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-=-=-= FIRE! & RE-GROWTH =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= -=-=-= In the wee hours of morning on October 17, 1947, an island-wide fire broke out, tragically destroying ovre 17,000 acres of countryside. Lasting more than four weeks, it consumed more than 60 of the palatial estates on "Millionaire's Row," effectively leaving the uppe-crust resort in ashes. The blaze brought to a close that era of elegance, and forever changed the face of Bar Harbor and Mt. Desert Island. The scarred landscape kept many visitors from returning, though not all of the area was devastated. Some of those summer cottages for the rich and famous were destroyed, and some survive today as luxurious bed & breakfast inns, or hotels. Others remain private residences, since Mt. Desert Island is still summer home to the Fords, Rockerfellers and Astors, as well as a new generation of Summercators like the late Katherine Hepburn, Bill Joel and even Martha Stewart. In years following this tragic event, Bar Harbor began to rebuild and take on a new look. OVer the past five decades, the once small, sleepy town has seen an incredible expansion as it became a modern-day tourist mecca. The population has grown expotentially as business and industry increase, though Bar Harbor has somehow managed to maintain a small town atmosphere. Developers follow strict building regulations set down by civic leaders concerned with the preservation of the ambiance which made Bar Harbor famous. The inevitable high-rise office buildings and apartments sprang up in the 90s, but were restricted to specific areas of town. Commercial fisheries operate by rigid guidelines which restrict them to EPA approved processing that will not damage to the delicate ecological system of the island. In 1997, Endron built a huge facility with an offshore rig near the Canadian border. Major corporations soon followed, turning this small town into a rival for larger cities to the south. Cruise lines bring thousands of visitors to the island on a regular basis, docking on Bar Island. Causeways and bridges link Mt. Desert Island with both the mainland and other islands, replacing the more picturesque ferries and "island hoppers," though both remain a viable means of reaching the more remote offshore islands. Because of transient, seasonal fluctuations, an accurate census is difficult. The 2010 census set the permanent population of Bar Harbor and surrounding townships at somewhere close to the 3 million mark, with estimates of a possible 2 million more in the Greater Mt. Desert Island area (which includes offshore islands to the north, east and south, as well as mainland Hancock County). This puts the total area population at somewhere near 5 million. Continued in news History7 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= |