Somesville, Maine
Somesville Historic District | |
Greek Revival, Federal | |
NRHP reference No. | 75000092[1] |
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Added to NRHP | January 8, 1975 |
Somesville is the oldest village of the town of Mount Desert on Mount Desert Island in southeastern Maine, United States. It is located on the north end of Somes Sound.[2] The village was established by Abraham Somes who was the first European settler on the island.[3] It attracted many people because of its mills and quarries.[4] The entire village is part of the Somesville Historic District.
History
The history of Somesville dates back to
Industry
An important aspect of Somesville is its industry. After enough settlers traveled to the island the industry became prosperous. One could find a job in logging, fishing, shipbuilding, coastal trading, or quarry working. The island contained many job opportunities with several logging mills, a shoe factory, and a woolen mill. These industries made the Somes family the wealthiest on the island by 1840 along with the Whiting family, who also owned many warehouses and businesses.[4] The lumber, grist, and wool mills of Somesville were supported by multiple dams.[6] The granite quarries were also a very large part of the industry. In 1886 the annual shipment of cut stone was estimated to be over 3,500 tons.[7] The booming industry quickly attracted settlers, and by 1950 the population had tripled.[4]
Geology
The Mount Desert Island we see today was largely formed around 380 million years ago by the collision of the continent and an arc of islands, which created the granites and other
Historic district
In 1975, the central village of Somesville and the harbor area were listed as a
See also
References
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Acadia magic.com
- ^ a b Hartford, G.A. (n.d.) "Somesville, Maine"
- ^ a b c d Shettleworth, E.J., & Vandenbergh, L.B. (2001) Images of America: Mount Desert Island – Somesville, Southwest Harbor, and Northeast Harbor. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.
- ^ "Mount Desert Island Heritage"
- ^ Painter, K. (2006) "Gulf of Maine coastal program partners to restore alewives, American eel and sea lamprey in Somesville on Mount Desert Island", Fish and Wildlife Journal
- ^ Varney, G.J. (1886) "History of Mount Desert, Maine." A Gazetteer of the State of Maine
- ^ "The Geology of Mount Desert Island" (Jan. 8, 2008)
- ^ "The Story of Glaciers"
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Somesville Historic District". National Park Service. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
- Geology fieldnotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/acad/index.cfm