Mount Desert Island MaineThe Early History of Bar HarborThe early history of Mount Desert Island Maine and the Bar Harbor area is quite fascinating. The island Acadia resides on—Mount Desert—began its rise out of the ocean over 500 million years ago. Powerful geologic and environmental forces resulted in the formation of volcanic magma that evolved into the bedrock, or pink granite, that comprises most of the island's surface and that the area is known for. You can see some fine examples of this pink granite at Otter Cliffs along the Ocean Drive area of the Park Loop Road. The Ice Age Came Next...
Huge rocks were carried along the way with the glaciers. When the ice melted 13,000 years ago, these boulders were stranded, where they lay. Today, they are known as glacial erratics. One of the best examples of a glacial erratic is Bubble Rock, found on South Bubble, along one of our favorite hiking trails. That particular rock looks like one good push would topple it off the side of South Bubble onto the Park Loop Road below, but it has actually sat in that exact position for thousands of years, without budging an inch! Download the "Written in the Rocks" brochure (PDF) Settlement of AreaFirst Settlers
These Indians called Mount Desert Island Pemetic, or "the sloping land." The Wabanaki lived off the land by hunting, fishing, collecting shellfish, and gathering plants and berries. They lived in conical shelters and traveled in boats, both made of bark. Next, Came the French...
Champlain was the first man to make written observations about the Mount Desert Island Maine and the surrounding area. Seeing the signature rocky peaks of the island, he was responsible for the name given to the island. A journal entry he made said: "The mountain summits are all bare and rocky..... I name it Isles des Monts Desert." A rough translation of the French to English was "Island of Bald Mountains." Champlain's name was later given to one of the main mountains here too. Following Champlain's visit, French Jesuits came here around 1613. They established the first French mission in America on what is now Fernald Point, which is near the entrance to Somes Sound. Unfortunately, their settlement was doomed to failure when an English sea captain sailed into the area, claiming it for England, and burned their fort to the ground. Mount Desert Island, Maine was a rough and wild land. Even though the French controlled Quebec to the north and the English were settling all over Massachusetts territory, no one wished to settle here for the next 150 years. Mount Desert Island's importance during that century and a half was primarily as a landmark for seamen. At one point, it seemed Mount Desert might again be claimed by the French. In 1688, Antoine Laumet, an ambitious young man who had given himself the title Sieur de la Mothe Cadillac, was awarded a hundred thousand acres of land along the Maine coast, including all of Mount Desert. Although he and his bride lived here for a short while, they didn't stay. Cadillac later gained lasting recognition as the founder of Detroit. But he left behind his name on the tallest peak on the island. The English Made It Stick...In 1759, the British defeated the French in the French and Indian War. This opened the Maine coast to English settlement, including Mount Desert Island, Maine.
Somesville was the island's first settelement and lies at the far inland end of Somes Sound. Today, it is the quaint little town with the signature bridge shown to the left. By 1820, farming and lumbering vied with fishing and shipbuilding as major occupations on Mount Desert Island Maine. The island's main products—which came from the plentiful forests—were made into products ranging from schooners and barns to baby cribs and hand tools. Farmers here harvested wheat, rye, corn, and potatoes. By 1850, the familiar sights of fishermen and sailors, fish racks and shipyards, revealed a way of life linked to the sea. This has continued into today, where you still see lobster boats prowling the bay and checking their buoys morning and evening. Discover how Mount Desert became the resort destination of choice for the wealthy... Top of History of Mount Desert Island Maine page 
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Next up in the early history of Mount Desert Island Maine was the Ice Age. During the ice age, 3000-foot thick sheets of ice called glaciers covered all of New England. About 2 to 3 million years ago, the lakes and ponds of Acadia were gouged out as deep troughs by glaciers moving from north to south through the area. 
The original inhabitants of Mount Desert Island Maine were Native Americans from the Wabanaki tribe. Prehistoric shell heaps suggest they spent time here as many as 6,000 years ago. They may not have lived here year round... some think they spent their winters near the ocean for milder weather, while others believe they came for the fine summer weather, just as people do today!
Samuel Champlain "discovered" Mount Desert Island Maine... at least for the Europeans. He sailed into Frenchman Bay in 1604.... 16 years before the English landed on Plymouth Rock in what would become Massachusetts. 
The next year, the governor of Massachusetts attempted to lay claim on the area by offering free land to settlers. Abraham Somes and James Richardson accepted the offer and settled their families at what is now Somesville. 
