Window Cleaning & Exterior Services on Islesboro, Maine

History of Islesboro, Maine

Islesboro is a long, narrow island community in Penobscot Bay, stretching approximately 10 miles in length and accessible only by the Maine State Ferry from Lincolnville Beach. The Penobscot people used the island as a seasonal fishing and gathering ground for thousands of years before European explorers arrived. English settlers established permanent homesteads on the island in the mid-1700s, and the town was incorporated in 1789, making it one of the earlier island communities to gain municipal status in Maine.

During the 1800s, Islesboro was home to a self-sufficient community of farmers, fishermen, and seafarers. The island produced its own food, maintained its own schools and churches, and built vessels in small boatyards along the shore. The transformation of Islesboro began in the Gilded Age of the late 1800s, when wealthy families from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia discovered the island and began building elaborate summer cottages in the Dark Harbor area on the western shore. Dark Harbor became one of the most exclusive summer colonies in New England.

The summer colony brought prosperity and employment to island residents, who worked as caretakers, gardeners, and boat crews for the seasonal families. Throughout the 1900s, Islesboro maintained its dual identity as both a working island community and an elite summer retreat. Notable seasonal residents have included members of prominent American families. Today the year-round population of roughly 600 swells significantly each summer, and the island community works to balance preservation of its character with the economic realities of island life.