Mount Desert: The History and Nature of Somesville
Accommodation in Mount Desert
Somesville offers insights into history and landscape: The historic village center has around 30 buildings, along with a museum, a garden, and natural areas with diverse habitats. Its history spans the island’s early European settlement to visitor services at a wildlife sanctuary. You can get to know Somesville through its architectural history as well as its waters, plants, and wildlife.
Historic Traces in Somesville
Somesville was the site of the island’s first permanent European settlement in 1761. Later, it was home to factories, mills, shops, shipyards, and boarding houses. These different uses point to a community life that cannot be reduced to a single activity: production, trade, shipbuilding, and lodging were among the named sectors. The Somesville Historic District includes about 30 buildings in the heart of the historic village and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. The district draws attention to an architectural ensemble, while the history of settlement and commerce stretches further back.
Individual buildings and memorial sites add to this picture. The Selectmen's Building was constructed in the 1780s and later served as a shoemaker’s shop, post office, museum, and Mount Desert town office. This sequence of uses spans crafts, postal services, and museums to municipal administration. By contrast, the Thaddeus Shepley Somes Memorial Bridge is notable for its construction date, 1981, and its commemorative purpose: It was built in honor of a descendant of Abraham Somes. The comparison shows two different historical points of reference—a building’s changing functions and a specific dedication for the bridge.
Museum, Garden, and Waters
The Somesville Museum offers views of Mill Pond and Somes Harbor. Its grounds also include a Heirloom Garden, which is used to share knowledge about flowering plants and herbs. Two different themes come together on the same grounds: views of named bodies of water and an opportunity to learn about plants. The garden is described not only by its plants, but also by its educational purpose.
Experience and Understand Nature
Trail access to the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary is available at the Somesville fire station and along Oak Hill Road, west of the road’s public access point. The sanctuary’s headquarters, overlooking Somes Pond, offers visitor services; exhibits and information about the Sanctuary’s projects are available there.
The alewife run, also known as the river herring run, is a special natural spectacle. During the run, Somesville’s ponds, streams, and saltwater inlet serve as habitats where this natural event can be observed. The named bodies of water thus include ponds and streams as well as a saltwater inlet.
Another natural highlight is Babson Creek Preserve, a 36-acre nature preserve in Somesville. Its habitats include meadows, a salt marsh, and a small wooded area. This wooded area attracts wildlife year-round. The preserve’s salt marsh is among the largest and most diverse salt marshes on conservation land on Mount Desert Island.
For the broader travel overview: Hancock.
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