THE ANNE M. ARCHBOLD ESTATE

ANNE ARCHBOLD COTTAGE
CLEFTSTONE ROAD, BAR HARBOR

Archbold Cottage, located on the West side of Cleftstone road, burned in the fire of 1947.  The land the cottage was built on was once owned by Charles T. How.  The following appeared in the Bar Harbor record, a local newspaper, on March 30, 1904, and in part read;

An Italian Villa

An unique innovation to Bar Harbor's archltecture.

One of the most unique houses ever built in the village, and one that is perhaps, for its size, the most expensive, is that now in process of construction for Miss Ann Archbold.  Miss Archbold is a native of Tarrytown, N.Y., and has passed several seasons at Seal Harbor.  She is an artist of no little talent and has spent many years of travel and study in Europe.  The idea for her cottage was conceived from the beautiful castles in Italy, and in Paris a tiny model, perfect in every detail, was made for the proposed villa.

ANNE ARCHBOLD COTTAGE
Cleftstone Road, Bar Harbor

It was some time before a suitable location could be found, and Bar Harbor and surrounding resorts were thoroughly inspected.  Finally Miss Archbold purchased some four acres on the Cleftstone road and the house is being erected on a slight eminence which gives a beautiful view.  Its appearance from the road is picturesque in the extreme, and when cmpleted, surrounded by lawns and gardens, it will form a quaint and harmonious picture.
From the South side there is an entrance to the reception room, approached by winding steps and from the court is another entrance.
The house is somewhat in the form of a hollow square.  In the basement is a large kitchen extending the entire length of the main body of the house.  In addition to this, there is a pantry, the servants dining room, four servants bed rooms, besides a number of closets.
On the first floor the main body of the house is taken up by the living and dining rooms, whose united length is about 70 feet.  They are rough plastered, and the cypress beams overhead are finished in the rough.  In the west wing are two small bed rooms with bath, and in the east a hall with a fireplace.
The dining room is several steps lower than the living room and the bulters pantry, with dumb waiter shaft opens from it.  One of the accessories of the old Italian villa is a "vanishing table" which disappears directly the viands are eaten, and if practicable, the dining room of Miss Archbold's house will be equipped with one of thses mysterious agents.

ANNE ARCHBOLD COTTAGE
Cleftstone Road, Bar Harbor

On the second floor in the east wing a small chamber is directly above the hall.  Miss Archbolds chamber is a large pleasant room in the east wing.  From it, a spiral iron staircase leads to the tower above, where a beautiful panorama of mountain, forest, and ocean spreads out before the eye.  Opening from this room is a large bath room and tiled tub set deep after the old Roman fashion and reached by several steps.  In the west wing at the extreme end is a small bed room and bath,  Opening from this is the studio, a large airy room.
The center of the second floor is occupied by the loggia, which will be a delightful place when completed.  The floor is to be tiled and the sides of glass, which will open readily so that a cool breeze can sweep across.  Opening from the loggia is a long narrow balcony which later will be hung with trailing vines and blossoms.  At the back a cement stairway leads from the loggia to the terrace below.  The terrace will be one of the most interesting features of the house.  It fills the "hollow" of the square.  A narrow open walk the height of the second story rooms surrounds it and is upheld by twelve arches of stucco  work, ornamented with carved wheels and surrounded with handsome panels of carved wood.  In the center of the terrace a fountain will play and the entire enclosure will be covered with grass.  Beyond the terrace a large plot will be devoted to the garden which will be in keeping with the other appointments.
On the southern side of the east wing is the conservatory, which will be a unique feature of the house.  The sides, of course, will be of glass and the roof will be upheld by carved figures.

Directions;  From Eagle Lake Road - route 233, look for a pull over area where you can park your car directly across from the Cleftstone road.  An old abandoned dirt road runs up into the woods there and you don't have to walk far.  Cross the Eagle Lake Road and walk down the Cleftstone Road a short waysI believe we entered the woods across from the second house or a little past it.  It is not too far in the woods on a hillside.  The GPS for the foundations is N 44 22 947 and W 068 13 630

Directly across the road from the entrance to the estate is a telephone pole with the number 3 on it.  The remains of the estate sets on a  knoll further back in the woods on almost a straight line from the pole.

ANNE ARCHBOLD ESTATE REMAINS
WOODS OFF CLEFTSTONE ROAD
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

ANNE ARCHBOLD POOL - WOODS OFF CLEFTSTONE ROAD
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

There is a lot of debris at this site, in fact in one of the photos above you can see part of a bed frame, a closer look in the area and you come across parts of broken statues, and in the photo above you can see what once was a huge round pool that had a fountain at one end with two mermaids, one on either side of the fountain.  Many of the bricks have the name of the company and the state they came from engraved on them.  Stone steps led up to where a patio area was located and from there you can look out over the other rooms whose walls are still standing.  The parking area towards the rear of the building can still be see, though over grown.  I found this to be one of the more amazing sites to explore.

BROKEN PIECE OF ARTWORK

OLD IRON BED UNDER COLLAPSED CEILING

ONCE A FANCY SHAPED TABLE

STEPS WHERE PATIO OVERLOOKED POOL

FANCY BLUE RIDGE BRICKS

While there are some private homes along the cleftstone Road, the large section of woods the Anne Archbold Estate is located in is on Park Property.  The Bayberry site is easier to find but is only a foundation with a fireplace along one wall.  The Archbold Estate remains as it did following the fire, we counted at least four bed frames.

GPS for the foundations is N 44 22 947 and W 068 13 630

BAR HARBOR SUMMER COTTAGES
ANNE ARCHBOLD ESTATE
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

THE VANISHING TABLE

Bar Harbor Record

June 14, 1905

One of the most unique cottages in town is miss Ann Archbold's Italian Villa which she occupied for the first time last season.  This year the "vanishing Table" has been installed.  The table was made by C.H. Lewis and J.T. Kilnan of Syracuse N.Y., and works with accuracy and precision.  It is a round table supported in the center on a hollow drum through which a dumb waiter brings up the dinner, delivering it on a traveling disk flush with the top of the table.  When the disk descends, half disks at each side come together at the center of the opening through which the disk rises, and closing together, rise to the level of the top of the table, making the entire top one level surface.  The movements are accomplished by means of ropes as in any dumb waiter.

VIDEO OF THE ANNE ARCHBOLD ESTATE REMAINS