Mira Monte’s Long Lost Twin

This postcard of the Miller Cottage Inn from the 1930’s left us puzzled. It shows a building that looks suspiciously like the Mira Monte, or Orlando Ash Cottage as it was then known. The similarities are notable, right down to the Greek-style portico, the stacked bay windows and even the sloped driveway to the right of the building. Like Mira Monte, Miller Cottage Inn was said to have been on Mt Desert Street. Could the Miller Cottage Inn and the Mira Monte have possibly been one and the same? The known history of Mira Monte offered no clues. If the buildings were not the same, we wondered, who would build a home that was virtually identical, and on the same street? Adding to the confusion, most of the pictorial archives of Bar Harbor depict a Miller Cottage that was an entirely different building, a much larger 4 story hotel.

After much painstaking research, Bar Harbor historian Brian Armstrong has unraveled the mystery:

“The original Miller Cottage was built in the early 1880s for Henry H. Miller from Tremont. The completed cottage resembled the Mira Monte because Miller was Orlando Ash’s brother-in-law, and they most likely used the same plans and builder. Miller was married to Orlando Ash’s wife’s sister, Fanny Welch. Miller and Orlando Ash both lived in Tremont in the 1870s and moved to Eden (Bar Harbor) in the early 1880s. The Miller Cottage was destroyed in the 1947 fire.”

So, Mira Monte once had a twin just a few doors down the street! After the fire of ’47. Mira Monte alone remained as the surviving sibling. In the following photo from the 1880’s, both Miller Cottage and Mira Monte can be seen. Miller Cottage appears toward the front of the image behind the tree on the left side of t he street. Mira Monte (Ash Cottage) can be seen 4 doors down behind a home with a small tower.

The photos of the “other” Miller Cottage are of the hotel that took the cottage’s place following the fire. The second Miller Cottage appears below.

Introducing the Echo Lake Suite!

Our newly renovated suite is called “Echo Lake” after one of our favorite spots on the “quiet side” of the island. As with our other renovated rooms, the suite features the blend of contoporary and traditional design elements that the Mira Monte is known for. The suite already has a waiting list for much of the season, and we can’t wait for you to see it in person!

Mira Monte History Re-Discovered

When we first arrived at the MIra Monte, we never suspected that our unassuming cottage on Mt Desert Street would belie such rich history. If you’ve followed our blog, you already know what recent research has brought to light. Now our local paper, the Mount Desert Islander is sharing the story of the inn with the wider community: Mira Monte’s Lost History

Is the Mira Monte Ha-Ha-Haunted?

With Halloween fast approaching, we tend to get this question quite a bit. We hate to dissappoint, but in a word, no. Well, that is, mostly no…

The Mira Monte has always resonated with the sounds of happy vacationers. Nary a specter, it seems, would dare to intrude upon our festive holiday makers. If there are any spirits here, they seem to us a very private and well-behaved bunch indeed. Then again, over the years several former staff members and guests have described having a decidedly different take on things:

One long-time caretaker who spent winters alone at the house claimed to have heard heavy footsteps and other strange noises emanating from the vacant floor above.

An erstwhile cook who worked in the kitchen in the wee hours before dawn described being greeted regularly by a shy little ghost boy peering at her from the kitchen door… and of hearing the quiet laughter of children emanating from the empty dining room.

A recent guest, a self-described psychic medium, emphatically reported encountering numerous spirits during her visit, including a 19th century housekeeper keeping vigil at the top of the stairs and another “more contemporary” woman, who she took to be a former owner, in the parlor.

Another guest reported encountering a mysterious gentleman at the end of the hall who vanished before his eyes.

A live-in housekeeper turned off the lights to her room and locked her door before retiring for the night. At 2 AM she awoke with a start- the light in her closet was on and the door ajar.

So, is the Mira Monte haunted? Or are all the tales simply a case of imagination run amok, piqued by this somber time of year when chill winds rustle withered leaves and shadows fall long across the land? So much history has transpired at the Mira Monte and so many people have resided within it’s walls- is it at all possible that some former residents never left? We have our opinion, what about you?

Building a Better Breakfast!

Our new professional kitchen has enabled us to offer a range of breakfast options that were never before possible! Shown here is our Char-Broiled Pork Chop with Grilled Polenta and Rainbow Chard.

The Parlor

We love our artists- we think you nailed it! Thank you for the lovely sketch JC and Jane- you’ve made our day!

Blaine Letter Returns Home

Recently, we came upon this letter, written by Senator James G. Blaine, at auction. The subject is unremarkable, a brief note of thanks to one Theo F Reed for an unspecified favor. The significance of this particular item is that it was penned while Blaine was living at Ash Cottage during his presidential run. It almost certainly would have been written in his study at the home, where he spent considerable time answering “cords” of correspondence. Thankfully, few people need to have Blaine memorabilia these days so we were able to acquire the letter for the inn. After 138 years, we are delighted to return this small piece of history to the Mira Monte so that we may better tell the story of the many people who have stayed within its walls. We hope to have the letter on display soon. The note reads:

Personal

August 13, 1884
Bar Harbor, Maine

Theo F Reed, Esq.
Spring Valley, N.Y.

Dear Fr-

I thank you for your kind favor of the 1st instant, and I return the enclosure as requested.

Very truly yours

James G. Blaine

Peter Marie

One of Bar Harbor’s more colorful summer denizens was New York philantropist and socialite Peter Marie. His family, having made it’s fortune in banking, enabled Marie pursue a life of leisure relatively early in life. The consummate bon vivant, Marie was host to a variety of social activities throughout the summer colony. One of these, a ladie’s putting contest, was a regular event that was held on the back lawn of Mira Monte. The accompanying photo shows one such competition, circa 1900. These events were embued with all the pageantry of the guilded age- note the banners and floral garlands surrounding the green and the imported palms decorating the gallery. The ladies in the competition are seen elegantly attired in the latest 19th century “sportswear”.

Henry Cadwalader Chapman

Mira Monte History: In 1890, eminent Philadelphia physician and naturalist Henry C. Chapman bought the Ash Cottage from Orlando Ash to use as a permanent summer residence. Among his many distinctions, Dr. Chapman had been Professor of Medicine and Medical Jurisprudence at Jefferson Medical College and served as curator of Philadelphia’s Academy of Natural Sciences from 1875 until his death. Upon purchasing the cottage, Dr. Chapman and his wife Hannah added the Greek portico and columns that now surround the porch and renamed their estate Mira Monte, meaning “behold the mountains”.

Mrs. Chapman enjoyed entertaining, and Mira Monte was to become something of a social hub in those days. While not unknown to the society pages of the era, Dr. Chapman is remembered in Bar Harbor as first and foremost a humble and amiable man of science who “endeavored in every way in his power to minimize the distinction between the summer colony and the year-round residents” of the village. As recalled in memorium in the Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences:

“Here for nearly thirty years he pursued his studies of the flora and fauna of Mt. Desert island, the latter in a little laboratory on the water’s edge. Here the fishermen, all his devoted friends, brought whatever of interest they succeeded in securing from the waters.”

Chapman was also to play an active role in the civic life of the town and became a director of the local library.

After Dr. Chapman’s sudden death at the home in 1908, likely from a gastric ulcer, his widow continued in the role of hostess until her passing on Christmas day, 1931, exactly 90 years ago.

Mira Monte’s “Almost” President

Each year we continue to discover new details that add to the rich history of the Mira Monte. New research by Bar Harbor Historian Brian Armstrong has revealed that the inn was the summer home of one of the preeminent politicians of the gilded age, James G Blaine, during the presidential campaign of 1884 . Though little discussed today outside academic circles, he was a household name to his contemporaries. Nicknamed “the plumed knight” Blaine held numerous public offices throughout his long and storied career including speaker of the house, United States senator and US secretary of state. A perennial presidential favorite, Blaine eventually secured the Republican nomination in 1884, the very year that he signed the lease for the Mira Monte. The accompanying newspaper illustration from this period depicts Blaine enjoying a leisurely buckboard ride. Amid the convivial chitchat of his companions, Blaine appears resolute, as if in contemplation of the impending battle. The inset captioned “Blaine’s Cottage” shows Mira Monte as it appeared in Blaine’s time; the profile of the house with it’s distinctive stacked bay windows and turret-like dormer easily recognizable despite the passage of time. Ultimately, the object of Blaine’s greatest aspiration was not to be his; following a bitter and scandal plagued campaign, Blaine lost the election to Grover Cleveland by a mere one quarter of one percent of the popular vote.