Carriage Paths, Bridges and Gatehouses
- Address: Acadia National Park and vicinity
On the island, the car was perceived from the start as a mixed blessing. The summer folk were determined that the island should remain a refuge, but most of the year-round residents who had to make a living in the area saw it as a very desirable advance and good way to facilitate transport and daily activities. The issue was so heated that it ended up in the state legislature. At first, in 1908, the summer interests carried enough weight to sustain the ban on cars, but the debate continued, and in 1913 the commercial interests and year-round residents had gained enough support that the legislation was amended to allow cars only on the Bar Harbor side of the island. Seal Harbor and Northeast Harbor were safe, as was [John D Rockefeller Jr's] house. But it was just a matter of time until the last resistance was swept away, and that happened in 1915. The ubiquitous, noisy, smoke-belching autos began to roll over the causeway to the island in increasing numbers. - Ann Rockefeller Roberts, Mr. Rockefeller's Roads: The Untold Story of Acadia's Carriage Roads and Their Creator, Down East Books, 1990, pages 49-50]