In the book, "Trails Of History," on page 73 you find the following, "George Dorr, in honor of the Precipice crew, built a miniature Precipice in Bar Harbor's Glen Mary Park. Ladders and rungs were installed on an adjacent cliff so that others could practice their climbing in anticipation of conquering the real thing."
This is not the first mention I have come across over the years in regards of this miniature Precipice which Dorr had constructed, and over the years I have made a few attempts to search for any signs of of these ladders and rungs along a cliff and have not been able to locate any signs of them, though the location of this cliff is not in doubt as there is but on cliff near Glen Mary Park. Along Spring Street, directly across from the swimming pool area, is a high cliff with a large house near the top of the cliff, that is the only cliff in the entire area. I have a few theories of what may of become of the ladders and rungs.
1. The land was sold to new owners who had the ladders and rungs removed as to not be liable for any injuries from children crossing from the Glen Mary Park and attempting to climb the cliff.
2. The town of Bar Harbor had the ladders and rungs removed because they did not want to be liable for any injuries.
It could also be that the face of the cliff became weak and collapsed, though one would think if that was the case there would still be some sections of iron ladders or rungs still in place, which there appears not to be.
The other piece I came across on this miniature Precipice stated there was also one or two metal foot bridges or narrow walk ways along the cliff, as one encounters climbing the real thing. The other article did not say much more than what is found in Trails of History.
It is worth noting that that cliff does turn the corner and runs along a section of woods, I have not ventured along that section of the cliff as it runs across private land away from the road, and I have yet to find a photo of this miniature Precipice.
UPDATE
So I just came across an old map showing Glen Mary as it was back in the day, along Spring Street (see map below). It clearly bears out a very interesting point, because back than the pool and playground area included the land on both sides of spring Street, right up to the face of the cliff where the dorr mini Precipice was said to have been built. It at least now makes a little more sense why it was located along that cliff.
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| THE MOUNT DESERT NURSERIES Bar Harbor |
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| PUFFER'S LIVERY STABLE 27 Second South Street, Bar Harbor |
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| GREEN MOUNTAIN RAILROAD FORECLOSURE Bar Harbor |
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| RED ROCK SPRING Bar Harbor |
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| SADDLE HORSES FOR HIRE W.F. STORM 67 Cottage Street, Bar Harbor |
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| THE RODICK HOTEL Bar Harbor |
I would love to know more about the "mini Precipice" too! We have investigated that rock face a few times as well, but haven't found any signs of rungs or ladders. I expected that even if they had been cut off, we would see the remnants still set in the rock, or some rust stains. The northern end of the cliff face is moss-covered, which could conceal them, but that doesn't look like it would've been the best spot for such a trail because it's lower and more "crumbly" rock than the southern end of the face.
ReplyDeleteI don't recall seeing sources that mention it other than Trails of History. What/where was the other article you found?
I believe there was mention of it in an old newspaper article. Years ago there was much ruble around the base of the cliff with cables or wires that could be clearly seen in the ruble. The guy who lives at the top of the cliff told us the ruble and wires were what remained of a retaining wall that had collapsed, and he had also searched for signs of the miniature Precipice. I am still pouring over old newspapers trying to find more on this, if I locate anything I will update this as soon as I do.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Interested to see if you find anything else in the old newspapers ...
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