La Rochelle

West Street in downtown Bar Harbor has most of the remaining large cottages and none are occupied year round these days. La Rochelle caught my eye my first day in town and I pass it frequently. It is a Georgian Revival mansion built in 1903 and is the largest estate built along the shore of West Street in Bar Harbor. The architect was Andrews, Jaques and Rantoul of Boston and the estate was built for George Sullivan Bowdoin. There was no brick factory in the vicinity, so this home was only the second one to be built of brick on Mount Desert Island. The forty-one room, 13,000 square foot lavish chateaux has twelve bedrooms and nine full bathrooms on two acres of land. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Here's an old photo of it:

Mr. Bowdoin was a partner and Treasurer of J.P. Morgan and his father had been a partner in the firm years before. His great grandfather founded Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine in 1794. He was the great grandson of Alexander Hamilton and the 4x great grandson of Huguenot Pierre Baudouin who arrived in the province of Maine in 1686 before moving to Boston. Other prominent ancestors include John Winthrop, Thomas Dudley, Moses Grinnell and Pierre Schuyler.

Before arriving in America, the Baudouin's lived in La Rochelle, a seaport in Nouvelle, Aquitaine, France (hence the name of the estate, La Rochelle and New Rochelle in New York). The translation of "La Rochelle" means "little rocks". The Baudouin's fled their country to find relief from religious persecution (the Huguenots were French Protestants).

Beatrix Farrand designed and planted the original gardens at La Rochelle which can still be viewed to this day. She was one of America's most celebrated landscape architects renowned for private gardens, many of which were located in Maine, as well as consulting work for some of the country's most prestigious universities and colleges.

In the early 1940's native son and speculator Bun Cough purchased La Rochelle and the caretaker's cottage across the street where he, his wife Helen and their four children resided until shortly after the Fire of '47.

In 1944 Tristram Colket of Philadelphia and his wife Ethel Dorrance Colket, daughter of John Thompson Dorrance, a chemist who invented condensed soup and eventually became president of the Campbell Soup Company, acquired La Rochelle from Mr. Cough. Tristram, Jr. and Ruth Colket gave the property to the Maine Seacoast Mission in 1972 and it served as their headquarters for the next forty-seven years. In 2019 the Bar Harbor Historical Society purchased the estate in order to preserve the building and grounds for future generations and to display their wonderful collection of local artifacts for public viewing.

This article has some interior shops of it...enjoy! ;)

https://mainehomes.com/larochelle/

With this entry, my Maine blog comes to a close. I came here to train to be a sea kayak guide and had to change my plans half way through when I realized how rigorous and even dangerous it could be, especially with my newly "installed" left knee implant. So now I head back south, about 1650 miles, to new adventures. Thanks for following along! Two parting shots from Bar Harbor... an aerial view and the Happy Clam Shack...

Acadia National Park tour

I didn't want to spring for a $50 National Parks pass, so I used my Bar Harbor employee card to take another free tour. Not feeling guilty since I didn't get paid for the week of training I completed before leaving the class. ;)

The 2 1/2 tour left from the harbor area at 10am with 19 passengers and a great local guide named Heather. She has worked for Fords and Rockefellers here over the years in various capacities and had some interesting insights.

Our first stop was Cadillac Mountain, named for a rather unscrupulous middle class Frenchman who gave himself a title and surname. In 1918, the name of Green Mountain was changed to honor the French explorer Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac. He adopted the “sieur de Cadillac” title upon arrival in North America where he received land including the island of Mount Desert. 

 He was also the inspiration for the name of one of the oldest automobile brands in the world, Cadillac, as well as city of Cadillac, Michigan. Cadillac Mtn is 1530 feet high. It is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard and the first place to view sunrise in the United States from October 7 through March 6. It is one of over 20 mountains on Mount Desert Island that were pushed up by earth's tectonic and volcanic forces millions of years ago.

The views were amazing, and I could see the Porcupine Islands below,that I had been paddling around for a week! Looks like a postcard!

Our next stop was a cold water spring,  Sieur de Monts. The spring got its name from Pierre Du Gua de Monts, an early 1600's Lieutenant Governor of New France who was commissioned by King Henry IV in 1603. The King directed Sieur de Monts “to establish the name, power, and authority of the King of France; to summon the natives to a knowledge of the Christian religion; to people, cultivate, and settle the said lands; to make explorations and especially to seek out mines of precious metals.” At that time, Lieutenant Governor Sieur de Monts had authority over all of North America between the 40th and 46th parallels (from Montreal to present day Philadelphia). 

As the first superintendent of Acadia, George B. Dorr built the Spring House over the spring in 1909 and carved “The Sweet Waters of Acadia” on a nearby rock. Today, this location has come to symbolize the enthusiasm and contributions of Dorr and other early twentieth century citizens in the creation and preservation of Acadia National Park.

From there, we went to Thunder Hole.When the right size wave rolls into the naturally formed inlet, a deep thunderous sound emanates. The cause is a small cavern formed low, just beneath the surface of the water. When the wave pulls back just before lunging forward, it dips the water just below the ceiling of the cavern allowing air to enter. When the wave arrives full force, it collides with the air, forcing it out, resulting in a sound like distant thunder. Water may splash into the air as high as 40 feet with a roar!

It was close to high tide, but without the huge swells that create the best sound and splashes. There were still some good splashes!

These wild rose bushes are all along the cliffs at Thunder Hole.

        This is a photo I grabbed off the internet to show the BIG crashing waves at Thunder Hole!

The last stop was Jordan Pond. It is a glacier formed tarn with a maximum water depth of 150 feet. There are steep inclines on the left and right sides. The water is exceptionally clear with an average visibility depth of 45+ feet, but this has been measured as high as 60 feet, the most ever recorded in the State of Maine. Swimming is not allowed, but canoes and kayaks are permitted.

 

Nearby is Jordan Pond House, the only full service restaurant in Acadia. The Jordan Pond House traces its history from 1847. The first settlers conducted a logging operation, establishing a small mill near the foot of the pond. The original farm house was built by the Jordan family of Seal Harbor, for whom the pond and house were named.

Toward the end of the 19th century, the location became a popular recreational area for summer vacationers. As a result, the Jordan Pond House was turned into a small restaurant. ‘The first popovers and tea were served here by Mr. and Mrs. ‘Thomas and Nellie McIntire around 1895. They were responsible for the character and atmosphere of the original Jordan Pond House, with its birch bark dining rooms and massive field stone fireplaces.

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased the property in 1928, and donated it to the National Park Service in 1940, but the McIntires continued to operate the restaurant until their retirement in 1945– after 50 continuous seasons of operation. In 1946, Rockefeller began a company to run the Jordan Pond House restaurant and ensure that the tradition of luncheon, tea and popovers would continue.

 

In 1979, a fire destroyed the original building. The current building was constructed through the fundraising efforts of the local, non-profit Island Foundation.

Another feature we saw in the park is the carriage roads. Forty-five miles of rustic carriage roads, the gift of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and family, weave around the mountains and valleys of Acadia National Park. Rockefeller, a skilled horseman, wanted to travel on motor-free byways via horse and carriage into the heart of Mount Desert Island. His construction efforts from 1913 to 1940 resulted in roads with sweeping vistas and close-up views of the landscape.

The roads were built to preserve the line of hillsides and save trees, align with the contours of the lands, and take advantage of scenic views. Approximately 16 feet wide, the carriage roads are an example of broken-stone roads commonly used at the turn of the 20th century. Gate lodges act as impressive welcomes to the carriage road system, stone-faced bridges span streams, waterfalls, motor roads, and cliff sides. Granite coping stones used as guardrails line the roads, affectionately called "Rockefeller's teeth."

Today, carriage roads have multiple-uses as they did in the past. Pedestrians, cyclists, and horse-drawn carriages enjoy the beauty, access, and safety of these auto-free roads across the park

         When the tour ended, we headed back to downtown Bar Harbor. Another great day...