Bass Harbor
Encyclopedia
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
in Hancock County
Hancock County, Maine
Hancock County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maine. As of 2010, the population was 54,418. Its county seat is Ellsworth. It was incorporated on June 25, 1789...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is within the town of Tremont
Tremont, Maine
Tremont is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. It is located on the southwestern side of Mount Desert Island, known to locals as "the quietside."...
on Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island , in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it is actually second...
, and near Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park is a National Park located in the U.S. state of Maine. It reserves much of Mount Desert Island, and associated smaller islands, off the Atlantic coast...
. With its well-protected natural harbor, it ranks as one of the most lucrative lobster
Lobster fishing
Lobster fishing, sometimes called lobstering, is the commercial or recreational harvesting of marine lobsters, spiny lobsters or crayfish.-Lobster tools and technology:...
producing ports in the state. Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse lies at the mouth of the harbor. The village is terminal for both the Swans Island ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
and Frenchboro
Frenchboro, Maine
Frenchboro is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States, and a village within this town located on Long Island in Blue Hill Bay. The population was 38 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
ferry.
Bass Harbor was once known as McKinley. In the early 1900s, when a post office was built in the village, federal officials asked what the post office should be named. Someone remarked, "Name it after the president
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
for all we care." The post office was named McKinley, and the village was known as McKinley until 1961 when residents petitioned to change the name back to Bass Harbor.
It is located at 44°14′24"N 68°20′38"W (44.2400807, -68.3439060).