Rehabilitation of the Islesford Historical Museum

Islesford Historical Museum and the Blue Duck.

NPS Photo

Islesford Historical Museum is a delightful, short boat ride from Mount Desert Island, where most of Acadia National Park is located. However, island life presents unique challenges for caring for and maintaining this historic structure.

The museum was built in 1927 to house Dr. William O. Sawtelle’s collection of materials and artifacts related to the history, people, and culture of life of Little Cranberry Island, where the museum is located. In 1948, the museum and its collection of artifacts were donated to Acadia National Park. Together with the Friends of Islesford Historical Museum, Acadia maintains the building and its collection for future generations.

Preservationists confer about work on the Islesford Historical Museum.

NPS Photo.

Caring for This Historic Structure

The harsh island elements, limited human occupancy, and logistics make regular maintenance and repairs exceptionally important and also extremely difficult and costly. The last major construction effort on the building was undertaken in 1993/1994 when exterior envelope work including slate roof repairs, the addition of gutters downspouts, site grading, masonry repointing, and window, door, and shutter repairs were completed. These repairs had reached the end of their life.

A conservation survey in 2011 documented serious environmental issues that are a threat to the building's envelope, interior, and the museum collection including moisture infiltration, carpenter ant infestation, and environmental conditions within the building. After completing this documentation, National Park Service staff set about a plan to for preservation maintenance to ensure that the historic integrity of the building is preserved.

A peeling handrail at the Islesford Historical Museum.

NPS Photo

About the Rehabilitation Project

Rehabilitation of the Islesford Historical Museum started in November 2019 and continues through the 2020 season. The rehabilitation of the museum includes:

• replacing the original 93-year-old slate roof will be replaced with new slate,
• upgrading the existing masonry, mortar joints, chimneys, shutters, window sashes, and lighting,
• installing heating unit to stabilize temperature and humidity on the interior, contributing to the long-term preservation of the building, and
• repairing all ironwork including handrails.

Park staff check rehabilitation progress

NPS Photo

Your Fees At Work

Funding for the rehabilitation of the museum comes directly from entrance passes purchased at Acadia National Park as well as National Park Service Repair and Rehabilitation Funds. The NPS retains 80 percent of the fees collected from entrance pass sales to invest in critical improvements that directly benefit visitors at Acadia National Park, including maintaining and enhancing visitor facilities. The entrance pass revenues are also essential for funding the operation of the Island Explorer bus system, which serves Acadia and its surrounding communities. The NPS uses the remaining 20% of fees collected from entrance passes to benefit other sites in the National Park System. Visit our Your Fees At Work page for more information.