Marker Logo
THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Bar Harbor in Hancock County, Maine — The American Northeast (New England)
 

The Abbe Museum & Congregational Church
⎯⎯⎯
Le Musée Abbe et L'Élise Congrégationaliste

Bar Harbor, Maine

The Museum in the Streets

 
 
The Abbe Museum & Congregational Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 10, 2017
1. The Abbe Museum & Congregational Church Marker
Inscription.  
The original Abbe Museum, which still exists at Sieur de Monts Spring, was founded by Dr. Robert Abbe, a surgeon from New York and a Bar Harbor summer resident, who assembled a collection of early Native American artifacts found in the Frenchman Bay area. Built in 1893 as a real estate and law office, this structure was purchased by the YMCA in the early 20th century. The YMCA added a gymnasium and pool. In 2001, the building opened as the Abbe Museum’s second location and offers changing exhibitions and an exciting programming schedule for all ages.

The Congregational Church across the street (dedicated in 1951) stands on the site of the first schoolhouse in Bar Harbor. The schoolhouse was moved to make way for a first church known as The Union Church, which was replaced by a lovely granite church in 1881 and sadly destroyed by fire in 1942.

On doit le premier Musée Abbe qui existe toujours à Sieur de Monts Spring, au Docteur Robert Abbe, chirurgien new yorkais réputé, qui y rassemble une collection d'objets amérindiens trouvés dans la région de la Baie des Français. Ce bâtiment, construit en 1893 pour y loger une agence immobilière et un cabinet d'avocats, est acheté par la YMCA au début du 20 siècle. La YMCA y ajoute un gymnase et une piscine. En 2001, le second Musée Abbe s'y installe et présente des expositions temporaires et un programme d'activités fascinantes pour tous les âges.
De l'autre côté de la rue, l'église Congrégationaliste, consacrée en 1951, se trouve sur le site de la première école de Bar Harbor. L'école est d'abord déplacée pour y mettre une église, Union Church, qui en 1881 est remplacée par une charmante église de granit, hélas détruite par le feu en 1942.
 
Erected 2013
Paid Advertisement
Click or scan to see
this page online
by Museum in the Streets. (Marker Number 14.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Indigenous Peoples and CommunitiesReligion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the The Museum in the Streets: Bar Harbor, Maine series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1893.
 
Location. 44° 23.225′ N, 68° 12.372′ W. Marker is in Bar Harbor, Maine, in Hancock County. It is at the intersection of Mount Desert Street (Maine Route 3) and School Street, on the right when traveling east on Mount Desert Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 26 Mt Desert St, Bar Harbor ME 04609, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on Mount Desert Island and in Downeast Maine. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Great North Woods, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Viceroyalty of New France and also Acadia.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are
The Abbe Museum & Congregational Church Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 10, 2017
2. The Abbe Museum & Congregational Church Marker
within walking distance of this marker: The Village Burying Ground (within shouting distance of this marker); Civil War Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Saviour's Episcopal Parish Welcomes You (within shouting distance of this marker); The YWCA and Jesup Memorial Library / La YWCA et la bibliothèque Jesup (within shouting distance of this marker); Village Green (within shouting distance of this marker); Veterans Memorial (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Donald A. Wood Band Stand (about 400 feet away); The Bar Harbor Fire Department / Les Pompiers de Bar Harbor (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bar Harbor.
 
More about this marker. A photograph on the left side of the marker contains the caption “Wabanaki encampments were a common place for rusticator (city dwellers who escaped to Maine for a more rustic lifestyle) recreation – canoeing, performances, storytelling – in the 1800s and early 1900s in Bar Harbor. This scene depicts tents behind Ells’ Store in the Bar Harbor Indian encampment when it was situated along Eddy Brook between the shore and Eden Street,
Marker in Bar Harbor image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 10, 2017
3. Marker in Bar Harbor
The Abbe Museum can be seen behind the marker.
1887-89.”
Above this is a Photograph of a Wabanaki and includes a caption of “Every visitor to Bar Harbor knows ‘Big Thunder’ the ancient Indian, who for years had canoed the children of summer visitors, and the parents oft-times themselves when they were children, about the points of interest in the bay. (BHR Centennial Souvenir Edition, July 1896.)”
 
The Abbe Museum image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 10, 2017
4. The Abbe Museum
Bar Harbor Congregational Church image. Click for full size.
Photographed by Bill Coughlin, July 10, 2017
5. Bar Harbor Congregational Church
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 8, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 21, 2017, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. This page has been viewed 507 times since then and 21 times this year. Last updated on November 5, 2024, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on July 21, 2017, by Bill Coughlin of Woodland Park, New Jersey. • Devry Becker Jones was the editor who published this page.
 
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Transcription of the French text. • Can you help?
m=260208

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisement
Jul. 6, 2026