The Davistown Museum -- Environmental History Section

On March 24, 2022, Acadia National Park announced the acquisition of a 2 ½ acre parcel of land along the south side of the Breakneck Stream opposite and adjacent to the Davistown Museum Sculpture Gardens in Hulls Cove, also called the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site. The museum is now sponsoring a fundraising campaign to support the upgrading and improvement of the trails and grounds of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site. Donations to support these improvements may be sent to the Davistown Museum, PO Box 144, Hulls Cove ME 04644.

IThe Breakneck Stream, which ends in the Breakneck Hollow, was the most accessible of the few available water sources along the western shore of Frenchman Bay. It supplied fresh water to Native Americans living along the shore of Frenchman Bay for several thousand years, and then to French and English explorers who came here beginning in the early 17th century.

Between 1630 and 1700, numerous French fur trading expeditions visited this site for water, staging, trading, and exploration, hence the name “Frenchman Bay.” Hulls Cove and the Breakneck Hollow were among the most important French trading locations on Mount Desert Island because they offered easy access to fresh water and the Native Americans who lived at Hulls Cove and on Mount Desert Island.

In 1692 the French caught the spies Armand de Vignon and Francois Albert, who had told the English of the French plan to attack Fort Pemmaquid, newly rebuilt by the English after its destruction by the Wabanaki in 1689. The French executed them with tomahawks in front of 120 first nation shell fishers at the Native American village in Hulls Cove, which is now the location of the Edward Brewer house. (see below for discussion of this house).

Abraham Somes established the first English settlement on Mount Desert Island at Somesville (1761) along the cross-island trail to Southwest Harbor. In 1817, ship builder Edward Brewer came to Mount Desert Island from Southern New England and built his house on the Breakneck Hollow site, the same year in which he built his first schooner Houldeh and Judah (95 tons) at Hadley Point. Brewer then built many ships in Hulls Cove, including the brigantine Mary Jane (1825), the schooner Exchange (1829), and the brigantine Cabinet (1831). He continued to build schooners and brigantines until his last ship, the E.T. Hamor in 1889. Most ships built in Hulls Cove were used for fishing or the West Indies and coasting trades. Brewer built a sawmill just above the head of tide on the Breakneck Stream to the left of this marker.

In the 19th century, the Breakneck Road was the principle route to Northeast Harbor. It was named after several unfortunate carriage accidents on the hill that descends to cross the Breakneck Stream about a half mile inland from the Breakneck Hollow site marker. In 1835, Brewer and John de Gilmore bought 6,144 acres, which included Cadillac Mountain, from the trustees of the William Bingham estate. This land later became part of Acadia National Park, which is traversed by the remnant of the ancient cross-island trail, including the Breakneck Road. When the great forest fire of 1947 swept through this area and destroyed much of Bar Harbor, water from the Breakneck Stream was used to save the Brewer Residence and several other buildings in Hulls Cove Village.

Since the Brewers sold their house in 1947, it has housed a restaurant and several vegetarian cafes. In 1983, H.G. “Skip” Brack bought the property that includes the Brewer House and the land across the street from it, now the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site. He established the Hulls Cove Tool Barn and later the Davistown Museum in Hulls Cove and Liberty, Maine, and included the sculpture gardens as part of the museum, both of which continue in operation and welcome visitors.

The many tools and antiques sold online and at the Liberty Tool Company and Hulls Cove Tool Barn help fund the maintenance and operation of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site. Visit davistownmuseum.org, libertytoolco.com, and jonesport-wood.com to support the operation of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site, which lies adjacent to Acadia National Park at the Hulls Cove park entrance. Donations to support the operation of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site may be sent to:

Davistown Museum
PO Box 144
Hulls Cove, ME 04644

Or made through www.davistownmuseum.org/joinsupport.html

In conjunction with the ongoing improvements to the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site adjacent to Acadia National Park in Hulls Cove, the Davistown Museum would like to announce a fundraising drive to raise money for repairs to and the expansion of the trail around the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site to include the ancient water hole used by the earliest European settlers to Hulls Cove. Additional funding is also being sought to upgrade the flora of the sculpture garden and add additional sculptures to the gardens. College of the Atlantic and other students are being sought to maintain and expand the historic site gardens and add small sculptures to the existing display (currently +/-30 sculptures on 3 acres). The Pennywheel Press, which publishes the Davistown Museum publications, has issued a recent update of all 25 museum publications (1982-2022). The publications are available at Liberty Tool Company, Davistown Museum, Liberty Graphics Outlet in Liberty, Hulls Cove Tool Barn in Bar Harbor, Sherman’s Bookstores in Maine, and online on this site and amazon.com.

Many members of the indigenous communities living along the shores of Frenchman’s Bay were killed by French and English settlers. Samuel de Champlain landed in Hulls Cove in the early summer of 1604 to get potable drinking water from the Breakneck Stream. Edward Brewer family members built over 100 schooners at this location from 1814–1920. The Brewer house is still located on the north side of Breakneck Road across from the sculpture garden and next to the Hulls Cove Tool Barn and along with the adjoining greenhouse is the principle structure on the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site.

The Breakneck Hollow Historic Site has been created by the Davistown Museum to denote the location of the most important freshwater source for mariners and early settlers living on the Northeast side of Mount Desert Island before the development of the water supply system that allowed the rapid growth of Bar Harbor in the mid-19th century. Another freshwater source used by the early settlers and their livestock lies in the far western corner of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site, where a late 18th century enclosed granite watering hole was used by the early settlers of Hulls Cove to water their livestock. The circular trail currently under reconstruction on the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site (1/2 mile) connects the two freshwater sources that were essential to the viability of both the Native American communities living at Hulls Cove for many centuries and the early shipwrights of Hulls Cove. This trail can now be hiked by visitors including children who might need a quiet, if short, alternative to the many crowded trails of Acadia National Park which lie to the South and West of this historic site. (see map—and enjoy your visit to the park and the Davistown Museum’s sculpture gardens and Tool Barn)

Trail map

In recognition of this acquisition, visitors to the park are invited to visit the sculpture garden and learn about the historic significance of this area, including the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site. For a detailed description of the history and ecology of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site, note that the projects that the Davistown Museum is funding include the following: The projects the Davistown Museum is funding for the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site include the following:

The history of Frenchman’s Bay including its indigenous inhabitants, first settlers, and the settlement of Hulls Cove. This will include an overview of the history and fate of the Abenaki communities who lived here from +/- 20,000 BC to the 20th century, the first French settlers in Frenchman’s Bay, and the execution of Armand de Vignon and Francois Albert at the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site in 1690. This history will also include the activities of the Brewer family and other early settlers, the origins of Acadia National Park, and the history of Hulls Cove.

The second section of this overview will include comments on the ecology of Frenchman’s Bay, including a summary of the ecological history of Frenchman’s Bay, as published in the Davistown Museum’s Climate Change and the Ecology of the Gulf of Maine. Another focus of the report will be the changes in the biodiversity of Frenchman’s Bay including changes in its fisheries. Also noted will be the impact of cataclysmic climate change on Frenchman’s Bay and a summary of the flora and fauna of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site.

This report will also include a description of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site, including its trails, the development of the Tool Barn and greenhouse, a description of the Hulls Cove sculpture gardens and the artworks in the collection. The Breakneck Hollow Historic Site is also seeking the assistance of students from the College of the Atlantic and other colleges who will assist with the study of the history of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site, its ecology, and the documentation of the impact of cataclysmic climate change on its flora and fauna.

The fundraising activities of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site will include encouragement of donations to be sent to the Davistown Museum Breakneck Hollow Historic Site at the Bar Harbor Bank and Trust. Persons with interest in the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site may sign up online to receive future announcements and flyers. Workers are also sought for groundskeeping and maintenance activities at the sculpture gardens. The publications of the Davistown Museum will also be sold to raise funds for the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site. Photos of the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site will also be published to allow online visitors to see a detailed overview of the historic site. Various maps of Frenchman’s Bay and MDI will be available for purchase at the Hulls Cove Tool Barn, Liberty Tool and the Davistown Museum.
The Davistown Museum solicits questions, comments, suggestions, recommendations, and requests for additional projects. Interested online visitors are encouraged to sign in. A principle objective of the museum’s fundraising campaign is to fund payments for students at COA and other schools to help execute studies of the history of the ecology and development of the Frenchman’s Bay region of the Gulf of Maine, where the Breakneck Hollow Historic Site in Hulls Cove is located.