Somesville, Maine is the predominant village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

of the town of Mount Desert, Maine. It is located on the north end of Somes Sound on Mount Desert Island ("Acadia magic.com,"). The village was established by Abraham Somes who was the first settler on the island (Hartford). It attracted many people because of its mills and quarries (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001). Somesville is unique because of its history, industry, and geology. The history, industry, and geology of Somesville make it a desirable place for people to live. Its history makes it an interesting place to live. Its industry makes it an easy place to find a job and its geology gives it a unique feature. Somesville is a small village in Mount Desert, but it is prosperous and incomparable to the other villages on the island.

History

The unique history of Somesville dates back to Native Americans. The first Native Americans to visit the island were not permanent residents but they visited the island as far back as 4000 B.C. ("Mount desert island,"). After the Native Americans, the first families that settled on the island were Abraham and Hannah Somes as well as James and Rachel Richardson in the year of 1761 (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001). Somes was requested by the Massachusetts governor, Francis Bernard, to settle there and establish mills (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001). They named their village Somesville and the inlet it was on, Somes Sound, after Abraham and his family (Hartford). Somesville’s history still attracts many new inhabitants today.

Industry

Another important aspect of Somesville is its industry. After enough settlers traveled to the island the industry became prosperous. One could find a job in logging, fishing, shipbuilding, coastal trading, or quarry working (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001). The island contained many job opportunities with several logging mills, a shoe factory, and a woolen mill (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001). These industries made the Somes family the wealthiest on the island by 1840 along with the Whiting family, who also owned many warehouses and businesses (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001). The lumber, grist, and wool mills of Somesville were supported by multiple dams (Painter, 2006). The granite quarries were also a very large part of the industry. In 1886 the annual shipment of cut stone was estimated to be over 3,500 tons (Varney, 1886). The booming industry quickly attracted settlers and by 1950 the population tripled (Shettleworth, & Vandenbergh, 2001).

Geology

Another unique trait of Somesville is its geology. Mount Desert Island was formed 500 million years ago by a glacier ("The story of," ). This is how the mountainous landscape can into being ("The geology of," 2008). The mile-thick glacier moved a few yards each year and eventually reached the Mount Desert Range ("The story of," ). During the last glacial event Somes Sound was carved out of the island giving it a curved “U” shape ("The story of," ). Today, many types of rock are on the island including volcanic types, suggesting early volcanic activity ("Geology fieldnotes,").

Resources

Mount desert island heritage. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://mountdesertisland.net/heritage.html

Hartford, G.A. (n.d.). Somesville, Maine. Retrieved from http://www.barharbormagic.com/somesville-maine.html

Acadia magic.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.acadiamagic.com/somesville-maine.htm

Shettleworth, EJ, & Vandenbergh, LB. (2001). Images of America mount desert island somesville, southwest harbor, and northeast harbor. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing.

Varney, GJ. (1886). History of mount desert, Maine. A Gazeteer of the State of Maine, Retrieved from http://history.rays-place.com/me/mount-desert-me.htm

Painter, K. (2006). gulf of Maine coastal program partners to restore alewives, American eel and sea lamprey in somesville on mount desert island. Fish and Wildlife Journal, Retrieved from http://www.fws.gov/arsnew/regmap.cfm?arskey=20268

The story of glaciers. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nps.gov/acad/upload/ec_glaciers.pdf

The geology of mount desert island. (2008, January 8). Retrieved from http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/bedrock/acadia/glacial.htm

Geology fieldnotes. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/parks/acad/index.cfm