Mount Desert Island Historical Society

Description

This photo postcard looks north on Northeast Harbor's principal thoroughfare. Northeast Harbor is one of many villages dotting the perimeter of Mount Desert Island.

By the late nineteenth century, privileged families from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia discovered the unspoiled beauty of the area and began building summer "cottages" near the village. This view, actually looking north, not west as the image is labeled, shows a thriving Main Street near the end of the horse and carriage era.

Main street remained unpaved until the 1920s, when concrete sidewalks were also introduced. Town residents prohibited automobiles on their roads until the Maine legislature enacted emergency legislation overriding the townspeople in August, 1914.

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