Maine Memory Network

Russell House and cottages, Christmas Cove, ca. 1936

Contributed by: South Bristol Historical Society Date: circa 1936 Location: South Bristol Media: Photographic print

The Thompson Inn in South Bristol Village ca. 1924

Contributed by: South Bristol Historical Society Date: circa 1924 Location: South Bristol Media: Postcard

Summer Folk: The Postcard View

Vacationers, "rusticators," or tourists began flooding into Maine in the last quarter of the 19th century. Many arrived by train or steamer. Eventually, automobiles expanded and changed the tourist trade, and some vacationers bought their own "cottages."

A Town Is Born: South Bristol, 1915

After being part of the town of Bristol for nearly 150 years, residents of South Bristol determined that their interests would be better served by becoming a separate town and they broke away from the large community of Bristol.

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Rustication

"Soon other hotels followed in Northeast Harbor. Squire Kimball, who owned its only store, began taking boarders at his expanded farmhouse."

Mount Desert Island: Shaped by Nature - Harbor Cottage, The Old Ell (“Mame’s House”), and the Big Barn

"… on Mount Desert Island, began taking in summer boarders at Harbor Cottage. From here on until the mid 1960s, the Savage family and neighborhood of…"