Maine's Acadia All American Road on Mount Desert Island boasts a history that spans thousands of years. From the Wabanaki Indians, who lived on the island thousands of years ago, to French explorers, to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the region's history tells part of the story of our nation's birth. Whether you're riding an antique carriage through Acadia National Park or touring a museum, history is never far away.
Archaeological evidence shows signs of Wabanaki Indian cultures dating back to 6,000 years ago. Visit downtown Bar Harbor's Abbe Museum to experience their society through pottery exhibitions, workshops, field schools, and craft activities for kids. The museum consists of two locations, one in downtown Bar Harbor and one within Acadia National Park.
In 1604, sixteen years before the Pilgrims' landing in Plymouth, Massachusetts, legendary explorer Samuel de Champlain led a band of hardened explorers through the region. 1613 saw the arrival of French Jesuits and the foundation of an immediately successful mission before its complete destruction just a month later by a British warship. Mount Desert Island remained unsettled for over 150 years before the settlement of Somesville, encouraged by an influx of Hudson River School painters' depictions of stunning locales. Visit the Acadia National Park's Hulls Cove Visitor Center for information on more relics and details on the region's history.
Why just look at history, though, when you can ride on it? Acadia National Park features around fifty miles of classic "broken stone" roads, punctuated by 17 unique stone bridges. Funded and imagined by John D. Rockefeller Jr., these turn-of-the-century style roads were built between 1913 and 1940. On the carriage roads, you'll wind your way through sections of the park inaccessible to motor vehicles. If a guided carriage ride sounds too passive, tackle the roads on a bike or on foot amid the National Park's boreal conifer ecosystem, and oak and maple woodlands.
No matter how you tour the byway, you'll come across evidence along the way of an epic 1947 fire. The diverse deciduous forests just off the road replaced the unvarying, pre-fire evergreen forests and testify to fire's cleansing effect on the area's ecology. The Fire of 1947 was, however, a tragedy for local residents. 170 permanent homes, 67 summer estates (including mansions on the famous "Millionaire's Road"), and five hotels in Bar Harbor were lost in the 17,000-acre fire. Damages totaled around $23 million dollars, a staggering amount at that time. Keep an eye out for charred logs among the healthy ecosystem. Once evening comes, you can opt to stay in an historic bed-and-breakfast converted from one of the surviving cottages.
Acadia All American Road provides a path through generations of Maine history. Whether you take a few historic side-trips or focus your trip on days gone by, you'll travel through the region's stunning scenery and gain insights into early human settlement, European exploration, and post-fire ecosystem changes.
