Bailey Island is an island in Casco Bay

Casco Bay

Casco Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Maine on the southern coast of Maine, New England, United States. Its easternmost approach is Cape Small and its westernmost approach is Two Lights in Cape Elizabeth...

, and a part of the town of Harpswell

Harpswell, Maine

Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, which is geographically within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,239 at the 2000 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell Neck, as well as several large and small...

, Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the island had a year-round population of 400.

History

Bailey Island originally bore the name Newaggin, given to it by the local Abenaki Native Americans

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

, and was first populated by European settlers in the 17th century.

The first settler of the island was William Black, or Black Will, a freed slave from Kittery, Maine, took possession of the island in 1727 after spending many years of his life there. Because of this, the island became known as Will's Island.

The story goes that in 1742, Reverend Timothy Bailey may have bought Will's Island for one pound of tobacco and a gallon of rum from William Black. In another variation of the story, the minister's wife liked the island and so the Baileys bribed municipal officials to find a flaw in Will's title to the island and award it to them. In any event, after Timothy Bailey and his wife took possession of the island, William Black left to live on Orr's Island

Orr's Island (Maine)

Orr's Island is an island in Casco Bay and the Gulf of Maine, part of the Atlantic Ocean. The island is within the town of Harpswell, Maine, U...

. From then on, the island was known as Bailey Island.

Bridge

The Bailey Island Bridge

Bailey Island Bridge

The Bailey Island Bridge is a historic bridge in the town of Harpswell within Cumberland County in the state of Maine.-History:...

, which spans Will's Gut and connects Bailey Island to Orr's Island, was completed in 1928. Will's Gut is the only geographical feature that still bears the name of the original non-native inhabitant of the Island.

It is the only cribstone bridge in the world. A popular rumor held that there was another cribstone bridge in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, that was later destroyed. But in fact, no records of such a bridge have ever been found. The unique cribstone design of the bridge permits the substantial tides of that area to flow freely through it, greatly reducing the effect that flow would otherwise have on boats transiting its narrow channel opening.

Notable residents

Three prominent female psychoanalysts, Esther Harding

Mary Esther Harding

Mary Esther Harding was an American Jungian analyst who was the first significant Jungian psychoanalyst in the United States.-Personal life:...

, Eleanor Bertine, and Kristine Mann

Kristine Mann

Kristine Mann writings at the University of Chicago. Mann was a follower of Henry James Sr., whose anti-ecclesiastical approach had brought him into conflict with the New Church in Chicago, resulting in the family moving to Orange...

, were followers of Carl Jung

Carl Jung

Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...

 and long-time summer residents of Bailey Island. Kristine Mann, known in Jung's work as ″Miss X”, was one of Jung's subjects. Jung is also known to have visited Bailey Island and to have lectured at the Bailey Island Library Hall

Bailey Island Library Hall

Bailey Island Library Hall or, simply, Library Hall, is a historical building on Bailey Island in Harpswell, Maine. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 31, 2008....

.

Frank Aydelotte

Frank Aydelotte

Frank Aydelotte was a U.S. educator. His full name was Franklin Ridgeway Aydelotte. He is known for redefining Swarthmore College as an institution while he was president between 1921 and 1940 and was also the director of the Institute for Advanced Study from 1939 until 1947.Aydelotte was born in...

, president of Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college in the United States with an enrollment of about 1,500 students. The college is located in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia....

, summered at Bailey Island where he became acquainted with Holbrook Mann MacNeille

Holbrook Mann MacNeille

Holbrook Mann MacNeille was an American mathematician who worked for the United States Atomic Energy Commission before becoming the first Executive Director of the American Mathematical Society.-Personal life:...

 and Stephan Mann MacNeille in the 1920s. With Aydelotte's encouragement both attended Swarthmore and later went on to lead distinguished careers in physics and mathematics.

Another prominent summer resident was the Civil War era composer George Frederick Root who passed away while summering on the island August 6th 1895.

Landmarks

• Bailey Island Bridge
  Bailey Island Bridge
  The Bailey Island Bridge is a historic bridge in the town of Harpswell within Cumberland County in the state of Maine.-History:...
  
  
• Mackerel Cove, one of the most photographed places in Maine.
• Lands End, a famous rocky beach at the end of the island.
• The Giant Stairs (also known as "The Giant's Steps"), a rock formation on the edge of the island resembling a large flight of stairs.
• “The Nubble,″ an often-photographed bait shack where all of the local lobsterman lobstermen leave their buoys.

External links

• Photograph of the Bailey Island ferry, ca. 1910, from the Maine Memory Network