Shore Path Rebuild Needs Your Help
FEMA funds can't be used for reconstruction of iconic walk
BAR HARBOR—In the late 1800s it was called the Tow Path or Lover’s Walk, but whatever you call it, what we know today as the Shore Path has long been a popular destination. Whether you are there to appreciate quality time and oceanside beauty with your beloved, be they human or animal, maybe take some quiet introspection time, or to witness the ferocity of nature’s power during a storm the Shore Path has you covered.
The original Shore Path was established in 1881 and snaked its way along the coast from Steamboat Wharf (landing), which is the approximate location of Ells Pier, to Cromwell Cove where the Kenarden Lodge was later built, in 1892, by John Stewart Kennedy.
The Bar Harbor Village Improvement Association (VIA) was established in the same year as the Shore Path, 1881, and has been the stewards of the Shore Path ever since. The VIA not only maintains the Shore Path, but also helps the town maintain the Veterans’ Memorial and the Village Green and Agamont Park fountains. Additionally, the VIA owns Bald Rock, the How Memorial, Glen Mary Park, and the town clock.
HISTORY OF THE VIA
The VIA has had many notable members over the years, especially in its early days.
According to the VIA’s website,
“Historically, VIA membership read like a Who’s Who in America, a venerable mixture of local and summer residents. Prominent members included the likes of John S. Kennedy, Mrs. Joseph Pulitzer, Mrs. J.P. Morgan, Mrs. George Vanderbilt, Ernesto Fabbri, Dr. Augustus Thorndike, Alfred Dupont, and Dr. Robert Abbe (Ezra Cough, great grandfather of Dick Cough, the sitting president, was also a past member of the BHVIA).
“Waldron Bates, George Dorr, and Beatrix Ferrand were among the most distinguished of our early members. These farsighted individuals were instrumental in designing Bar Harbor’s downtown, parks, and gardens, as well as Kebo Valley Golf Course and the boundaries and trails of Acadia National Park. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these tireless and giving individuals; their vision created the town and park that we know and love today!”
HISTORY OF THE SHORE PATH AND ACCESS
With very few exceptions, the Shore Path runs entirely along privately owned land. This nearly 150-year-old goodwill pact that has allowed public passage over this private land has rarely been contested, but it has on at least two notable occasions.
Kenarden Lodge, what is now still Kenarden but owned by the Colket family, was constructed in 1892 for John Stewart Kennedy who was a wealthy businessman, philanthropist, and one time member of the VIA. Originally, and until 1905, the Shore Path ran to the Kennedy property and walkers of the path frequently cut across the Kenarden grounds to return to town. Kennedy, while monetarily philanthropic, must have grown tired of the intrusion of the public and the flow of people across his property.
An article in the July 15, 1905, edition of the Lewiston Evening Journal (Lewiston Saturday Journal) showcases the fact that Bar Harbor had a new Italian garden that summer. That Italian garden was built on the grounds of Kenarden.
According to the article, “Passing through the Kenarden Lodge grounds, one could pass on to the village streets. Mr. Kennedy has taken umbrage, however, at the public’s possession and privileges and has built the Italian garden, closing passage in that direction.”
That decision of Kennedy’s shortened the Shore Path, but it was made even shorter sometime in the early 1970s when a property owner named William M. Wolff put a fence up to block access across his property. This fence is still represented by the chain link fence that marks the southerly end of the path and forces you to either turn around or head back into town via Wayman Lane.
According to a Bangor Daily News article from August 29, 1973, Wolff was, at the time, the owner of the National Park Motel and New England Restaurant, both of which were at the intersection of Mount Desert Street and Eden Street/Route 3.
Also, according to the same article, on the morning of Sunday, August 26, 1973, Wolff allegedly discovered 21-year-old Scott L. Hadley, who the article says was the grandson of Benjamin Hadley, first superintendent of Acadia National Park, trying to tear down his fence. Wolff shot Hadley in his left thigh and was arrested for the charge of high and aggravated assault. Hadley was summonsed for malicious mischief.
Now, access to the Shore Path seems as though it is being tested again, not by property owners, but by the very thing that makes the Shore Path so beautiful, nature itself.
The storms of January 10 and 13 ravaged the Shore Path in an unprecedented manner. Seawalls were knocked down, boulders and granite slabs were moved, and the path was eroded so badly that underground infrastructure was exposed in some places.
Now rendered impassable, the Shore Path is shut down and needs to be repaired before it can be fully enjoyed again.
David Witham has already begun work on the section that is owned by the Bar Harbor Inn/Witham Family Hotels. Witham said, “As a company, we felt a responsibility to maintain our portion of the Shore Path and not rely on the VIA to take on this expense, considering all that is on their plate already. We obviously appreciate the VIA’s efforts over the past century in maintaining the path, but this was simply more than one should expect of this great community organization.”
Witham had to allow fabrication of a temporary access road across the Bar Harbor Inn property so that the necessary heavy equipment could get down to the Shore Path to perform the work. While the work has been hampered by ongoing weather issues, the permitting processes started soon after the storms, and the work started approximately a month ago. Work on the Bar Harbor Inn’s property will hopefully be completed in another four to six weeks with landscaping restoration taking place after the actual wall and path restoration is complete.
The work on the Shore Path section that is owned by Witham Family Hotels is estimated to cost $300,000 not including landscaping costs, and is being paid for by the property owner, Witham Family Hotels.
The town-owned section, Grant Park, from the edge of the Bar Harbor Inn property to the edge of the Balance Rock Inn property, needs repair as well. This small stretch is currently the only publicly accessible part of the Shore Path.
According to a report by Public Works Director Bethany Leavitt at the February 5 Parks and Recreation Committee meeting, the town is working on getting detailed pricing for repairs that the town can submit to both the town’s insurance carrier and FEMA. The town is eligible for FEMA money and it is hoped that FEMA will pay whatever the insurance carrier does not.
Leavitt said that they hope to have the work done prior to the tourist season.
Both a March 28 and an April 2 email to Leavitt asking for updates on where the town was in the repair process went unanswered.
Now it is time to rebuild the longest stretch. After weeks of planning, permitting, engineering, and strategizing, the VIA is ready to raise money for the project and get work underway. According to current VIA Board President Dick Cough, “the VIA has never used taxpayer’s dollars to do work on the Shore Path or any other projects that I’m aware of.”
CANNOT USE FEMA FUNDS; VIA STARTS A GOFUNDME
Unfortunately, FEMA monies aren’t applicable to this type of project either. At the February 5 meeting of the town’s Parks and Recreation Committee, VIA member and parks and Recreation Committee Secretary Jeff Dobbs said that Fire Chief Matt Bartlett had told him that no funds would be available to the VIA from the federal government. Leavitt concurred with Dobbs by saying that she spoke with representatives from Senator Susan Collins’ and Senator Angus King’s offices and they said that federal funds would probably not be applicable to the VIA repairs but that the VIA should try anyway.
The VIA is now ready to start raising money in a concerted effort via a GoFundMe campaign. The goal of the GoFundMe effort is $300,000. The VIA has pledged an additional $300,000 from their own coffers for a total estimated restoration/improvement cost of $600,000.
When the contractor is done with the Bar Harbor Inn stretch of the Shore Path they are going to move down to the Grant Park/Balance Rock Inn side of the privately owned section and begin work on the remainder of the Shore Path. There is no estimated completion date at this time due to the sheer number of factors involved in the restoration.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
You can find the GoFundMe campaign via Facebook here, and you can go directly to the GoFundMe campaign here.
All current photos by Shaun Farrar unless otherwise noted.
We’ve updated this story to include some photos by Jeremy Dougherty of work this week at the Bar Harbor Inn’s section of the Shore Path. Thanks, Jeremy! And a photo of the first check. Thanks to Tony!
ThankYou for your essay. Extraordinary even by your typically very high standards.
Maybe you can get a philanthropist to provide funding to publish it as a pamphlet and have it for sale at every store and hotel. With all profits to repairing the path.
The Shore Path is the most popular attraction for cruise ship passengers. Overall it is Bar Harbor's 4th highest attraction on Trip Advisor. Ways must be found to tap into the funds generated by this year's last calls for large cruise ships and the businesses in town that profit so much from tourism.