Abbe Museum & Congregational Church - Bar Harbor, ME
Posted by: 
denben
N 44° 23.225 W 068° 12.372
19T E 563227 N 4915173
The "Museum In The Streets" sign on the Abbe Museum and the Bar Harbor Congregational Church stands in front of the museum at 26 Mt Desert Street in Bar Harbour, Maine.
Waymark Code: WM16XQ8
Location: Maine, United States
Date Posted: 10/25/2022
Views: 2
The Abbe Museum in Downtown Bar Harbor opened in September 2001. In recent years, the Abbe has grown from a small trailside museum, privately operated within Acadia National Park, to an exciting contemporary museum in the heart of downtown Bar Harbor. In 2013, the Museum became the first and only Smithsonian Affiliate in the state of Maine.
The history and cultures of the Native people in Maine, the Wabanaki, are showcased through changing exhibitions, special events, teacher workshops, archaeology field schools, and workshops for children and adults.
Source: (
visit link)
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The Bar Harbor Congregational Church was established on May 20, 1883. The congregation met in the Union Meeting House, commonly called the “White Church”. The White Church, used by all denominations at the time, had been built in 1853.
Around 1870 the population of Eden (renamed Bar Harbor in 1918) was sufficient to support separate churches for the various denominations and the Congregationalists acquired title to the Union Meeting House.
In 1888-1889 the Meeting House was replaced by a granite church on the same site. The granite church burned down in 1942 and was replaced in 1951 with the current structure, which was designed to be similar to the old White Church.
Source: (
visit link)
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The "Museum in the Streets" panel reads:
"The Abbe Museum & Congregational Church
The original Abbe Museum, which still exists at Sieur de Monts Spring, was founded by Dr. Robert Abbe, a surgeon from New York and a Bar Harbor summer resident, who assembled a collection of early Native American artifacts found in the Frenchman Bay area. Built in 1893 as a real estate and law office, this structure was purchased by the YMCA in the early 20th century. The YMCA added a gymnasium and pool. In 2001, the building opened as the Abbe Museum’s second location and offers changing exhibitions and an exciting programming schedule for all ages.
The Congregational Church across the street (dedicated in 1951) stands on the site of the first schoolhouse in Bar Harbor. The schoolhouse was moved to make way for a first church known as The Union Church, which was replaced by a lovely granite church in 1881 and sadly destroyed by fire in 1942."