History of Northeast Harbor, Maine
When Samuel de Champlain explored the coast of Maine in 1604, he came upon an island of uncommon beauty, with miles of picturesque shoreline and a range of seven or eight mountains that were curiously bare at their summits. "I have named it the Island of the Desert (bare, desolate) Mountains," he wrote in his journal on September 5, 1604.
Claimed by both England and France, the island had a tumultuous history until the French defeat at Quebec in 1756. But English rule was short-lived. Soon came the American Revolution, and the British were gone. Slowly, migration eastward from Massachusetts brought American settlers to what became known as Mount Desert Island.
Today, the influence of the French can be seen in many of the place names on the Island, notably - Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain, Sieur de Monts Springs, and Frenchman's Bay.
Mount Desert Island, with its fresh sea air, quickly became a popular escape from the stifling summer heat of the large East Coast cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia.
Dubbed "rusticators," the summer visitors willingly traded their luxurious city homes for the more rugged, "rustic" life on the island. A small tourist industry began to spring up, with Island residents taking in boarders for several weeks, even the whole summer season. Inevitably, hotels were built - each one larger and more luxurious than the previous ones - and soon, Bar Harbor became the summer playground of America's rich and famous.
World War II saw the disappearance of many of America's social traditions. But the summer life on Mount Desert Island was only barely changed. Perhaps not quite as many visitors came for "the season," and perhaps the mix of travelers was a tad more proletarian. But, for the most part, life resumed its leisurely pace and affluent aura.
This abruptly changed in 1947. In addition to other world-shaking events such as Chuck Yeager being the first human to travel faster than sound, and the insidious House Un-American Activities Committee convening in Washington, a disastrous October fire would shake Mount Desert Island, the State of Maine and, indeed, the country. Believed started accidentally by a homeless man, the fire swept rapidly out of control and consumed more than 17,000 acres on the Eastern side of the Island. Totally destroyed were sixty of the grand "cottages" of the wealthy Bar Harbor summer community, along with the hotels, restaurants and elegant shops that added to the visitors' pleasure and the Island's economy.
The Island and the entire country were so devastated that on October 25th, President Truman officially proclaimed the area a disaster area. Out of all the destruction, though, one Island institution was completely spared. The Asticou Inn had been untouched in any way by the tragedy all around it. And it actually benefited, as summer visitors migrated in its direction, displaced from their Bar Harbor venue.
The huge mansions were never re-built, and the face of Mount Desert Island was dramatically, and permanently, changed. But on the "quiet" side of Mount Desert Island, away from the bustle of busy Bar Harbor, life in the small communities of Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor remained quiet, affluent and set apart from the rest of the Island.