Mount Desert Island Historical Society

06/01/2026

Happy National Great Outdoors Month!

Here on Mount Desert Island, we are blessed with thousands of acres of wild, natural spaces where we can wander the woods and watch the sun rise and set over the Atlantic.

Healing in nature is a long-standing MDI tradition. In the 19th century, crowded cities and Industrial Revolution pollution fueled the rapid spread of disease. Doctors noticed that patients who retreated to the countryside recovered faster. This sparked a major health trend. Wealthy Victorians flocked to grand rural hotels to convalesce. F.O. Stanley famously built Colorado's Stanley Hotel to treat his own tuberculosis, while others sought the mineral springs of West Virginia's Greenbrier. While Victorians didn't fully understand why it worked, we now know the fresh air, Vitamin D, and natural UV light actively fought their illnesses.

But enjoying nature wasn't just about medicine—it was also about leisure and community. As James Creissen highlights in his article "The Dining Room Without Walls" in the 2025 issue of "Chebacco," picnicking on MDI emerged as a liberating tradition. It has long provided a unique blend of social freedom and a deep connection with the natural world, allowing people to step away from rigid societal structures and bond with the landscape.

Today, modern science backs up this history, with some modern doctors even writing formal "Nature Rx" prescriptions to help patients commit to daily walks. Spending time in the Great Outdoors is proven to:

-Lower blood pressure and reduce stroke risks.
-Manage type II diabetes and improve sleep quality.
-Extend your lifespan if you live near green spaces.
-Slash stress by 25%, boost relaxation by 30%, and drop anxiety by 20% just by sitting near a babbling brook.
-Meet your Vitamin D needs with just 8–10 minutes of midday summer sun.

With 150 miles of historic trails and 45 miles of carriage roads right in our backyard at Acadia National Park, MDI remains the perfect place to pack a picnic and fill that prescription. Where is your favorite picnic spot or historic trail on MDI to connect with nature?

Photos:
Somes Family Picnic, circa 1915

Mary Dana Bristol and Boy at Oceanside

Three Women Picnicking on the Beach

Man and Two Women Talking on the Beach


Resources:
Archive of James Creissen’s program on his Chebacco article “The Diningroom Without Walls” https://mdihistory.org/program-archives/v/the-dining-room-without-walls

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-doctors-are-increasingly-prescribing-nature

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/healthandsafety/before-and-after-parkrx.htm

https://www.houstonmethodist.org/blog/articles/2026/feb/nature-rx-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-nature/

05/26/2026

We are thrilled to announce that the MDI Historical Society has been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Belvedere Historical Preservation Fund through the Maine Community Foundation. This flexible support grant acts as a strategic catalyst for the Historical Society's long-term sustainability. It directly bolsters our growing community reach, ensuring we can maintain the integrity and quality of our work.

The gift will help us sustain our core offerings, directly impacting our archives, year-round free public programming, community gatherings, and our history journal, "Chebacco." It supports us in offering expanded perspectives, allowing us to actively partner with and feature diverse speakers, scholars, and experts. It strengthens our work preserving island heritage, securing the tools needed to preserve the vital documents and artifacts that educate and inspire people of all ages.

We are deeply grateful to the Maine Community Foundation and the Belvedere Historical Preservation Fund for recognizing the MDI Historical Society as a vital cultural anchor on the island. Most importantly, we are grateful to you—our community—whose engagement makes this work possible.

05/22/2026

Today we celebrate National Maritime Day, May 22, with two pieces from our collection which helped keeps ships on course.

Octants, or sextants allowed ships to determine their latitude using the sun in the day, or a star in the night sky. First the sailor would look through the glass window to line that up with the horizon line. The sailor would then move the measuring arm until the sun light or star reflected on the mirror attached to the arm. Next they would record the number from the scale at the bottom. This number is used in conjunction with a Nautical Almanac providing daily and hourly positions of navigational celestial bodies. This device was accurate to within a few nautical miles.

The taffrail log allowed the ship to determine its speed in knots. The it was attached to the stern of the ship and was connected to a 100-200 foot line at the end of which was a rotator. As the water moved past the rotator and caused it to spin, it turned gears inside to record the distance. By reading the distance every hour the speed could be calculated in knots.

These two devices would allow the ship to stay the course and determine how far along they were in their journey.

Want to Learn more:
https://www.hsm.ox.ac.uk/octant
https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/collection-items/octant/
https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_843874

To learn more about MDI's Maritime History, visit the Great Harbor Maritime Museum in Northeast Harbor: https://greatharbor.mainememory.net/page/2809/display.html

05/19/2026

05/15/2026

Check out this FREE weekend celebration of local makers and their textile creations, plus learn a thing or two!

05/12/2026

Happy National Nurses Week!

This week, we honor nurses everywhere, including the extraordinary ones who served in uniform. Meet Louine Lunt Peck, born on February 22, 1908, in Pembroke, Maine, and raised in the town of Mount Desert.

Before joining the military, Louine was already a seasoned professional, working as head nurse in the operating room at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Philadelphia. When war loomed, she answered the call, enlisting as a Second Lieutenant in the Navy Nurse Corps, where she served from 1938 to 1941. During that time she endured rigorous physical training and even mustard gas drills before shipping out aboard the USS Acadia, a former Eastern Steamship liner converted into a floating hospital.

The Acadia served in both the European and Mediterranean theaters, and was stationed off the coast of Normandy on D-Day, where Louine and her fellow nurses treated wounded American and Allied soldiers as the battle raged on shore. The ship occasionally took friendly fire, sending the crew scrambling below deck.

Her Navy service was cut short when she was discharged for being "unfit for military duty due to marriage." Undeterred, Louine came back, serving in the Army Nurse Corps from 1943 to 1945, ensuring she was there for the war's most pivotal years.

After the war, she channeled her lifelong dedication to nursing into something lasting: she founded the Albany School of Practical Nursing in Albany, NY, and served as its director for 25 years.
Louine passed away in 2001 at the age of 93, leaving behind a legacy of courage, compassion, and service. Her story is featured in They Called Them Angels: American Military Nurses of World War II by Kathi Jackson.

Want to hear her story in her own words and voice? Check out this incredible oral history interview from 2000:
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mf144/34/

Photo: Louine Lunt Peck aboard Army Hospital Ship, circa 1941 - 1946. Louine is the woman in the front.

05/07/2026

Observed as part of National Travel and Tourism Week, National Tourism Day, May 7, highlights the importance of travel in connecting people, supporting local economies, and showcasing the unique character of communities across the country. It’s a perfect reminder that meaningful adventures don’t have to be far from home. Sometimes they’re right around the corner.

Here on Mount Desert Island, history is all around you and now you can explore it like never before with the MDI Historical Society’s Digital Tour: MDI History Adventure – What Happened Here?

- Explore 20+ sites across every island community. Visit sites in any order, at your own pace, from anywhere.
-Download the FREE MDI History Adventure App (available on Apple, Google Play) or visit the tour on the web at https://islandadventuretour.stqry.app

You’ll uncover hidden stories, discover new places, and see how each MDI community is unique, yet deeply connected. Along the way, you can also visit local historical societies, museums, and libraries to learn even more about the island’s rich past.

This project was made possible thanks to the generous support of donors Jake and Anne Citrin; Shelby and Gale Davis; David and Nanette Schoeder; and Machias Savings Bank.

The photographs included here are a selection of images contained on the tour.

05/05/2026

Today, we celebrate National Teacher Day, a time to honor the lasting impact educators have on our lives. The roots of this day go back to 1953, when Eleanor Roosevelt urged Congress to formally recognize the vital role of teachers. It wasn’t until 1980 that National Teacher Day was officially established. To mark the day, we’re dipping into our Sound Schoolhouse exhibit and our archives to share a few glimpses of our educational past.

On Mount Desert Island, teachers have long been at the heart of building informed, civic-minded communities. Before modern schools, many educators taught year-round in one-room schoolhouses. By 1903, towns across the island administered 30 school districts, ranging from tiny, multi-age classrooms to larger schools divided into primary and intermediate levels. High schools were still rare, just one or two per town.

In these early classrooms, teachers guided as many as 40 students of all ages at once. Daily lessons included reading, writing, grammar, spelling, arithmetic, penmanship, history, and geography, with music, drawing, and physical education added in the 1910s. Geography and history were often combined to help students understand citizenship and the wider world beyond their local community. The school day began with a reading from scripture, followed by lessons, with breaks for morning recess and the noon meal. Expectations were high: students were to be punctual, courteous, and obedient.

Teaching conditions varied widely and salaries varied based on experience, number of students, and gender. Men were often, though not always, paid more than women. Some educators struggled to keep schools open due to low enrollment, while others faced overcrowded classrooms, discipline challenges, and truancy. Strong community support was essential, and good teachers were deeply valued, often entrusted with the most challenging situations. As one school supervisor advised, teachers were to “avoid irritating language and harsh or improper punishments” and instead foster “habits of social refinement.”

The stories of individual teachers bring this history to life. Ruby Higgins, born in Sound in 1885, followed a common path: educated locally, trained at Castine Normal School, and returned home to teach in 1907. Like many women of her time, she taught for just a few years before marrying and retiring at age 23. In contrast, Georgia Wiggins made teaching her career. She arrived in Sound in 1916 with over a decade of experience, taught for 10 years, and later continued her work in Hall Quarry. Remembered as strict but fair, she had a remarkable ability to settle disputes. Unlike Ruby, Georgia boarded with local families with her living expenses deducted from her weekly pay.

To all our current and retired MDI educators: thank you. Your dedication, patience, and belief in your students continue a long and meaningful tradition. Tell us about an island teacher who made a difference in your life in the comments.

(Information about each photo is included in its description)

11/20/2025

This week, the Pour Farm Brewery in Union, Maine, made headlines by inviting U.S. Senate candidates to, by modern standards, a very unconventional town hall. Sen. Susan Collins, Gov. Janet Mills, and Sullivan Harbormaster Graham Platner were invited to a gathering where each candidate would chug a beer and then immediately answer a question from voters, with a 3-question (and beer) limit.

Journalist Alex Seitz-Wald, writing in the November 17th Midcoast Villager, described the event “as much about democracy as drinking.” The idea harks back to Revolutionary War-era taverns, which weren’t just places to grab a drink—they were vital spaces for civic engagement, where people of all social classes could mingle, debate, and engage with their communities.

Patrick Callaway, Collections Coordinator at the MDI Historical Society, notes that this type of campaigning was relatively commonplace in the 18th and 19th centuries. Taverns were the original third spaces- spots for entertainment, refreshment, and community gatherings. Politicians would meet people there, discuss issues, and try to show themselves as 'men of the people.' This tradition began to fade in the later 19th century as temperance movements and cultural shifts toward the nuclear family and home life changed the social landscape.

While the Pour Farm’s event might strike some as audacious today, it’s rooted in a long history of political engagement in New England, bringing a centuries-old tradition into the modern era.

Read the full story in the Midcoast Villager: www.midcoastvillager.com or learn more about the event at www.thepourfarm.com

This photograph from the Library of Congress shows William Henry Harrison and his running mate, John Tyler, in 1840, the first candidates to campaign actively for office, adopting the “log cabin” (or everyman) persona.

10/25/2025

Come on down to La Rochelle! We will be here til 2 at their free community day telling people about the MDI History Adventure digital tour. There’s food (including smores) warm drinks, crafts and music along with free admission! 127 West St, Bar Harbor