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:
Somesville Bridge: