Somesville Bridge, Maine:  Found in the village of Somesville on Mount Desert Island, the Somesville Bridge is one of the most photographed bridges in all of Maine.

 

Somesville is the oldest settlement on Mount Desert Island.  However, the bridge itself was built in 1981 as tribute to Dr. Virginia Somes Sanderson’s grandfather Thaddeus Shepley Somes, a descendent of Abraham Somes, the island’s first settler in 1761.  Images of this bridge have been captured in paintings and photographs by visitors from around the world.  The clean, white graceful arch over Somes Creek generates peaceful images of nature and inner solitude.

The small structure near the bridge is the historic Selectmen’s Building, built in the 1780s by John Somes.  He was the son of Abraham Somes.  Over the years this little building was used as a cobbler’s shop, post office, and museum.  It also served as the town office during the 19th century, up through 1911.

Somesville Bridge: