Bar Harbor Live Cam

Alone among the thousands of islands of the Maine coast, Mount Desert Island has been blessed with a unique ecology that truly makes it a garden of plenty. For the early settlers, while the soil was poor the sea was rich, both in food and opportunity. The thin, rocky earth, so frustrating for the farmer, provided perfect conditions for the trees that were transformed into ships. The grace and beauty of these vessels echoed the island that gave them life. The ships and boats of Downeast Maine plied the oceans of the world, transporting the best of America and returning with exotic treasures from distant ports. Seafarers also worked the frigid home waters of Maine, harvesting the wealth of the sea.

In the 1840's the sea brought two fateful visitors who launched Bar Harbor down a new path. The two were the Hudson River Valley School artist, Thomas Cole and Frederic Church, who not only translated the magical light and texture of the ocean onto canvas but also turned their attentions to the majestic mountains of the interior. Their art turned heads in the salons of the wealthy of the east coast, and soon their patrons followed in the painters' footsteps. The hardscrabble fishing village of Eden, not yet incorporated for a century, developed a tradition of welcoming arms for visitors from around the globe.