The “Hamptons of Maine” and the Great Fire of 1947 that burned it to the ground

Mount Desert Island’s Gilded Age Cottage Kingdom

Mount Desert Island in Maine shows what happens when America’s richest families decide to build summer playgrounds.

Starting in the 1880s, the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, and Astors turned this remote island into a cottage kingdom that rivaled Newport.

They built massive “cottages” with over 100 rooms, complete with turrets and manicured gardens.

The party lasted until 1947 when a massive fire destroyed 67 estates in one week, ending the Gilded Age dream forever.

Today’s Acadia National Park preserves the remnants of this lost world of extreme wealth.

Famous Artists Put Mount Desert Island on America’s Tourist Map

Thomas Cole and Frederic Church painted Mount Desert Island’s rocky shores and wild landscapes in the 1840s. Their artwork hung in fancy East Coast galleries where rich folks first saw Maine’s natural beauty.

Wealthy art lovers wanted to see these views themselves, so they headed north.

These early visitors, called “rusticators,” stayed with local fishermen and farmers who charged small fees for basic rooms.

Back then, the island was still a quiet fishing village named Eden without any fancy hotels or tourist spots.

Hotels Popped Up All Over the Island as Visitors Flooded In

Tourism took off in the 1870s as locals realized they could make money from summer guests. Fishermen’s huts and villagers’ homes filled with vacationers looking for fresh air and pretty views.

By 1880, thirty hotels competed for tourist dollars as the island switched from fishing to hosting wealthy visitors.

Daniel Rodick built the biggest in 1882 – the huge Rodick House with 600 guest rooms and space to feed 1,000 people at once.

Its busy lobby got the nickname “Fish Pond” because young women hung around hoping to “catch” rich husbands.

America’s Richest Families Decided Hotels Weren’t Good Enough

The 1880s brought super-rich industrial barons flush with Gilded Age cash to Mount Desert Island.

The Rockefellers, Morgans, Fords, Vanderbilts, Carnegies, and Astors wanted their own private spaces away from regular tourists.

They started buying land and building huge “cottages” that were actually mansions. Bar Harbor quickly changed from a small village to a playground for the ultra-wealthy.

These fancy summer homes got creative names like “Bogue Chitto,” “Bournemouth,” “Chatwold,” and “Thirlstane.

The "Cottages" Were Actually Massive Palaces

Between 1890 and 1910, Bar Harbor saw a building boom that created amazing summer homes. The biggest estates had up to 110 rooms with 30 rooms just for servants.

These weren’t simple beach houses but sprawling compounds with towers, grand porches, balconies, gatehouses, stables, and greenhouses.

Garden experts designed perfect grounds around the mansions. Even the more nature-focused villages like Northeast Harbor and Seal Harbor got huge homes built among the trees.

The Rockefellers Built Their Own Personal Kingdom

John D. Rockefeller Jr. and his wife Abby bought a 65-room Tudor mansion called “The Eyrie” in Seal Harbor in 1910.

Finding it too small, they hired architect Duncan Candler to expand it to 100 rooms, making it one of the island’s grandest homes.

Rockefeller also started building 50 miles of carriage roads across the island, hoping to keep cars away from his paradise.

The family wanted to enjoy luxury while also protecting the natural beauty around them.

Gardens Fit for Royalty Took Shape on Rocky Shores

Landscape expert Beatrix Farrand worked with Abby Rockefeller in the late 1920s to create amazing gardens at The Eyrie.

Their Asian-inspired design featured a Spirit Path lined with ancient Korean stone warriors and a special “moon gate” framing a Chinese Buddha statue.

Farrand mixed Eastern elements with English-style flower borders.

Creating these gardens meant cutting down trees, removing tons of granite, and bringing in topsoil to transform the rugged Maine coastline into perfect grounds.

Summer Social Life Reached Peak Extravagance

The 1920s and 30s saw Bar Harbor’s social scene hit its high point with endless parties, balls, concerts, luncheons, and tea gatherings.

Rich families spent their days boating, playing tennis, riding in carriages, racing horses, and golfing while following strict social rules about who could attend which events.

A small army of servants, drivers, cooks, and gardeners kept these lavish lifestyles running smoothly.

The island got so fancy that European royalty and famous celebrities came to join the American millionaires during summer.

Money Problems Started to Threaten the Summer Paradise

The 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression hit many wealthy families hard, making it tough to keep up their massive summer homes.

New federal income taxes took big chunks out of fortunes that once seemed endless.

World War II created more problems as resources became scarce and showing off extreme wealth fell out of style.

Many cottage owners started selling their properties or cutting back on staff and upkeep. The cracks in this perfect summer world grew wider each year.

A Small Fire Started That Would Change Everything

Mrs. Gilbert called the Bar Harbor fire department on October 17, 1947, about smoke coming from a cranberry bog near Dolliver’s Dump.

After an unusually dry summer, the ground was like kindling. The small fire smoldered underground for four days, seemingly under control.

Then on October 21, strong winds pushed the flames toward Bar Harbor at frightening speed, traveling six miles in less than three hours.

Fire crews tried to stop it, but the winds kept changing direction, making the fast-moving fire almost impossible to fight.

Millionaire’s Row Vanished in a Single Night

Gale-force winds drove the fire straight down Route 3’s “Millionaire’s Row” on October 23, burning 67 palatial summer estates to the ground in just hours.

The blaze also destroyed 170 year-round homes, five historic hotels, and over 10,000 acres of Acadia National Park.

Desperate residents first gathered at athletic fields, then fled to the town pier where brave lobstermen took 400 people to safety by boat.

By 9 PM, bulldozers cleared a path through burning debris, allowing 700 cars carrying 2,000 people to escape to Ellsworth.

The Summer Palace Era Ended in Smoke and Ashes

Firefighters finally got the blaze under control on October 27 after it burned 17,000 acres and effectively ended the cottage era forever.

Most wealthy summer residents never rebuilt their destroyed mansions, choosing to move to other exclusive vacation spots instead.

The once-grand “Millionaire’s Row” got filled with motels, gift shops, and middle-class accommodations as Bar Harbor changed from an elite retreat to a regular tourist town.

The fire marked the final end of America’s Gilded Age summer palace era that had defined Mount Desert Island for almost 70 years.

Visiting Acadia National Park

You’ll need a $35 seven-day park pass to explore Acadia National Park and discover Mount Desert Island’s Gilded Age history.

Walk or bike the 45-mile carriage road system that John D. Rockefeller Jr. built throughout the park.

Visit Bar Harbor Historical Society at La Rochelle mansion on 91 West Street for Gilded Age exhibits and Great Fire of 1947 artifacts.

The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Garden requires reservations and costs $15 per person from mid-July through early September.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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