USA > Maine > Hancock County > Traditions and records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert island, Maine > Part 15
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Mrs. Seth S. Thornton built her house in 1922 and Carl E. Kelley's cottage was also built in 1922. The land where the Car- roll, Norwood and Thornton houses stand was a part of the James Long property. William Herrick once started to build a house on what is now Mrs. Thornton's lawn. The cellar was partly dug when he changed his mind and bought the house on the Main Road of Seth Higgins, his brother-in-law, which he owned for many years. The half-finished cellar remained as it was left until the Thornton house was built. Mrs. Thornton moved into her house on December 24, 1922.
The lot for the Congregational church was purchased from Deacon H. H. Clark, and ground was broken for the foundation on the morning of Tuesday, October 9, 1883. The church at Tremont, which was then a part of this parish, was also begun about this time. James T. Clark was master builder of both churches. The foundation of the Southwest Harbor church was completed and the building raised and closed in before the cold weather.
It was to be a Union church for all denominations. The Fourth of July of the following summer the sewing circle mem- bers held a strawberry festival in the building to raise money for its completion. Rev. Amos Redlon had accepted the call to the Congregational parish beginning in June of 1884. The church was completed during that summer and the following winter, and it was dedicated September 9, 1885. Rev. Oliver H. Fernald preached the first sermon within its walls before the dedication. A newspaper of 1884 tells us that the Ladies Benev- olent Society placed the sum of $889.80 in the church treasury for the purchase of church furniture and Rev. Amos Redlon was entrusted with the commission to make the purchase, which he did and the newspaper account says that "the report being eminently satisfactory to the society, it was accepted and a vote of thanks tendered to Mr. Redlon for the prompt and efficient manner in which he had invested the funds." The society then bent their energies toward buying a furnace, which object was accomplished before the year was out.
The first donation toward a new bell for the edifice was received from a summer visitor, Capt. Connor of Seabright,
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N. Y., who sailed into the harbor in his yacht while the process of building was going on and wrote later to Rev. A. Redlon to ask how the church was progressing and what were its needs. Mr. Redlon replied as to the situation and received from Capt. Connor $25 toward a bell for the building and this was pur- chased and put into position in 1887. The plastering of the church was done by Capt. J. W. Carroll and it was first painted by Horace Stanley. It was the first week in August, 1885, that Mr. Redlon went to Boston to buy the carpet and pulpit furni- ture for the new church. In September of the same year, Mrs. Redlon presented the large Bible which is now used on the pulpit. A Miss MacNaughton who was a summer visitor at the Dirigo, made and presented an embroidered bookmark which is still used in the Bible. A newspaper dated August, 1885, says, "the church was occupied for the first time after the establish- ment of the new pews, pulpit furniture and all complete on Sun- day morning, August 8th. Sermon by Rev. Applebee of the Methodist society, assisted by Prof. Fernald of Orono College and Mr. Ingalls of the Center. Evening service by Rev. O. H. Fernald."
As has been stated the dedication took place on September 9th. The plates for the offering were given by Mrs. Jesse H. Pease. A newspaper paragraph of December, 1884, says: "The meeting house quilt, on which $100 has been raised toward the new Congregational church, was sent as a Christmas gift to Rev. and Mrs. A. N. Jones at Phippsburg, Maine." Mr. Jones had previously been pastor of the church here.
Ferdinand Reed built his house in 1932-3. Raymond P. Brotemarkle was the builder.
The cottage opposite the church was built by Robert Kaighn in 1913. Fred E. Young built his house in 1907 and has made several additions since that time. His cottage east of the church was built in 1919-20. He moved his family into the house, which he now occupies, on January 16, 1908.
The cottage on the corner of the High Road and Causeway Lane was built at the Back Shore by William Cram as a summer home for himself and family. Mr. Cram sold it to S. R. Clark who moved it to its present location and remodeled it. It has
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had several owners and is now (1938) the property of the heirs of Prof. Harry L. Koopman of Providence, R. I.
The next cottage on Causeway Lane was built in 1917 for Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Garrison, who occupy it summers. Next comes the cottage built in 1922-3 for the Misses Conant of Natick, Mass., and Wellesley. Across the lane is the house built in 1926-7 for Mrs. Julia R. Whittier and her sister, Miss Cornelia Long of Lakewood, N. J. At the end of Causeway Lane are the houses of Mr. and Mrs. R. W. Davids of Merion, Pa., (1923-4), of Mr. and Mrs. William P. Brigham of Providence, R. I., (1919), of Mrs. Charlotte R. Potter of New York (1926) and of Miss Jessie K. Hayt (1928) also of New York.
Percy R. Zeigler's cottage was built in 1936-7.
Artemas Richardson built his house on the High Road in 1921.
The Hotel Dirigo was built about 1881 for Cummings Holden, who conducted it as a popular summer hotel for some years. An item in a newspaper of 1884 speaks of the excellence of the meals served at the Dirigo and the courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Holden, who were ever solicitous for the comfort of their guests. After the death of Mr. Holden, his nephew, S. R. Clark, took over the management of the house and built a large addition to the original building. This was done in part with lumber from the Seawall House at Seawall which had proved to be too far from the village for popularity and was torn down after a few seasons. Mr. Clark was ever popular with his guests and the house was always filled for the season. In 1923 the place was purchased by Leslie S. King, whose heirs now own and con- duct it as a summer hotel.
The two cottages in the woods to the east of the Dirigo were built in 1925-6 by Fred S. Mayo for Mrs. Loren B. T. Johnson of Washington, D. C. The one nearest the shore was later sold to Dr. and Mrs. William E. Clark of Washington who spend their summers there. The other one is rented to different families.
The stone and wood cottage at the end of Kinfolks Road was built about 1892 for Robert Kaighn of Philadelphia, whose daughter, Mrs. Walter S. MacInnes, now owns it. It was com-
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pletely remodeled in 1929 and is one of the fine summer homes of the place. Sutherlands, the Inman cottage, was built in 1901 and the cottage now owned by Mrs. Joseph Cooper of Philadel- phia was built for Mr. Kaighn in 1900 and later sold to Mrs. Cooper.
Fox Dens, the cottage owned by Mr. and Mrs. H. L. Rand, was among the earliest to be built at the Mill Dam in 1884. Squirrelhurst, the large cottage owned by the Misses Underwood of Boston, was built about 1901.
S. R. Clark bought the little cottage which was built about 1885 by Prof. Samuel Downs at the Back Shore. He moved it to his lot nearby and rebuilt it, adding considerable to it. Prof. and Mrs. Downs were among the early summer residents of Southwest Harbor and their cottage was among the first to be built. Mrs. Downs was the founder of the public library in Southwest Harbor and was a writer of considerable ability, being the author of stories, poems and magazine articles of note. She contributed to the "Flora of Mount Desert" written by Prof. Rand in the eighties.
M. W. Wilder's summer home was built in 1924. The place now owned by E. R. Underwood was built in the spring of 1908 for Mrs. Emily Rogers and at her death it became the property of the present owner.
Leon E. Higgins' house was built about 1892 for Shepley Stanley, who moved from town a few years after and sold the place to Mr. Higgins.
The Gott homestead on the east side of Dirigo Road, was built by a Mr. FitzGibbons. It was owned and occupied at one time by Edwin Clark, son of Deacon H. H. Clark. His widow, afterwards Mrs. James Ross, sold it to Capt. Robert Gott in 1876 and his family have owned it ever since as their home.
Mr. and Mrs. Fred Fernald built their home in 1900. Wil- liam Lawton built the next house as his residence in 1883, moving in on October 16 of that year. Five years later they sold the house to Rev. George E. Street, author of Street's His- tory of Mount Desert. The next house was built by Frank Eaton about 1883. He lived there only a short time and sold to Prof. Carl von Gaertner of Philadelphia, who had long been a
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summer resident in Southwest Harbor. After the death of Mr. and Mrs. Gaertner, their son Louis and his friend, Prof. Orr, both musicians of a high order, spent their summers in the house and finally it was sold to Dr. John T. Reeve of Syracuse, N. Y., as a summer home.
After William Lawton sold his house to Dr. Street, he bought the lot next the present Reeve cottage and built another house in which the family lived for a number of years. He finally sold it to James N. Stanley as a summer home.
The Road cottage and the Shore cottage, were both built by Fred S. Mayo in 1924-5 for Mrs. Loren Johnson, and she rents them during the summer season.
The "Island House Cottage" as it used to be called, was built in 1870 as an annex to the Island House, the property of Deacon H. H. Clark. It has had several owners and is now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Milton W. Norwood whose home it is.
Across the road to the east of this house is Cedarcroft, first built at the junction of the Dirigo and Clark Point Roads as a store for James F. Ross. It had several owners and at last was purchased by Miss Alice M. Clark of Augusta, who had it moved to its present location where it has undergone much remodeling and is now an attractive summer home and is owned by Mrs. Howard Cooper Johnson of Philadelphia, whose mother, Mrs. George Lamb, owned it and spent many seasons there.
James F. Ross built his house in 1875-6. It was owned for some years by Miss Alice M. Clark and sold in 1935 to Maynard Closson, who now lives there.
R. P. Clark's house was built in 1897 by Edwin A. Clark, whose wife died a few years later and he sold the house to his brother who has occupied it ever since. Nathan Clark built the house to the south about 1870. It was the home of Capt. and Mrs. Clark during their lives and was left by will to their grand- children who now own it.
Henry Clark built his house in 1871. The builders were Wallace and George H. Coggins of Lamoine, Mrs. Clark's father and brother. It has always been owned in the Clark family and now belongs to Mrs. O. W. Cousins, niece of Mr. Clark. The next house to the south was built by William G. Parker a few
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years earlier. It is now owned by the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Parker, Dr. Mary C. Parker of Gloucester, Mass.
The house across the road from the Parker place is also the property of Dr. Parker. This was first built at the head of the harbor as a residence for Jonathan Brown. After his death his widow sold the house to Deacon Clark, who had it brought to its present situation and rebuilt to be used as living quarters for his employees who worked in the nearby shipyard. Henry Newman occupied it first when the schooner Kate Newman was being built. It has been rented to many families.
A workshop stood for many years on the shore side of the road almost opposite the above mentioned house. Many differ- ent families occupied the living apartment on the second floor. Work for the shipyard was done in the shop on the first floor.
The shipyard was a busy place for many years and many small vessels and boats were constructed there.
For many years Indians from Oldtown came every summer and encamped on the rocky lot across from the Parker property. They pitched their tents and remained for the summer, selling their baskets. The men roamed the woods gathering sweet grass and occasionally cutting an ash tree, which right they were vouchsafed by the owners of the land as it was an unwrit- ten law that the Indians could have an occasional tree to use in their work from the land that, not so long before, had belonged entirely to them. They were quiet, law-abiding neighbors and the encampment was one of the picturesque sights of the town. When in 1925 George A. Rhoads of Wilmington, Delaware, built his house on the camp site, he called it Indian Lot. The next house was built in 1903 by Augustus Clark who, when he retired from business, sold it to Jesse N. Mills (1923).
The old Clark house on the adjoining lot, now owned and occupied by Augustus Clark, is one of the oldest in town. It was built in 1816 and in 1820 it was the only house in the settlement having a plastered room. Its builder and owner was Nathan Clark, ancestor of all the Clarks in this vicinity, and it has always been owned by the family. Three generations have made it their home. Nathan Clark's first log house was near the site of Dr. Mary C. Parker's house.
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Nathan Clark's son, Seth H. Clark, in 1846 built the large house to the east of his father's place, moved to it in October of that year, and made his home there for his lifetime. It then passed to his son, Clarence Clark, who lived there until 1926 when he sold the place to A. B. Smith of Milton, Mass., who has used it as a summer home and now (1938) plans to make it his permanent residence. The house has undergone several changes and additions. The name, Willowfield, will long be associated for many of us, with Rev. and Mrs. George D. Latimer, of Boston, who occupied it as a summer home for many seasons.
Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Clark now live in the house which was begun in 1916 for Donald K. Mayo and completed by Mrs. Grace Clark Pease as a home for herself. She occupied it but a short time before her death, leaving it by will to her brothers and later Mr. Clarence Clark bought the interest of his brother and made it his home.
The Burke cottage was built in 1913 by Charles Burke of New Jersey as a summer home for himself and his sisters and they occupied it every summer for some years. It is now owned by their heirs. "The Moorings" as it is called, has one of the loveliest situations in the town commanding a fine view of Somes Sound, the harbor and the hills.
The Claremont Hotel was built in 1883-4 by Capt. Jesse H. Pease and was opened to guests in the summer of '84. After the death of Capt. Pease in 1900, his wife successfully conducted the hotel for some seasons and then sold to Dr. J. D. Phillips, who, with his son, Lawrence D. Phillips, now conducts it as a summer hostelry. Some years after acquiring it Dr. Phillips purchased the Pemetic Hotel or "The Castle" as it was some- times called, a building which Deacon Clark erected about 1878 as a rooming house in connection with his summer hotel. This stood in the woods across the road and east of the Island Cot- tage. It was moved to the Claremont lot and made a part of the hotel. Dr. Phillips has greatly enlarged and improved the hotel during his ownership and it has always been a popular place, commanding as it does a splendid view of Somes Sound and the harbor, with the hills in the background. The fiftieth anniversary of the hotel was observed in 1934 with interesting exercises.
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Taking the summer residences at the Back Shore, south from the MacInnes place; the Howard Cooper Johnson cottage was built in 1920-21 and Miss Jessie Tatlock's cottage in 1921. The house now owned by the Misses Helen and Mabel Ray was built by D. L. Mayo in 1901 for Rev. and Mrs. Goodwin, who occupied it as a summer home for some years. Miss Alice Fowler bought it and later sold to the Ray family and built another house for herself nearby. Loring L. Marshall's house was built by R. M. Norwood in 1922-23. It was purchased in 1935 by Dr. and Mrs. Tracy Mallory of Boston. James N. Stanley's new cottage at the shore was built in 1925.
A. W. Bee bought land at the Back Shore and about 1884 he built a small cottage there. When he gave up his business in Southwest Harbor after spending several seasons at the cottage, he sold to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Prentiss of Bangor and they sold to B. H. Grundy of Richmond, Virginia. This house has been enlarged and improved.
About 1896 the Cooper family of Philadelphia built the large stone house to the east of the Dirigo Road and they spent many summers there. After the death of the older members of the family, the house fell into disrepair and was unused for many years. It is now owned by Mrs. Marion Rogers, a member of the Cooper family, and was repaired in 1937-8.
Miss Alice Wetherbee of New Bedford, Mass., had her cot- tage, Turn in the Road, built on Winding Lane in the fall of 1916. The larger of the two cottages at the entrance of Ledge Road was built by Mr. Christian Febiger in 1907 and the smaller one across the Ledge Road was built for him in the fall of 1916. Dr. Loren B. T. Johnson of Washington, D. C., has a cottage on the shore which has been improved from time to time. It was built in 1915. Allston Sargent of New York had a log cabin built in 1923 and he also has another small cottage near the Claremont Hotel.
Ledgemere, the summer home of Mrs. Frederic Schoff of Philadelphia, was built in 1924; Abenaki, the summer home of Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Cutler of Waban, Mass., in 1913 and Wild Rose Cottage, the summer home of Dr. Charles H. Grand- gent of Cambridge, Mass., was built in 1921-2.
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Mr. and Mrs. Frank N. Lewis of Indianapolis, Indiana, built their cottage, Halfacre, in 1923 and Robert T. Mickle of German- town, Pa., had his cottage, Byfield, built in 1925. Mr. Mickle has also purchased the building to the west of his cottage which was built many years ago as a grocery store by Augustus Clark who was in business there for a long time and he also had a bowling alley connected with the store when bowling was a popular sport among the summer population. Ripley Cutler built his cottage to the east of the Lewis house in 1932.
About 1894 Augustus Clark built the barn on the eastern side of the Clark Point road leading to the steamboat wharf. Here, during the times when buckboard riding was the chief amuse- ment of the tourists, he kept his horses and vehicles. Mr. Clark was fond of horses and always drove a good one. About 1930 he sold the land and building to Robert T. Mickle, retaining the use of the barn during his lifetime.
Henry Clark and William G. Parker started in business about 1861 in a small building on the south side of the Clark Cove. During the time when the mackerel fishing was at its height and the harbor was frequently fairly crowded with vessels, this store was a popular place for outfitting the supply of food for these vessels, and ship stores were carried in stock also. Almost everything could be found in the stock of a general country store of that time and this one was no exception. The trade from the adjoining islands, too, was a considerable item and the firm of Clark and Parker was a prosperous one. They were also agents for some of the steamboat lines that made landings at the wharf and also the headquarters of the American Express Company for many years. The business so increased that in 1885 they built the building which Henry Clark later sold to the J. N. Mills Co. The old store was used as a storehouse until 1928 when it was sold to E. M. Davenport of Milton, Mass., who has had it remodeled into a unique and attractive summer home.
One of the garages on the eastern side of the road was built in 1937-8 for Gordon and White. The other was built by Sim H. Mayo who sold it to the Southwest Harbor Motor Company who enlarged it considerably to accommodate their summer business.
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The boat shop now owned and operated by Henry Hinckley was built by Sim H. Mayo who sold to Andrew E. Parker and he to Chester E. Clement. After Mr. Clement's death in 1937 it was purchased by Mr. Hinckley.
In 1884 A. W. Bee, whose summer home was at the Back Shore and whose stationery and confectionery store at Bar Har- bor was a popular place with an increasing business, built a building on the rocky hill of land near what is now the Mills Store. Here, for some years was a place where the current magazines, newspapers, stationery and souvenirs were sold and it was the first "ice cream parlor" in the town. It did a thriving business in the summer months and was a popular gathering place all through the summer season until it was burned about 1909. Bradley of Bar Harbor built a photograph saloon on the north side of Bee's building and here tintypes as well as "card" and "cabinet" size photographs were taken for several years until it went up in flames with the Bee establishment. Dr. George A. Neal was the photographer in charge for several summer vacations while he was attending medical school.
The J. N. Mills Company established the coal business at their wharf near their store. "The Gangplank", the little cottage on the beach owned by two Boston ladies, was originally a store- house as was also the next building which was purchased by Fred Fernald of the Henry Clark estate and made over into a comfortable place for his lobster business. After the death of Mr. Fernald the property and business were purchased by Capt. B. R. Simmons who sold to Harvard Beal in 1937.
The small building by the side of the store once owned by Augustus Clark and now used as a freight and express office by R. P. Clark, was where the Custom House was kept for a number of years while it was carried on by Seth H. Clark. It now be- longs with the rest of that property to Mr. Mickle.
The steamboat wharf was built in the early fifties by Deacon H. H. Clark and for a long time Southwest Harbor was the only place on Mount Desert Island where steamboats from Boston made a landing. A letter printed in a magazine in those early days, describing the beauties of the island, tells of landing at Southwest Harbor from the Boston boat, spending the night at
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Deacon Clark's and taking an all-day ride by team to Bar Har- bor where a resident of that town gave them hospitable treat- ment for a few days.
The steamer Rockland was the first on the route and her first landing at the new wharf was made a gala day for the com- munity. A band from Ellsworth furnished music for the occa- sion, flags were displayed and speeches made by residents and some from out of town who were present for the occasion. The boat saluted as she entered the harbor and from that day the whistles of the boats of the Eastern Steamship Company were heard with more or less frequency, echoing back from the hills north of Southwest Harbor, until 1934 when the boats were withdrawn and the route discontinued. The agents for the boats were always members of the Clark family beginning with Dea- con Clark, and his brother, Seth H. Clark, passing to his son Henry and to Augustus Clark and finally to R. P. Clark of the third generation who served for many years as boat agent and express official.
A lobster factory stood close to the wharf, built in the early fifties by William Underwood and Co. of Boston, and lobsters were canned there for many years. The factory was built with the idea of canning beef, and cattle were driven down to South- west Harbor from a wide area where they were slaughtered and the meat canned. The supply of cattle soon failed and attention was turned to the canning of lobsters, which at that time were abundant, even to be picked up along the beaches. Employment was furnished for many people in town and the industry flour- ished. Several men came from Boston when the factory was first built, to instruct the local men in the art of making the tin cans and canning the product. About 1883 when the summer tourists began to come to Mount Desert in great numbers and every boat in early summer brought crowds of passengers for Southwest and Bar Harbors, objections began to be made to the factory and its odor. Discussion waxed hot on both sides ; one pointing out the amount of money brought into the place by the employment furnished by the factory and the other side clamor- ing that the future of Mount Desert was a summer resort and that the odoriferous factory, placed directly on the steamboat
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wharf, which was the only way of arrival at Southwest Harbor, was a deterrent to the growth and development of the town. Letters from both sides were published in the Mount Desert Herald and it was a fruitful subject for discussion at any place of gathering by both permanent and summer residents. Finally the Underwood Company wished to enlarge their plant and Dea- con H. H. Clark, who owned the adjoining land and who also owned and conducted the principal summer hotel of that time, refused to sell. So the Underwood Company bought land at Mckinley, built a new and modern factory and moved to that place. The old building at the wharf stood for many years, closed and falling to pieces until it was taken down in 1932. In 1935 the heirs of Henry Clark sold the steamboat wharf to the United States Government to be used as a lighthouse supply and buoy station. Considerable work was done in the autumn of 1935 in enlarging the wharf and building new storehouses, etc., and buoys are cleaned and painted there.
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