Nestled along the rugged coast of Maine, Acadia National Park stands as the “Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast,” a testament to both untamed natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. This iconic destination, one of the top 10 most-visited national parks in the United States with 3.5 million annual visitors, invites exploration across its dramatic rocky headlands, diverse habitats, and serene landscapes. Visitors to Acadia National Park can immerse themselves in 27 miles of historic motor roads, traverse 158 miles of scenic hiking trails, and enjoy 45 miles of meticulously maintained carriage roads, offering unparalleled opportunities to connect with nature.
The striking scenery and diverse resources of Mount Desert Island have captivated human interest for millennia. From the earliest Native American inhabitants over 5,000 years ago to the subsequent arrival of French and English explorers, the island’s story is deeply intertwined with its stunning environment. By the 1800s, European settlers had established communities focused on fishing, shipbuilding, farming, and lumbering. The island’s profound beauty gained international recognition in the late 19th century, as artists began to immortalize its landscapes in their paintings.
Early Inhabitants and European Arrival
Ancient Wabanaki Heritage
Archeological evidence, particularly deep shell heaps, confirms that Native Americans camped in the Acadia region as far back as 5,000 years ago. Early European accounts, recorded a century after initial trade contacts, describe indigenous peoples who thrived by hunting, fishing, collecting shellfish, and gathering plants and berries from the land and sea. The Wabanaki people, the original stewards of this land, knew Mount Desert Island as Pemetic, meaning “the sloping land.” They constructed bark-covered conical shelters and navigated the coastal waters in skillfully crafted birchbark canoes. Historical records traditionally suggested Wabanaki wintering in interior forests and summering on the coast. However, archeological findings now propose an inverse pattern, with coastal winters offering milder conditions and access to salmon runs, while summers were spent inland. This divergence might indicate the presence of two distinct groups, one primarily inland and another coastal.
French Exploration and Conflict
While the exact first encounter between the people of Pemetic and Europeans remains unrecorded, it was Frenchman Samuel de Champlain who made the first significant contribution to Mount Desert Island’s documented history. Leading an expedition, Champlain landed on the island on September 5, 1604, famously noting in his journal, “The mountain summits are all bare and rocky… I name it Isles des Monts Déserts.” This visit, preceding the Pilgrims’ landing at Plymouth Rock by 16 years, initially positioned the land within New France before it ultimately became part of New England.
A brief period of French presence followed in 1613, when Jesuit missionaries, welcomed by the native populace, established the first French mission in America on Mount Desert Island. Their nascent efforts to build a fort, plant crops, and baptize natives were abruptly ended by an English ship commanded by Captain Samuel Argall, who destroyed the mission. This English victory extinguished French ambitions on the island, leaving the territory in a state of flux between the French, who were firmly established to the north, and the expanding British settlements to the south. This ongoing conflict meant that for the next 150 years, the island remained largely unsettled, serving primarily as a crucial landmark for mariners.
Mount Desert Island briefly seemed destined for a resurgence of French activity in 1688, when Antoine Laumet, an ambitious young immigrant to New France, styling himself Sieur de la Mothe Cadillac, received a grant of 100,000 acres along the Maine coast, encompassing the entire island. Cadillac’s dreams of establishing a feudal estate in the New World, however, proved fleeting. Though he and his bride resided there for a short time, they soon abandoned the venture. Cadillac later achieved lasting fame as the founder of Detroit, Michigan.
English Settlement and American Revolution
The prolonged conflict ended in 1759 with the British triumph in Quebec, effectively ending French dominion over Acadia. With the Wabanaki people dispersed and French royalty banished, the lands along the Maine coast were finally open for English settlement. Governor Francis Bernard of Massachusetts secured a royal land grant on Mount Desert Island. In 1760, he sought to solidify his claim by offering free land to prospective settlers. Abraham Somes and James Richardson were among the first to accept, establishing their families in what became Somesville.
Bernard’s plans for Mount Desert Island were disrupted by the advent of the American Revolution. In the aftermath of the war, Bernard lost his claim. The newly formed United States of America subsequently granted the western half of Mount Desert Island to John Bernard, the governor’s son, and the eastern half to Marie Therese de Gregoire, Cadillac’s granddaughter. While Bernard and de Gregoire soon sold their holdings to absentee landlords, these transactions likely had minimal impact on the steadily increasing number of settlers who were homesteading on Mount Desert Island.
A Flourishing Island: Economy and Tourism
Industry Development
By 1820, the island’s economy was a vibrant mix, with farming and lumbering competing with fishing and shipbuilding as primary occupations. Hundreds of acres of timber were converted into wood products, ranging from large schooners and sturdy barns to intricate baby cribs and practical hand tools. Farmers cultivated crops such as wheat, rye, corn, and potatoes. By 1850, the sight of fishermen mending nets, sailors navigating the waters, and bustling shipyards underscored a thriving way of life deeply connected to the sea.
The Rise of the “Rusticators”
It was the arrival of outsiders—artists and journalists—in the mid-1800s that truly brought Mount Desert Island to wider prominence. Painters of the renowned Hudson River School, including luminaries like Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, captured and glorified the island’s majestic beauty through their brushstrokes. Their stunning depictions inspired patrons and friends to journey to the island, leading to the emergence of the “rusticators.” These early tourists, undeterred by simple accommodations and basic food, sought out local fishermen and farmers for lodging at modest fees. Year after year, the rusticators returned, not only to rekindle friendships with the islanders but, more importantly, to savor the crisp salt air, the breathtaking scenery, and the relaxed pace of island life. The demand quickly outgrew the capacity of villagers’ cottages and fishermen’s huts, and by 1880, over 30 hotels were competing for vacationers’ business, signaling tourism’s definitive rise as the island’s primary industry.
During this period, the Wabanaki people continued their ancestral tradition of visiting the island, selling their exquisite handmade ash and birchbark baskets to travelers and harvesting essential basket-making resources like sweetgrass. Elaborate Wabanaki dance performances, held at popular venues such as Sieur de Monts and in the town of Bar Harbor, captivated both summer tourists and residents. Additionally, canoe trips around Frenchman Bay and the Cranberry Islands, led by knowledgeable Wabanaki guides, offered visitors a unique and enjoyable way to explore the outer islands.
The Golden Age and the Birth of the Park
Era of Affluence
For a select few Americans, the 1880s and the “Gay Nineties” ushered in an unprecedented era of affluence. Mount Desert Island, still relatively remote from the burgeoning cities of the east, became an exclusive summer retreat for some of the nation’s most prominent families, including the Rockefellers, Morgans, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors. Discontent with existing simple lodgings, these families transformed the island’s landscape with the construction of elegant estates, often euphemistically referred to as “cottages.” This new era replaced the earlier rustic charm of buckboard rides, picnics, and day-long hikes with an atmosphere of luxury, refined social gatherings, and grand entertainments.
Conservation Efforts and National Park Status
Paradoxically, many of these new affluent residents and visitors played a crucial role in preserving the landscape we cherish today. George B. Dorr stands out as a tireless spokesman for conservation, dedicating 43 years of his life, immense energy, and personal family fortune to protecting the Acadian landscape. Troubled by the increasing development around Bar Harbor and foreseeing the destructive potential of the newly invented gasoline-powered portable sawmill, Dorr and like-minded individuals established the Hancock County Trustees of Public Reservations in 1901. This corporation, with its sole mission to preserve land for perpetual public use, successfully acquired 6,000 acres by 1913. Dorr then offered this significant landholding to the federal government. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson formally announced the creation of the Sieur de Monts National Monument. Unyielding in his vision, Dorr continued to acquire property and relentlessly pursued full national park status for his beloved preserve. In 1919, President Wilson signed the act establishing Lafayette National Park, and Dorr, whose monumental efforts were hailed as “the greatest of one-man shows in the history of land conservation,” became its first park superintendent. A decade later, in 1929, the name was officially changed to Acadia National Park.
The Great Fire of 1947 and Modern Acadia
End of an Era
For over four decades, the wealthy elite exerted considerable influence on Mount Desert Island. However, the economic upheaval of the Great Depression and the global conflict of World War II brought an end to such extravagance. The final, devastating blow came in 1947, when a fire of monumental proportions consumed many of the island’s magnificent estates.
Throughout the summer and into the fall of that year, Maine received only half of its average rainfall, leaving vegetation parched and bone dry. After a beautiful Indian summer, the usual autumn rains never arrived, and by mid-October, Mount Desert Island was experiencing the driest conditions ever recorded. On Friday, October 17, 1947, a fire ignited west of Hulls Cove, initially burning about 169 acres. By October 21, strong winds dramatically fanned the flames, causing the blaze to spread rapidly and rage out of control, engulfing over 2,000 acres. On the morning of October 23, a critical wind shift sent the inferno directly towards Bar Harbor. The fire swept through “Millionaires’ Row,” an impressive collection of majestic summer cottages along the shore of Frenchman Bay, destroying sixty-seven of these seasonal estates. While the fire skirted the main business district, it razed 170 permanent homes and five large, historic hotels surrounding downtown Bar Harbor. Despite diligent efforts by personnel from the Army Air Corps, Navy, Coast Guard, National Park Service, University of Maine forestry program, and Bangor Theological Seminary, who joined local firefighting crews, the fire was not declared under control until October 27. Ultimately, some 17,188 acres burned, with more than 10,000 acres within Acadia National Park itself. Property damage exceeded an staggering $23 million. The fall of 1947 was exceptionally dry across Maine, leading to numerous severe fires state-wide, where over 200,000 acres, 851 permanent homes, and 397 seasonal cottages were destroyed in what became known as “the year Maine burned.”
The devastating fire profoundly transformed the town of Bar Harbor. While most permanent residents rebuilt their homes, many of the grand summer cottages were not replaced, and a significant number of seasonal families never returned. In the aftermath, the iconic estates on Millionaires’ Row were often supplanted by motels, built to accommodate the ever-increasing tourist population, reflecting a shift in the island’s visitor demographic.
Acadia Today: A Resilient Legacy
Today, Acadia National Park proudly protects and preserves approximately 50,000 acres across Hancock and Knox Counties along the mid-coast of Maine. The park’s diverse landscape includes significant portions of Mount Desert Island, a section of Isle au Haut to the southwest, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula on the mainland to the east, and most or parts of 16 smaller outlying islands. Beyond its core boundaries, the park also preserves over 13,000 acres through conservation easements, extending its protective reach from the Penobscot River ship channel to just east of the Schoodic Peninsula.
Within Acadia’s boundaries, a wealth of historic resources are meticulously protected. These include 33 miles of scenic motor roads, 120 miles of diverse hiking trails, and 45 miles of historic carriage roads—a trail system celebrated for its community origins and exceptional craftsmanship. The park also safeguards four lighthouses and the informative Islesford Historical Museum. Popular destinations within the park include the majestic Cadillac Mountain, the unique Sand Beach, and the tranquil Jordan Pond. Visitors can engage in a wide array of resource-based recreational activities, such as breathtaking scenery viewing, invigorating hiking, leisurely bicycling, immersive camping, serene horseback and carriage riding, and adventurous sea kayaking and canoeing.
Conclusion
From its ancient Wabanaki origins and early European explorations to its transformation into an exclusive Gilded Age retreat and its eventual designation as a national treasure, Acadia National Park embodies a captivating narrative of human interaction with an extraordinary landscape. Despite enduring fires and economic shifts, Acadia has consistently emerged, thanks to dedicated conservation efforts, as a premier destination. Its enduring appeal lies in its unique blend of accessible natural beauty, rich historical tapestry, and diverse recreational opportunities. Acadia National Park continues to stand as a vital sanctuary, inviting millions to explore its iconic coastline, majestic mountains, and pristine forests, ensuring its resilient legacy as a cherished American gem for generations to come.
