Maine Summer Colonies

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There are a number of Maine summer colonies along the coast that were established in the late 1880's.  Affluent families from Boston, New York, Philadelphia Washington, and as far away as Chicago would escape the heat and pollution of the cities for the clear, cool weather of Maine.

• Bar Harbor (including Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor)
• Biddeford Pool
• Boothbay Harbor
• Camden (including Rockport)
• Cape Elizabeth - Delano Park
• Islesboro - (Dark Harbor)
• Kennebunkport
• North Haven
• Scarborough - Prouts Neck
• Vinalhaven
• Winter Harbor - Grindstone Neck
• York Harbor

Many families started by visiting areas and staying in large, rambling hotels or renting a cottage.  After a few seasons many families would purchase land, hire an architect and builder, and construct their own cottage (see diagram below).

As with many summer colonies, there were a number of large inns and hotels.   In York Harbor the largest was the Marshall House.  Additionally, there was Harmon Hall, The Emerson, Hillcroft Inn and the Hotel Abracca.  Many of these inns had other cottages available to rent.  These inns are no longer standing, but many of the cottages (on their grounds) are still around, and have been sold to other summer residences. 

In collecting information for this project, we heard a number of comparisons between York Harbor and other summer colonies.

Most of the very large cottages in York Harbor were between 5000-7500 square feet.  To our knowledge there were only two cottages - Rock Ledge Cottage, and the Brambles that were 12,000 to 15,000 square feet in size.  These two cottages also had 7.5 and 5 acres of land respectively on the ocean.  By comparison in Bar Harbor at the same time there were a number of cottages that were in excess of 25,000 square feet in size, and had 20 to 30 acres of land.  York Harbor also had a more simpler shingle architectural style compared to the stone and marble cottages of Bar Harbor with soaring turret rivaling the castles of Europe.

York Harbor attracted a very affluent summer cottage owner and many were doctors, lawyers, authors and captains of industry.  Later in this site we profiled some of the owners, and the architects that they engaged to build their cottages.  The owners were not Marshall Field from Chicago - but rather Henry Field - Marshall's brother.  They were not JP Morgan, but Francis L. Stetson, JP Morgan's personal lawyer.

More information on other Summer Colonies in Maine

The Summer Cottages of Islesboro, 1890-1930 Paperback – 1989 by Earle G. Shettleworth

Memories of Grindstone Neck, Winter Harbor, Maine, Grindstone Neck Association, 2004,  127 pages.  Excerpts can be found at:  http://www.winterharboryachtclub.com/grindstone_memories.pdf

Many of the large cottages were built between 1890 and 1910 by wealthy businessman.  When the York Harbor Cottage booklet was published in 1930, a number of the cottages had passed to the 'Second Generation' Owners. For example, Rock Ledge that was owned by Thomas Nelson Page had passed to Henry Chalfant.

To view more information and profiles of some of the First Generation Cottage owners, click HERE.

A common custom was to name your cottage.  Edgecliff, The Ledges, Roaring Rock, Rockledge, Rockmoor, and Stonecroft were some of the names.  Many names were reference to the rocky coast of Maine.  Cottages that were not named were referred to by their owner’s name such as the “Aldis Cottage”.  As would be expected, owners after the 1930's would change the name of their cottage, or more commonly, the original name would be dropped. Today, most of these names are lost, replaced with more modern names, or a simple street number.  Today less than 20% of the cottages are referred to by their ‘given name’ from the 1930’s or earlier which added to the challenge of identify the cottages.

York & York Harbor History & References

• A History of York Harbor and the York Harbor Reading Room, John D. Bardwell author.  Published for Old York Historical Society by Peter E. Randall, 1993. Hardcover, 158 pages.
• 350 Years as York (Maine).  Edited by Virginia Spiller. Published by the town, 2001. Oversized hardcover, 470 pages.
• The Origins of Modern York, S. Thomson Viele author.  Colorful local newspaper articles from 1890 to 1904, wonderful old photographs, and the editor's wry observations show how tourism spurred the development of a sleepy Maine coastal town.
  
• Who’s Who at the leading watering resorts in Maine, 1919, Salem Press
• York Maine Bureau of information – 1896
• Florence Lathrop Page – A Biography, Philip J. Funigiello author, 1994, University of Virginia Press.  Chapter 4 of this book presents a good view of York Harbor in the 1890’s along with a description of their cottage – Rockledge.

Maine Summer Colonies

• The Summer Cottages of Islesboro, 1890-1930 Paperback – 1989 by Earle G. Shettleworth
• Memories of Grindstone Neck, Winter Harbor, Maine, Grindstone Neck Association, 2004, 127 pages.  Excerpts can be found at:  http://www.winterharboryachtclub.com/grindstone_memories.pdf
• Lost Bar Harbor, Paperback – May 30, 2015 by G. W. Helfrich (Author)
• Bar Harbor's Gilded Century: Opulence to Ashes Paperback – June 16, 2009 by Lydia Vandenberg (Author), Earle G. Shettleworth (Author)
• The Shingle Style and the Stick Style: Architectural Theory and Design from Downing to the Origins of Wright; Yale Publications in the History of Art by Vincent Scully Jr.
• Homes Down East; Classic Maine Coastal Cottages and Town Houses, Hardcover – November 26, 2014 by Earle Shettleworth Jr. (Author), Christopher Glass (Author), Scott T. Hanson (Author)

Specific Shingle-Style Architects (Historic)

• The Maine Historic Preservation Commission and Maine Preservation have put together an excellent Biographical Dictionary of Maine Architects in Maine under the direction of  Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr. and Roger G. Reed.  This directory can be access by this link: http://www.maine.gov/mhpc/architects_bio.html
• Maine Cottages: Fred L. Savage and the Architecture of Mount Desert, 1st Edition by John M. Bryan (Author), Richard Cheek (Author, Photographer)
• A Delight to All Who Know It: The Maine Summer Architecture of William R. Emerson by Roger G. Reed   (Author), Richard Cheek (Author), Maine Historic Preservation Commission (Corporate Author)
• John Calvin Stevens, domestic architecture, 1890-1930, Paperback – 1990 by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. (Author)

Other Site Links

Cottages of Mount Desert Island - part of the Mount Desert Island Cultural History Project 

Fires or other forces of nature.   Many old cottages constructed of wood, and located in remote areas have been lost to fire.   The great fire of 1947 destroyed many of the cottages of Bar Harbor.  Once destroyed, they were not rebuilt to their original glory.  York Harbor did not suffer from the Great Fire of 1947 but due to the seasonal use and the remote location, many of these large cottages did burn from individual fires.

Federal Income Tax.  Income tax on individuals is generally cited as the passage of the 16th Amendment, passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913.

Two Great World Wars.  Both WWI and WWII had a significant impact on lifestyles and available resources to support the summer colonies.

Changes in family ownership or ownership structure.   Once a cottage passes to the next generation, there are often issues of joint ownership between siblings.  The resolution is to sell the cottage or to divide the land.  Similarly, large cottages have been divided into condominiums – common in the 1970’s and 1980’s in York Harbor. 

Change of economics and lifestyle.  Without a war chest of family money, it was more difficult to maintain the lifestyle of earlier generations.   Additionally, available time was the real constraint.  Earlier summer rusticators could afford to spend the entire summer in York Harbor, but later generations found that they had a few weeks for a get-away.

The 1970-1980’s were not kind to the classic shingle-style architecture of York Harbor….

• Many ‘suspicious’ fires destroyed a number of cottages
• Cottages were torn down and replaced with more contemporary cottages
• Large cottages were divided and converted to condo ownership
• Cedar shingles were replaced with vinyl and aluminum siding, open porches were ‘filled in’, and pained glass windows were replaced with large picture windows
• The cost of energy was skyrocketing

...and yet about 75% of the classic cottages have survived!