Robinson, Henry

The former homestead of Mr. Henry Robinson is on the east side of Acadia Mountain. "Mr. Robinson owned 40 acres of land fronting on Somes Sound, built a house and lived there for many years. The house was burned. In his later years he became obsessed with the idea that Capt. Kidd, the pirate, had hidden great treasure on his land and he spent much time in digging for it and excavated a great cave in the mountain, but found no treasure" (Mrs. Seth S. Thornton,Traditions and Records Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine, 1938, p. 127). The road leading to his homestead is the present day Man O War Brook Trail, #130. Benjamin Franklin DaCosta wrote about his visit to the Robinson homestead in his 1871 guide book, Rambles In Mount Desert. DeCosta sailed up Somes Sound to the landing at the Man of War Brook, the same location as the Acadia Mountain Trail overlook spur. He described the area: “The bank is of shelving granite, down which pours a small stream known as Man-Of-War Brook… On one side of the brook was a landing, and a couple of wild, amphibious looking boys were pushing out in a weather-beaten boat with an old black sail… Two little girls, with bare heads and feet, sat on the bank… Their parents lived in a log house up in the valley…we inquired where the (gold-diggers) were at work…a short walk (up the valley)...In the middle of the cleared ground was an excavation large enough for the cellar of a good sized house…a couple of strange looking men were hard at work with long handled spades…these were the money-diggers” ( Benjamin DeCosta, Rambles in Mount Desert,1871 [https://www.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.06016/10]).