ABANDONED TRAILS OF ACADIA NATIONAL PARK: December 2018

Monday, December 31, 2018

SIEUR DE MONTS SPRING - A WONDER OF NATURE OR MAN MADE

ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

BAR HARBOR TIMES
JULY 21, 1960

To the Editor;
Visitors at Sieur de Monts Spring may at times wonder about the early history. One standing on the large flat rock in the brook and watching the water bubble and gorgie from beneath it may think he is beholding a natural event, when in fact, he is looking at the result of human planning and effort.
In the summer of 1907 John Prescott, owner of the property developed the spring at the upper end of the Harding Farm, so called, which was originally known as Red Rock Spring, and later, Mt. Kebo Spring, undertook to do the same thing with what is now the Sieur de Monts Spring.
I learned this quite by accident. One day in the summer above mentioned I was walking with a friend of my parents through the woods in that section. As a boy I had fished in the brook that flowed out of the meadow - now known as the tarn - and I knew that area very well.
Near the brook at that time was a small boiling spring with a much larger one several yards away.
As we came into the path off the Seal Harbor Road we heard from the valley below us the sound of horses and a stone drag. Coming into the clearing at the foot of the hill we found Mr Prescott with a team of horses dragging a large flat rock towards the smaller spring, and learned that he was planning another bottling plant similar to the one at Red Rock (Mt. Kebo). He told us he was setting that flat rock over the smaller spring in the attempt to force the water back into the larger one which he planned to deepen and enlarge.
The bottling plant, as such, did not prove to be the success had hoped, and in course of time the property passed to other hands and now has been developed into the beauty spot we have today. But that rock is the same one we saw put in place over 50 years ago.
What we see today is not a freak of nature but a deliberate attempt to improve on what nature has provided.
I can vouch for this as I am the only living person who was present when that stone was set in its present position.
Sincerely,
Rev. Charles S. Mitchell, DD

SIEUR DE MONTS SPRING HOUSE
ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

WHO WAS THE REV CHARLES S. MITCHELL

A piece I found in an article in the Bar Harbor Times dated August 2, 1922 states in part;
"Mr. Charles S. Mitchell served Long Island till cold weather, than he moved his family to Bar Harbor and spent the winter assisting in special services at Cranberry Isles, Matinitus, and other places. It seemed best to locate Mr. Mitchell at Corea where he can be of help in the town of Gouldboro, as there is not a minister in the town."
In the December 6, 1922 Bar Harbor Times, upon the passing of Rev. A.P. MacDonald, who had been the head of the Sea Coast Mission. A piece in that same paper was written by the Rev. Charles S. Mitchell, whose title states the following;
"Rev. A.P. MacDonald; A word of appreciation by Rev. Charles S. Mitchell, who was for some time associated with Mr. MacDonald as Assistant Missionary."
In a copy of the Bar Harbor Times dated July 26, 1922 an article begins with the following;
"BAR HARBOR MAN IS ORDAINED AT COREA
Charles S. Mitchell after service in Sea Coast Mission is now Baptist Minister.
A council of churches of Hancock County, was called by the church at Corea Wednesday, July 19th, to set apart by ordination to the Baptist ministry, Charles S. Mitchell who has been serving this church for the past two months, after nearly two years in the Sea Coast Mission work."
An article from the Bar Harbor Times in 1915 states that "Charles S. Mitchell expects to enter Gordon Theological School in Boston the middle of next month."

MORRELL PARK RIDING SCHOOL
Bar Harbor

BAR HARBOR HORSE SHOW
ROBINHOOD PARK, Bar Harbor

HOMAN'S PROPERTY FOR SALE
W.H. SHERMAN & SON
Bar Harbor

THE MOUNT DESERT NURSERIES
Bar Harbor

THE CRITERION
Cottage Street, Bar Harbor

THE MARLBOROUGH HOTEL
Bar Harbor

LITTLE KEBO INDOOR GOLF COURSE
Main Street, Bar Harbor

Sunday, December 30, 2018

IN SEARCH OF RED ROCK SPRING

IN SEARCH OF RED ROCK SPRING

Was there really such a place as Red Rock Spring on Mount Desert Island? That question can be answered easily, since we have old newspaper articles and ads that proclaim the purity of its crystal clear waters, but the exact location of Red Rock Spring remains a mystery. We know from an old article the spring lay between the Cemetery on Harden Farm Road and the base of Kebo Mountain, there is not a whole lot of ground between those two locations so locating the exact site of the Red Rock Spring, one would think, would be a fairly easy task - but it has turned out to be anything but easy. Red Rock Spring, as was the case with Sieur de Monts Spring area, was owned by a Mr. Prescott, who also owned a farm along the Harden Farm Road. It was on his farm that the Red Rock Spring was located, and according to newspaper articles, only a handful of people knew of the spring, until Mr Prescott came to a conclusion, there was money to be made from the spring, and he began the Red Rock Spring Bottling Company, which bottled both Spring Water as well as Ginger Ale at the location.

CONCRETE TROUGH

The spring got its name because the ledge around where the spring bubbled up from was a red color, thus the name Red Rock Spring. I have been trying to track down the location of the bottling plant and its spring for years now and today may of come close to finding it, or did we find it? Well, lets put it this way, we found something, which is always better than finding nothing at all.
What we found was a good number of large and small granite blocks scatter about an area near a brook. On top of a number of these granite blocks was very thin pieces of rock, like one might find covering an inside wall, or perhaps a roof. But the biggest find lay just ahead when we came upon this huge concrete trough of sorts, with two holes on top of it, and two holes near the base, with a medium size pipe stopping just short of connecting to the large concrete trough. I use the word trough lousely because clear as you will see from the photos, it was not designed to hold much water. So, did we fine what remains of the Red Rock Spring Bottling Company, who knows. Did we find a glorified horse trough, an abandoned fountain, or some other long lost artifact, who knows, but clearly water at one time flowed into it, as can be seen from that medium sized pipe. I do not have the GPS as i totally forgot to take the numbers down, but I will get those and update this when I have them, but really, this site is not too hard to locate.

RED ROCK SPRING -

We followed the Harden Farm Road (some locals refer to it as the other end of Kebo Street) down to where it comes to the Park Loop Road, straight ahead is a field, we moved through the field, until we reached the trees and than moved to the right through the trees and to the edge of a brook. From there we simply followed the brook until we came to many granite blocks and the horse trough thingy, I told my son it sure looks like it was a fountain at one time, but who knows. As you will see in the photos, there also was the tire marks of an old road which led right to this site, though the tire marks can't be seen from the road. My son thought it might of been a tub but clearly its not deep enough to have been a tube...LOL.
So the latest details we have uncovered on this mysterous spring, it was surrounded by tall thin white birches, the bottom of the spring is of sand, and the water in the spring "bubbles upward" - which is caused by a natural gas found in the water.

So in this photo I just noticed there is an indent in the ground where clearly another pipe ran out this side as well, though that pipe is no longer there. Could this be an early prototype of the first jacuzzi?

THIS VIEW SHOWS PIPE

Granite blocks of different sizes are scattered throughout the area.

THE BROOK

MORE GRANITE BLOCKS

THE BUILDINGS THAT MADE UP SIEUR DE MONT SPRINGS

THE LADIE'S SHOPPE
Main Street, Bar Harbor

COTTAGE STREET VETERINARY HOSPITAL
Cottage Street, Bar Harbor

HARMON PIANO CO.
Main Street, Bar Harbor

THE JORDAN POND HOUSE
Seal Harbor, Maine

Sunday, December 2, 2018

1896 DESCRIPTION OF TRAILS

DESCRIPTION OF TRAILS
Bar Harbor Record
July 1, 1896

Mr. Herbert Jaques, the well known architect, contributed the following interesting article on the paths of Mount Desert Island which will be of great interest in connection with the new map of the island which is soon to be published. Mr. Jaques has traversed every path on the island.
To a comparative few people the paths of Mount Desert Island are well known and it is hoped that more may be induced to use them and enjoy their beauties.
There are practically four systems, hiking in a general way, though it is needed eventually to connect all together. The smallest system is the so called Duck Brook Series; these paths are called the Duck Brook, Bracken, Sweet Fern and Royal Fern Paths. One can start on Eden Street just before coming to the bridge over Duck Brook and walk up the south side of the brook to the reservoir. This path has two paths, one high up on the bank and one close to the water. The lower one can not be used when the water in the brook is high.
From the reservoir the Sweet Fern Path runs to the southeast and comes out near Mr. Hows Teahouse near Woodbury Park. The Royal Fern Path crosses the reservoir dam, and comes out on the Cockscrew Hill Road. The Bracken Path runs south along the reservoir and comes out on the Eagle Lake Road where Mr. Hows new road comes in. This is just above the Cromwells Harbor Road and there is a fine spring at the roadside where the path starts. There is a branch from the Bracken Path which runs southwest and follows along the brook and comes out near the head of Eagle Lake.
The southeast system of paths, or better known as the Newport System, is worked out on a system of colors. A new carriage road has been built from Otter Creek Road to the edge of Robin Hood Park to the Schooner Head Road near Bear Brook. Starting in from the Otter Creek Road one first sees the Bicycle Path which runs directly towards the gorge between Newport and Picket mountains, and swings about in a fine growth of Hemlock and hardwood trees and comes again into the carriage road near the old bridge over Bear Brook, following for some distance the old Picket Mountain Path. The Black and White Path leaves the bicycle path just under Picket Mountain and follows the brook in a winding course up and on to the top of the mountain. From here there is a steep trail which leads to the top of Newport, affording a fine view to the north, west and south. From the bicycle path near the start of the Picket Mountain path runs a Black and Blue steep trail up the side of Newport under a landslide coming out on the Black path. This path is steep and rough but is especially beautiful and affords fine views. From the old bridge over Bear Brook and when the bicycle path joins the carriage road, the old Black Path runs up over Newport and down on the southern end coming out at the Bowl.
Following the carriage road near Bear Brook one comes to the road leading to Mr. Dorr's quarries, and here starts the White Path which combines fine views with easy walking. It runs the whole length of Newport Mountain running under the cliffs and coming out at Great Head. The Red Path leaves the White soon after leaving the Horseshoe and follows down the course of Meadow Brook, coming out on the Schooner Head Road where Meadow Brook crosses the road. Half a mile beyond the Blue Path runs to the left or east and comes out on the Schooner Head Road near Cranberry Hill. Another half or three quarters of a mile and one branch of the Yellow Path runs east and comes out at Schooner Head Road, than still further on the White Path, the Red and White runs abruptly to the right and up the side of Newport and joins the Black Path near the crest. This path is steep and rough and affords a good climb, but is generally used as a decent from the mountain to Schooner Head. Half way up this path a Blue and White Path runs to the Bowl. Following the White Path from where the Red and White leaves it, one walks along the banks of a lovely brook and another branch of the Yellow Path starts on the left and comes out at Schooner Head. The lower end of this path is the same as the other Yellow Path and is apt to be wet in the meadow. The White Path than runs along the side of Enoch (a spur of Newport) and with a branch to the left across Homans Field runs through a pretty grove until one comes to the Blue and White branch which leaves to the right and runs to the Bowl with a Brown branch near the top of the Beehive. Than the White runs down across a brook and finally with a sharp turn to the left again crosses the brook and ascends the hill to the road near Great Head.
Where the White Path turns to the left or east of the Yellow and White starts and runs close under the Beehive and up through the valley between Gorham and the Beehive, past Cliffs Pond just beyond which the Brown Path starts on the right and runs to the Bowl with a branch up on the Beehive; the Yellow and White than ascends a steep bank and soon on the left will be found a spring of clear cool water; than on over the divide one descends to the Otter Creek Road at the head of School House Hill. A short distance north on the Otter Creek Road near the house of Isaac Tripp, the Green and White Path runs up to the Bowl. Near the top of this path the Black Path starts and runs back over Newport, where the brook leaves the Bowl. Following the Green and White one comes to the Brown which goes down to the Yellow and White and than the Green and White goes on around the Bowl to where the Blue and White and Blue, White and Blue all meet the Green and White at the large rock.
The Green Mountain system starts on the Cromwell Harbor road at the rear entrance to the Kebo Valley Club. The path makes a quick descent to the brook than rises and bears to the right with a branch starting here to the left which runs up over Kebo Mountain and will eventually be carried along the meadow on the side of Dry Mountain and come out on the Otter Creek Road beyond the driving park. The main path runs along the valley for a considerable distance, than crosses the brook and finally reaches the Gorge and runs in the bed of the brook up between Green and Dry Mountains. Near the head of the brook one reaches Pulpit rock which affords a good resting place and charming vistas; than on up the gorge and at the top the path branches to the east up Dry Mountain and west up Green to the Mountain House. From here one can descend by the carriage road to the Eagle Lake road or keep on over the long south crest of Green coming out near the School House beyond Otter Creek. From this path a spur leads down towards Pemetic Mountain coming out on the Bubble Pond road and making a connection with the Pemetic mountains, Bubble Mountain and Sargent's Mountain system.

ABANDONED TRAILS GUIDE - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

From the Green Mountain Carriage Road just inside the toll gate, a new path runs south and west towards Eagle lake and joins a path which runs from Eagle lake up to and over Pemetic Mountain. Following down the lake one strikes a path along the shore close to the water which comes out on the carry between Eagle lake and Jordon Pond. The path from the lake towards Pemtic also has a branch running along the sides of Bubble Pond west side, and coming out on the road which runs into the pond from Northeast Harbor. Arriving at the head of Eagle Lake one can take the Carry and go to Jordon's Pond and than down the east shore of the pond to the Jordan Pond House. A carriage road runs along the west shore of Jordon's on through the valley between Sargent's and the Bubbles and bearing north and east comes out at Eagle lake and running to the west short of the lake, strikes the Eagle lake road at the Currin House. From this path runs other paths connecting all the systems of this part of the island and as described.

1911 TRAIL GUIDE MAP - ACADIA NATIONAL PARK

Saturday, December 1, 2018

THE MOUNT DESERT NURSERIES

When you think of George B. Dorr, places like Old Farm, compass Harbor, the Dorr Quarry and Storm Beach cottage come to mind, not to mention dorr's once very popular bike path and the work he did constructing trails and adding lands to the National Park, but one does not readily think of Mr. Dorr and nurseries, but he owned a very thriving business here named the Mount Desert nurseries. In the summer months his nursery business employed as many as 125 workers with trees, shrubs and plants being shipped across the United states. And though not an abandoned trail, it is nether the less, a business whose remains have been abandoned to time, as it were. But even with the passage of time, traces and remnants of the Mount Desert Nurseries can still be found today, if you know where to look - in fact, some are hiding in plain sight.
What I once thought might of been a foundation of a small house in the woods not far from the remains of Old Farm, I now believe might of been the flooding tank referred to in the article from an old newspaper below, located between the Old Farm foundation and the Old Farm road. There is a tiny two car parking area along the old Farm Road, and a hiking trail crosses the road there, the Schooner Head Trail, which crosses the road and passes by a small pond, on old maps called Dorr Pond, and for good reason. that pond was once owned by George b. Dorr, part of his estate, and part of the area around the Mount Desert Nurseries, which included land from Compass Harbor all the way over to the Schooner Head road.

SCHOONER HEAD TRAIL CROSSES OLD FARM ROAD

In one old newspaper article, Dorr Pond is mentioned as being a popular ice skating area in winter time. Today the area is a nice location for spotting Wild turkeys, woodpeckers and wild ducks. The Schooner Head Trail does not get a lot of foot traffic and dates back to the days when it was named the Red Path, leading from Compass Harbor and along the Schooner Head road to Schooner Head Overlook and the area of Anemone Cave, today abandoned by the Park Service.
Rudolph Brunnow, the man behind the building of the Precipice Trail, the Beehive, and other popular trails in Acadia National Park, had plans to extend the Red Path from Schooner Head Overlook and have it join up with the Ocean Drive path by Sand Beach, but that plan was never carried out and no one seems to know why it wasn't.

MOUNT DESERT NURSERIES - GEORGE B. DORR

So back to the Schooner Head Path, where it crosses the Old Farm road, one section takes you to the Compass Harbor Loop path around Old Farm remains, the other section on the other side of Old Farm Road takes you in the direction of the Schooner Head road. Now as you start out on this trail, not long after you have passed by Dorr Pond on the right, you will begin to see signs of old pipes, and sections of pipes with faucets where hoses could be connected, these old pipes, easy to spot when your looking for them along the side of the trail, date back to the days of the Mount Desert Nurseries and were part of the extensive watering system in place back than.
The old newspaper article below I came across this evening as I was doing research and thought I would share it with you, as I find it a fascinating piece of history.

DORR POND - OLD FARM ROAD - MOUNT DESERT NURSERIES

MOUNT DESERT NURSERIES
BAR HARBOR RECORD
May 8, 1901

ACRES OF PLANTS
Of the various Bar Harbor industries which are worthy of extended mention that carried on by the Mt. Desert nurseries is by no means the least. These are situated at the lower end of Main Street about one half a mile from the business section of the village.
George B. Dorr of Boston, has for many years been an annual visitor here and has always taken a deep interest in the resort earnestly advocating all steps that would make to the advantage of the place and its residents. A gentleman of refined tastes, culture and wealth, he has always been a liberal supporter of all worthy projects and it was owing largely to this progressive spirit and desire to aid the town that the Mount Desert Nurseries came into being. Mr Dorr has for years been a lover of nature and horticulture has been an especial passion with him, so that for a score of years the grounds at Old Farm the beautiful and spacious Bar Harbor home of Mrs Charles H. Dorr, has been one of the most attractive of the show places in the village.
In 1896 Mr Dorr commenced horticulture on a large scale and now the nurseries cover nearly 30 acres which are cultivated with the utmost care and success. It is a charming drive through the nurseries as winding roads are laid out on every hand passing by bed after bed of flowers and beautiful shrubbery and trees. In the season the thousands of flowering plants with their masses of color, shaded by their green foliage make a scene of living beauty difficult to surpass.
It is very difficult for one who has not visited the nurseries to comprehend the immense scale of which the business is conducted. Plants are shipped all over the country, recent orders including shipments to Washington, California and Oregon. These shipments are for the most part plants that are native to this section, although many specialties are engaged in. No small business of the business is the shipment of trees, ash, birch, and maple. Over 60 large cases of these have been shipped this spring "A specialty is made of all hardy plants and shrubs and in addition a large quantity of bedding plants are sold."
At the present time there are over 20,000 geraniums of all stages of growth and seemingly of all possible hues and varieties at the nurseries, 5,000 heliotropes and a proportionate amount of all the principle bedding plants suitable to this climate.
The Mount Desert nurseries are as large as any in Eastern New England, and among the most northerly in the United States. When one considers the climate in this section of Maine and the long, cold winters, it seems remarkable that an enterprise of this sort can be so successfully carried on. The weather in the winter is of course very severe for the plants and owing to the short season there are some kinds of trees, shrubs and plants that do not get ripened sufficiently to stand the winter. This curtails operations in some lines, as for instance hybrid roses, which are not grown at the Mt. Desert Nurseries but are largely imported.
The climate, however, is not without its advantage in the floral line. Stock that will grow all right at Bar Harbor will stand almost any climate. Than the Mount Desert Nurseries offer a great advantage as they can furnish plants that have been grown and tested in this climate and thus the purchases are not investing in a lottery.
The nurseries are certainly a great help to Bar Harbor in many ways and in the course of the year occasion the expenditure of a large amount of money in this section and also furnish a livelihood for many families. During the busy season anywhere from 60 to 125 hands are employed at the nurseries and even during the winter steady work is afforded to nine men. The employees even on an average sum $45 a month so it will be seen that the pay roll of the institution is no small item during the summer months.
Among the most pleasing sights furnished visitors at Bar Harbor during the season are the window decorations at the store of the Mt. Desert nurseries in the village. Here may always be seen a very choice and attractive array of plants and flowers while the store itself presents the appearance of a veritable floral bower.
In one of the windows of the store there has for seasons been a display of pond lilies, including not only the usual white and yellow, but also the purple and pink Zanzibar varieties. The latter are not planted or colored by hand as many spectators believe, but are raised annually from seed.
Lilies of all kinds are a great specialty, and 13 varieties have at one time been on exhibition at the store, a record that it would be difficult to equal anywhere.
There are many hotbeds about the nurseries, while the green houses are large and spacious. The largest is 125 by 26 feet while there is another 72 by 11 and a third 107 by 13.
The latter is called the tank house and is so arranged that is can be flooded with water in the summer for the growth of pond lilies. In the winter it is drained and arranged for a hot house. At the present time it is entirely filled with geraniums. The greenhouses are kept at an even temperature, a hot water heating system being in use in cold weather.
The other buildings consist of a well arranged office and a cold storage building. The former is 24 by 34 feet and the latter is 64 by 40.
In the cold storage building are placed the choice tub trees and the hydrangeas and many varieties of bulbs. The temperature is kept at from 31 to 36 degrees.
In the upper story of the cold storage building are kept the tools and supplies, and here are situated a row of lockers for the employee's. Everything is done on a system and a good one at the Mount Desert Nurseries and the utmost care is taken in the details. For instance every tool that is taken out by the day men is recorded and waste and loss in this direction is thus checked.
Mr. William Miller, the superintendent, is a man of wide experience and large knowledge of horticulture, obtained both by practice and study. He was born in Scotland where his father is still engaged in the nursery business. He came to this country 15 years ago and was employed at the estate of Robert Treat Paine at Waltham, Mass. He came to Bar Harbor as a private Gardiner for Mr Dorr in 1888, and to him is due a great deal of the credit for the immense business that has been developed.
But not all the horticulture at the Dorr place is done in the nurseries. The estate comprises some 300 acres and 50 to 75 acres are kept in fine condition for the private grounds.
The nurseries have a branch at Northeast Harbor which is in charge of George J. Miller. At Northeast Harbor there are about three acres of nursery land and an excellent business is enjoyed by the branch.