Welcome to the local history of Mount Desert Island (MDI), which is located in Hancock County.
MDI is made up of four towns: Mount Desert, Bar Harbor (originally called Eden), Tremont, and Southwest Harbor. Each town has numerous small villages within the towns limits.
The first permanent settlement was in 1761. Families were given land in exchange for starting the permanent settlement. By 1790 there were 132 families living on Mount Desert Island.
Learn much more about MDI in the "History of MDI" section of this website.
Partners in gathering information and creating the exhibits in this website include: MDI High School, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor Historical Society, the Jesup Memorial Library, Great Harbor Maritime Museum, Maine Granite Industry Historical Society, Willie Granston and local historians - Alice MacDonald Long, Sheldon Goldthwait,
Ralph Stanley, and Paul Richardson.
