In partnership with the Maine Memory Network Maine Memory Network

Mount Desert Island Historical Society Facts

Mission:
Through its year-round entertaining and informative programs, exhibits, activities for children and publications, the Historical Society raises awareness of the importance of preserving this island's past for the education and enjoyment of future generations as well as offering programs, exhibits, collecting and preserving photographs, documents and artifacts and maintaining the Heirloom Garden.

Collections:
Artifacts: Ship building tools, accessories from early kitchens, children's toys, historic clothing, examples of traditional needlecrafts, fine china and furnishings.

Archives: Newsclippings, letter, deeds, diaries, business records.

Genealogy: Information on families from all over the island. We specialize in the Somes and Richardson families as well as other early Somesville settlers.

Photographs: Daguerreotypes and ambrotypes of MDI residents during the mid-nineteenth century. Historic views of Somesville and other parts of the island. Special collections include the Charles Butt collection of W. H. Ballard's photographs of yachts and working boats from the 1930s through the 1960s. The LaRue Spiker Collection contains the photographs and notes of a well-known journalist on Mount Desert Island from the 1950s through the 1980s. She captured people at work and at play and also used her photographs to draw attention to threats to the island's environment.

Activities: