Bar Harbor Historical Society

"The exhibition at the Jesup Memorial Library honoring the memory of the late George B. Dorr is creating great interest among all the residents of Bar Harbor and vicinity," reported the August, 1945, edition of The Bar Harbor Times. The exhibit included early newspapers, photographs, maps, and other objects that chronicled local history.

In response to the exhibit’s overwhelming success, and to preserve the variety of objects loaned for display, Bar Harbor Historical Society was founded the following year. The historical society eventually outgrew its home in the basement of Jesup Memorial Library and, in 1997, purchased the former Saint Edwards Convent on Ledgelawn Avenue to serve as its headquarters and exhibition space.

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In 2019, Bar Harbor Historical Society purchased La Rochelle, a 13,000-square-foot summer cottage on West Street, to serve as the society’s headquarters. Later that year the exhibits, collections, and archives were moved from the former Saint Edwards convent to their new home.

The name Moneskatik, meaning "in the place where the clams are dug," was used by Wabanaki peoples since time immemorial to describe their relationship to the waterfront land where La Rochelle was built.

La Rochelle was built in 1902-1903 for New York banker George S. Bowdoin and his wife, Julia: the photo shows the building in 1902. The Bowdoins, like other upper class Americans, were anxious to leave the city in the summer months and retire to the coast of Maine for a more relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere. One local newspaper boasted that upon completion the grand summer residence would certainly be “one of the places to take visitors to see."

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La Rochelle remained in private hands until 1972, when it became the headquarters of the Maine Seacoast Mission. Now the home of Bar Harbor Historical Society, the venerable summer cottage with its waterfront grounds continues to be a source of community pride and, as was suggested in 1902, a "place to take visitors to see."

The building, itself an exhibition of "cottage" life during the town's Golden Age, houses two floors of public displays covering all aspects of the life and times of Bar Harbor and the Mount Desert Island community. The waterfront grounds are also used for programs, exhibitions, and other public events.

(Image: Sue Anne Hodges)