Bar Harbor

Bar Harbor dock

Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2000 census, its population is 4,820. A port of entry for Bay Ferries from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. Bar Harbor is home to the largest parts of Acadia National Park, including Cadillac Mountain the highest point within 25 miles (40 km) of the coastline of the Eastern United States^[1], and, offshore, the Porcupine islands. ^[2]

History

The town of Bar Harbor was founded on the east shore of Mount Desert Island, which the Wabanaki Indians knew as Pemetic, meaning "range of mountains" or "mountains seen at a distance." The Wabanaki seasonally fished, hunted and gathered berries, clams and other shellfish in the area. They spoke of Bar Harbor as Man-es-ayd'ik ("clam-gathering place") or Ah-bays'auk ("clambake place"), leaving great piles of shells as evidence of this abundance. In 1604, French explorer Samuel de Champlain is believed to have run aground at Otter Point, where he met members of the tribe. He named the island Isles des Monts Deserts, meaning "island of barren mountains" — now called Mount Desert Island, the largest in Maine.^[3]

First settled in 1763 by Israel Higgins and John Thomas, the community was incorporated in 1796 as Eden, after Sir Richard Eden, an English statesman. Early industries included fishing, lumbering and shipbuilding. With the best soil on Mount Desert Island, it also developed agriculture. In the 1840s, its rugged maritime scenery attracted the Hudson River School and Luminism artists Thomas Cole, Frederic Edwin Church, William Hart and Fitz Henry Lane. Inspired by their paintings, journalists, sportsmen and "rusticators" followed. Agamont House, the first hotel in Eden, was established in 1855 by Tobias Roberts. Birch Point, the first summer estate, was built in 1868 by Alpheus Hardy.

By 1880, there were 30 hotels, with tourists arriving by train and ferry to the Gilded Age resort that would rival Newport, Rhode Island. The rich and famous tried to outdo each other with entertaining and estates, often hiring Beatrix Farrand to design landscaping. A glimpse of their lifestyles was available from the Shore Path, a walkway skirting waterfront lawns. Yachting, garden parties at the Pot & Kettle Club, and carriage rides up Cadillac Mountain were popular diversions. Others enjoyed horse-racing at Robin Hood Park-Morrell Park. President William Howard Taft played golf in 1910 at the Kebo Valley Golf Club. On March 3, 1918, Eden was changed to Bar Harbor, after Bar Island which protects the harbor. The name would become synonymous with elite wealth. It was the birthplace of vice-president Nelson Rockefeller.

In 1947, however, Maine experienced a severe drought. Sparks at a cranberry bog in Hull's Cove ignited a wildfire which would intensify over 10 days. Nearly half the eastern side of Mount Desert Island burned, including 67 palatial summer houses on Millionaires' Row. Five historic grand hotels were destroyed, in addition to 170 permanent homes. Over 10,000 acres (40 km²) of Acadia National Park were destroyed. Fortunately, the town's business district was spared, including Mount Desert Street, where several former summer homes within a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places operate as inns.

Now, Bar Harbor is a destination for tourists from all over the world. Cruise ships are in the harbor from May through October, most often in September (95 ship visits in 2008). Bar Harbor also hosts many long-distance cyclists, as it is the eastern terminus of the Adventure Cycling Association's Northern Tier Bicycle Route (which ends in Anacortes, Washington), and the northern terminus of its Atlantic Coast Bicycle Route (which ends in Key West, Florida).

Main Street in c. 1908

Chatwold in c. 1908

Hardy's Point in c. 1912

Malvern Hotel in c. 1912

Notable former residents

The Wharf in 1936

Main Street in Bar Harbor

• Jane Addams
• James G. Blaine, statesman
• Judge Charles Bolster
• Charles William Eliot
• John J. Emery
• Beatrix Farrand
• Baron Ladislaus Hengelmüller von Hengervár, Imperial Austro-Hungarian ambassador
• Katharine Hepburn
• John Stewart Kennedy
• A. Atwater Kent
• Evalyn Walsh McLean
• S. Weir Mitchell
• Sir Harry Oakes, gold-mine owner and philanthropist
• Joseph Pulitzer, publisher
• Edward T. Stotesbury
• Vanderbilt family
• Frederick Vanderbilt
• George Vanderbilt
• William C. Whitney

Historic sites and museums

• Abbe Museum
• Bar Harbor Historical Society Museum
• Bar Harbor Whale Museum
• George B. Dorr Museum of Natural History
• Mount Desert Oceanarium

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 70.4 square miles (182.4 km²), of which, 42.2 square miles (109.3 km²) of it is land and 28.2 square miles (73.1 km²) of it (40.06%) is water. Bar Harbor is situated on Frenchman Bay.

Frenchman Bay and islands and the area around the town of Bar Harbor viewed from Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park

Demographics

Jesup Library c. 1912

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 4,820 people, 2,142 households, and 1,163 families residing in the town. The population density was 114.2 people per square mile (44.1/km²). There were 2,805 housing units at an average density of 66.5/sq mi (25.7/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.88% White, 0.15% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.08% from other races, and 0.79% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.62% of the population.

There were 2,142 households out of which 24.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.5% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 45.7% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16 and the average family size was 2.78.

Newport House c. 1920

In the town the population was spread out with 19.8% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 16.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $37,481, and the median income for a family was $51,989. Males had a median income of $31,085 versus $25,417 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,103. About 4.9% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Bar Harbor, Maine

• Town of Bar Harbor
• Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce
• Bar Harbor travel guide from Wikitravel

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