to the proposed road construction project in Lafayette National Park. Lynam believes the road network is necessary for providing access to the park to those who cannot, or do not want, to hike. People Mentioned: George Wharton Pepper
Description: A letter from John A. Peters to Senator George Wharton Pepper. Peters urges Pepper to state support for proposed road construction in Lafayette National Park at a scheduled hearing with the Secretary of the Interior. Peters goes onto to advise Pepper to suggest the creation of an advisory panel to assist in the creation of road planning projects in the future. Finally Peters states the senator's "misunderstanding" of the road issue should not keep him from attending the upcoming Republican convention. People Mentioned: Frederick Hale, Bert Manfred Fernald, John Edward Nelson [show more]
Description: A letter to the Secretary of the Interior, Hubert Work, in which Deasy states his support of proposed road construction in Lafayette National Park. Deasy has the utmost confidence in the park custodian, George Dorr, and states that opposition to the project is not acting in the interest of the public. People Mentioned: Charles W. Eliot, George B. Dorr
Description: A letter in which John A. Peters urges Frank B. Rowell to change his position regarding the proposed road construction on Mount Desert Island. Peters refers to enclosed copies of letters arguing for the proposed project to continue. People Mentioned: Luere B. Deasy, George Wharton Pepper
Description: A letter from the Secretary of the Interior, Hubert Work, to Harold Peabody, responding to inquiries from Mr. and Mrs. Peabody regarding the status of road construction projects in Lafayette National Park. Work quotes a telegram from George Dorr stating that there are no road construction projects proceeding in the national park except those which were authorized the previous summer and that since these projects are on land held by trustees of public reservations, the Department of the Interior has no control over them. People Mentioned: Marian Lawrence Peabody, George B. Dorr, Stephen T. Mather [show more]
Description: A letter from Harold Peabody to the Secretary of the Interior, Hubert Work, regarding conflicting information about new road construction in Lafayette National Park. Peabody accuses the Lafayette Park administrators of maintaining a policy of secrecy about projects. People Mentioned: Robert Sterling Yard
Description: A letter from Arno Cammerer, the assistant director of the National Parks Service, informing George Dorr that John D. Rockefeller Jr. has proposed to fund a project to create new roads in Lafayette National Park. Cammerer requests that Dorr bring the proposal to the attention of the residents and various organizations on Mount Desert Island and, following the input of the residents and organizations, reply with a recommendation for how the National Park Service should proceed. People Mentioned: John D. Rockefeller Jr., Hubert Work [show more]
Description: A letter from John D. Rockefeller Jr. to the Department of the Interior. The letter addresses two roads he is proposing to build that include portions that pass through Lafayette National Park property to the north and south of Bubble Pond.
Description: A letter from Arno Cammerer, the assistant director of the National Parks Service, informing George Dorr that John D. Rockefeller Jr. has proposed to fund a project to create new roads in Lafayette National Park. Cammerer requests that Dorr bring the proposal to the attention of the residents and various organizations on Mount Desert Island and, following the input of the residents and organizations, reply with a recommendation for how the National Park Service should proceed. People Mentioned: John D. Rockefeller Jr., Hubert Work [show more]
Description: ""Just as it had been Edsel's [Edsel Ford] idea to buy Lincoln to give the company an elegant car to match GM's Cadillac, so in the midthirties, as Ford's competitive position continued to slip, he tried to get a part of the middle-priced market through the Zephyr. The Zephyr began as the Briggs Manufacturing Company ""dream car."" which Edsel saw in prototype at the 1933 automobile show. He was excited by it, having wanted for some time a car in price and quality between the Ford and the Lincoln. He bought the rights from Briggs and then brought in Eugene T. Gregorie, a former boat designer, to carry out his vision of a sleek auto for the middle-class buyer."" - “The Fords: An American Epic” by Peter Collier and David Horowitz, p. 158-159 - illustration #40 - 1987 Apparently design direction worked both ways. ""The design (above the water line) of speed boats of the 30's, 40's and 50's was influenced by automobile design of that era."" - Interview with Charles Morrill - 10/20/08 Morrill - Charles Barrett Morrill (1934-) ""Bink was obsessed with Lincoln Zephyr cars. He stove up three within two weeks. They all had this streamlined look."" - Interview with Ralph Stanley October 20, 2008 A photograph of the Lincoln Zephyr that is supremely evocative of the design era that influenced Bink Sargent appears in “Photographs from the Collection of the Gilman Paper Company,” curated by Pierre Apraxine, with plates by Richard Benson, and notes to the plates by Lee Marks. 480 pp. 199 plates and a frontispiece. Large folio (16 by 18.25 inches), bound in original half maroon calf over linen covered boards, in a slipcase. [Verona: Stamperia Valdonega for] The White Oak Press, 1985. Limited edition of 1200. Copy Number 466 in the collection of the Southwest Harbor Public Library. See: Plate 188, Lincoln Zephyr 1936 by Grancel Fitz (1894–1963) The original photograph, ""Lincoln Zephyr with Graf Zeppelin,"" is in the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987. [show more]
Description: The brick building in the background is Pemetic High School on Main Street. The shed or barn at the left of the photograph, no longer standing, belonged to the Wilbur C. Wallace House on Clark Point Road at the corner of Maple Lane. William Edgar Herrick is driving the buggy. The children from Left to Right are: Richard Wilbur Herrick, William's grandson Gail Edith Perkins, later Mrs. David King Yvonne Marie Gallant, later Mrs. Norman N. Lambert [show more]
Description: American Horse Breeder Publishing Co. postcard with hand written local inscription Number 5903. According to Jeff Beaumont, the car in the illustration is a 1906 Rambler. "In Mt. Desert, Tremont and Southwest Harbor nearly all the voters have signed the petitions while in the town of Eden [Bar Harbor] more than half of the voters have signed and a number of names are being added to the list each day. As is well known, practically every summer visitor to the island favors the absolute prohibition of automobiles on the island. The island of Mt. Desert is a dead end, so to speak, and an automobile could cover the whole island in a few hours, making no incentive for a prolonged stay. Yet a great deal of damage could be accomplished in a few hours in such a place as this where practically the entire summer population passes a large portion of each day in driving. The horses are not city broke and the numerous accidents that have already occurred here through the use of autos furnish a good specimen of what would happen were their use more common." - The Bar Harbor Record, December 30, 1908, quoted in the Bar Harbor Times, “Times Past” column by Deborah Dyer, January 1, 2009 See SWHPL 7484 for a photograph of Simeon "Sim" Holden Mayo breaking the rules and driving his automobile in Bar Harbor in 1908. [show more]
Description: The buckboard is stopped on the road between Southwest Harbor and Somesville, now Route 102. The view is looking west across Echo Lake to Beach Cliffs.
Description: Automobiles Left to Right: Unknown Unknown truck 1949-1950 Ford wood panelled station wagon 1950-1951 Pontiac sedan Unknown truck 1950 Plymouth 4-door sedan
Description: The Murphys were in Southwest Harbor, shopping on Clark Point Road. Perry "Ped" L. Sargent's livery stable is on the left and R.M. Norwood's carpentry shop is the large building at the back of the photograph. Marjorie is bringing her little brother a cookie.
Description: Business Bill, Maine Central Railroad charges W. Stanley 66 cents to deliver 1 ?gallon of paint from Boston to Southwest Harbor, 16 Apr 1926
Description: Essay by high school student Jessica Sattler submitted to the Island History Journal for possible publication. History of the development of the rail line up Green (Cadillac) Mountain and its dismantlement. Green Mountain Cog Railway 1883-1890 Now on Mount Washington
Description: December 15, 1906 Letter about a rumored automobile being used on the island in Bar Harbor and the legal proceedings about automobile use on Mount Desert Island.
Description: "The other outdoor sport of the time was buckboard riding. There were several livery stables here… In the afternoon, summer visitors…would hire these buckboards, first having to send a small boy with the message because there were no telephones then, and would drive to all parts of the island - Bar Harbor, Jordan Pond, Bubble Pond, and even to the western side of the island. People were so keen on driving that they would sometimes take the "J.T. Morse" in the afternoon to Southwest Harbor, hire a team there, and drive all around the western side of the island. Then they would hire some kind of motorboat to bring them back from the Claremont House in the early evening." - Mount Desert - An Informal History Edited by Gunnar Hansen, section written by Rear Admiral Samuel Eliot Morison, p. 182-3 - 1989. "The buckboard deserves particular mention, as being the vehicle best suited to the roads of the island. The first buckboard was rudely fashioned out of two pairs of wheels with a couple of planks stretched between them, and seats nailed or tied on the planks. But it has developed wonderfully, and some of the buckboards of the present day are marvels of the builder's and painter's arts. Many of them are now shipped to all parts of the country for people who have first seen the vehicle here. The gentle swaying motion of the board while traveling at full speed over the hilly roads is simply delightful; and no person who has ever ridden on one wishes to use any other kind of vehicle during his stay." - A Guide to Bar Harbor published by W.H. Sherman, p. 34 - 1897. “Early buckboards were constructed out of two pairs of wheels with wooden planks attached between them. One to four seats were commonly attached to the planks. The crude buckboard evolved into the more refined examples that survive today… A buckboard ride is amazingly comfortable because of the spring action of the planks away from the axles. – Charles Morrill 11/04/07. Before the arrival of buckboards a wagon ride was a bumpy affair. In the 1820s, the Abbot Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire developed a system whereby the bodies of stagecoaches were supported on leather straps called "thoroughbraces", which gave a swinging motion instead of the jolting up and down of a spring suspension (the stagecoach itself was sometimes called a "thoroughbrace") - Wikipedia. “At the four corners of the frame [of a Concord coach] were firmly braced S-shaped iron standards. At the upper ends these connected with the iron “shackles” that held the heavy leather straps, or thorough braces, on which the body of the coach rested.” - “Wagons, Mules and Men: How the Frontier Moved West” by Nick Eggenhofer, published by Hastings House Publishers - 1961 - p. 161. “The invention and perfection of the steel spring brought out a rash of vehicles designed for short-distance travel… In the post-Civil War period especially, spring carriages were produced in mounting proportions, with the buggy and the surrey most popular and numerous and the phaeton a close third; in the West, the buckboard rivaled the buggy in popularity.” - “Wagons, Mules and Men: How the Frontier Moved West” by Nick Eggenhofer, published by Hastings House Publishers - 1961 - p. 131 The buckboard “had a slatted bottom, which acted as a kind of spring, besides having a spring seat.” - “Wagons, Mules and Men: How the Frontier Moved West” by Nick Eggenhofer, published by Hastings House Publishers - 1961 - p. 133 In their heyday, it was not uncommon to see dozens of buckboards parked “at the ready” near resort hotels, train depots and ferry piers. The majority of tourists arrived by steamship and needed transportation once on Mount Desert Island. Buckboards pulled by up to four horses were available for hire at most livery stables. These stables quickly realized transporting groups of as many as twelve tourists around beautiful Mount Desert Island was lucrative business. These horse-drawn tours continued longer here than at most resort communities because cars were banned from Mount Desert Island until 1915.” - “Collection Corner: Bar Harbor Buckboard” by Greg Cuffey - “Down The Lane” Skyline Farm Newsletter, June-September 2006, Accessed online 11/01/07; http://www.skylinefarm.org/newsletter.asp W.H. & H.E. Davis were brothers who took over their father’s business in 1880. They made a specialty of “improved” buckboards. In addition to their workshop in Ellsworth, the Davis brothers had premises in Bar Harbor, a fashionable summer resort. [show more]
Description: From July 12 to July 24, 1888 a party of twenty young people who attended Westtown [Quaker] School vacationed on Mount Desert Island. The young people stayed at The Roberts House hotel in Northeast Harbor from July 14, 1888 to July 23, 1888. They wrote and privately published a journal of their adventures, with one person writing each chapter. The journal was illustrated with photographs hand tipped in to the pages. Judy and Peter Obbard, longtime summer residents of Southwest Harbor, have kindly loaned their copy of “Mount Desert Memories” to the Southwest Harbor Public Library to study. Here in the Tenth Day Chapter, written by Anna Helena Goodwin, the young people, aboard a buckboard, passed Sand Beach on July 21, 1888 Goodwin – Anna Helena Goodwin (1862-1958) [show more]
Description: "Uncle Jimmy bought a 1924 Essex automobile, in about 1926, for $800 from Lyle Newman at Clark's Point and drove it round the Harbor. Reached Manset and his home on Mansell Lane, drove into the driveway, but when he got into the barn he didn't know how to stop it. My father, Chester Stanley, and Aunt Nan, Uncle Jimmy's wife, heard a crash and there was the Essex with the front end out through the end of the barn. The wheels were still spinning and Uncle Jimmy was standing there scratching his head. Jimmy said, "Ches, if you can get her out, she's yourn." My father drove the car until 1936. He sold it for junk during World War II. It drove like a baby carriage - had good springs and a Fisher body." - Ralph Stanley 01/28/08 [show more]
Description: "GREEN MOUNTAIN - One of the chief points of interest on Mount Desert is Green Mountain, the highest point on the Island. Some ambitious persons make the ascent on foot, and that can best be done by way of the ruins of the old mill near the foot of Mount Kebo, and then by way of the ravine that separates Green from Dry Mountain. But by far the largest number prefer to go by the regular conveyance furnished by the Green Mountain Railway, which is by carriage to Eagle Lake, thence by steamer up the lake to the base, then by railway to the summit. This gives variety to the trip, and renders it a most enjoyable one. A clear, bright morning should be selected for this excursion, when objects can be seen at a great distance. The railway itself is a marvel of engineering skill, the entire length of the road being six thousand three hundred feet, and the grade averaging one foot to every four feet passed over. There is a good hotel at the summit which will accommodate about thirty guests. The view from Green Mountain, on a clear morning, is one never to be forgotten. The coast line with it many sinuosities, the numerous smaller islands scattered here and there, Mount Desert spread out like a map, and the island landscape with its diversity of views, all go to make up a succession of the grandest pictures imaginable…" - "Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island" by William Berry Lapham, p. 16 - 1887. "GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILWAY. No person should visit Bar Harbor without ascending Green Mountain by way of Eagle Lake and the Green Mountain Railway. The trip to Eagle Lake, three miles, is made in four-horse barges, which call for passengers at the principal hotels every week day morning during the season. The trip across Eagle Lake to the foot of the mountain is by steamer. The journey up the mountain and the magnificent outlook from the summit…" - Part of an advertisement appearing in Bar Harbor and Mount Desert Island By William Berry Lapham – 1887. "I went up and back once about the year 1890 and there was 19 other young people from South West Harbor." - Robie M. Norwood. See “The Story of Bar Harbor – An Informal History Recording One Hundred and Fifty Years In the Life of a Community,” by Richard Walden Hale, Jr., p. 155-160, Ives Washburn, Inc., 1949 for an excellent version of the story of the Green Mountain Railway. [show more]
Description: The Bar Harbor Express was a seasonal passenger train serving Bar Harbor, Maine. The line originated in New York and ran through Springfield, MA, New Haven, CT, and Portland, ME. "Between 1902 and the 1930s, the Bar Harbor Express provided the fastest train service from New York City to Mount Desert Ferry in Hancock. From Mount Desert Ferry, steamers took passengers to Bar Harbor. The lead railroad for this famous express line was the Maine Central, which provided this service in conjunction with the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and the Boston & Maine Railroad." - "Bar Harbor" by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr., Postcard Series, Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, South Carolina, 2011, p. 20. The service began in 1902 and ended in 1960. The Bar Harbor Express was involved in a crash with the White Mountain Express on September 2, 1913 in New Haven, CT. [show more]
Description: The tractor is a Best 30 crawler tractor with open radiator sides, made in 1924-1925 as one of the last models made by the C.L. Best Tractor Company before it merged with Holt Manufacturing to become the Caterpillar Tractor Company.
The National Survey Co., Chester, Vermont, L. [Lawton] V. Crocker, Typographer, 1928
Date:
1928
Place:
Maine
Description: A map showing the early automobile route from Houlton to Southwest Harbor (part of the Aroostook Trail), Maine was assembled from Crocker plates 31, 36, 41, 42 and 45 superimposed on the CRAM 1902 map of Maine to show the location of the route.