Mount Desert Postal History

Mount Desert Postal History
Hancock County, Maine

last update for this page: 27 June 2021

Maine Postal History ------ Waterville Stamp Club

Thank you for the contributions to this page from James Husson and from the Strout family collection.

During the history of Mount Desert. there have been eight post offices.

Briefly, the history of these eight is as follows:
1. Asticou post office, a summer office, operated from 14 July 1888 until 15 June 1923.
2. Hall Quarry post office operated from 14 December 1892 until 7 April 1967.
3. Long Pond (1) post office was established on 6 July 1875 and was renamed on 8 June 1887 as Seal Harbor post office, which is still in operation.
4. Mount Desert post office was established on 12 March 1821. It was renamed on 6 Match 1885 as Somesville post office. Somesville post office never opened, and on 19 March 1885 was renamed as Mount Desert post office, which is still operating.
5. Northeast Harbor post office was established on 16 January 1864 and is still operating.
6. Otter Creek post office opened on 22 May 1882, closed on 11 November 1887, re-opened on 21 November 1889, closed on 30 November 1910, re-opened on 12 April 1915, and closed on a date to be researched.
7. Pretty Marsh post office operated from 12 October 1871 until 31 March 1908. 8. Sound post office opened on 21 March 1882, closed on 31 October 1913, re-opened on 17 May 1917, and closed on 15 October 1918.

In 1914, there were five post offices in Mount Desert: Asticou, Hall Quarry, Mount Desert, Northeast Harbor, and Seal Harbor. (source: Post Route Map of the State of Maine 1914)

(click on image to enlarge)

Postmarks from the town of Mount Desert include:

Asticou
Hall Quarry

Long Pond (1)
Mount Desert

Northeast Harbor
Otter Creek

Pretty Marsh
Seal Harbor

Somesville
Sound

Asticou

1888 July 14:
   Asticou post office, a summer office, opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1910 July 11:
   The circular postmark is 31–32 mm in diameter. (image side of card)

      (click on image to enlarge)

1923 June 15:
   Asticou post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

Hall Quarry

1892 December 14:
   Hall Quarry post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1907 October 10:
   The circular postmark is 27–28 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal double bars to the right of the circle is 13–14 mm.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1937 March 22:
   The circular postmark is 31–33 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1952 August 4:
   The circular postmark is approximately 34 mm in diameter. (image on other side)

      (click on image to enlarge)

1967 April 7:
   Hall Quarry post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

Mount Desert

1821 March 12:
   Mount Desert post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1885 March 6:
   Mount Desert post office was renamed Somesville post office, but it never opened under that name. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1885 March 19:
   Somesville post office renamed Mount Desert post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1911 August 16:
   The circular postmark is 31–32 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is approximatelu 15 mm. (other side of card)

      (click on image to enlarge)

1939 May 6:
   The circular postmark is approximately 32 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1949 November 21:
   The circular postmark is approximately 22 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1984 September 26:
   The circular postmark is 22–23 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is approximately 19 mm.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1997 December 4 through 2001 May 30:
   The circular postmark is 33–35 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

2020:
   Mount Desert [Somesville] post office. 1057 Main Street; Mount Desert, Maine 04660. Lat./Long.: N 44°21′52″ x W 68°19′59″.

      (click on image to enlarge)

today:
   Mount Desert post office is still in operation.

Northeast Harbor

1864 January 16:
   Northeast Harbor post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1899 September 7:
   The circular postmark is 27–28 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1934 October 5:
   The circular postmark is approximately 20 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1984 September 28:
   The circular postmark is 31–32 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

2014 June 8:
   Northeast Harbor post office:

      (click on image to enlarge)

2020:
   Northeast Harbor post office. 112 Main Street; Northeast Harbor, Maine 04662. Lat./Long.: N 44°17′08″ x W 68°17′14″.

      (click on image to enlarge)

today:
   Northeast Harbor post office is still in operation.

Otter Creek

1882 May 22:
   Otter Creek post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1887 November 11:
   Otter Creek post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1889 November 21:
   Otter Creek post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1908 February 20:
   The circular postmark is 27.5 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1909 September 28:
   The circular postmark is approximately 32 mm in diameter. The outsie vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is approximately 14 mm.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1910 November 30:
   Otter Creek post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1915 April 12:
   Otter Creek post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1934 June 15:
   The circular postmark is approximately 30 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is 18–19 mm.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1937 July 13:
   The circular postmark is approximately 33 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1945 May 11:
   The circular postmark is approximately 33 mm in diameter. The outsie vertical height of the four horizontal bars to the right of the circle is approximately 22 mm.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1984 September 26:
   The circular postmark is 30–33 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

date?:
   Otter Creek post office closed.

Pretty Marsh

1871 October 12:
   Pretty Marsh post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1907 January 23:
   The circular postmark is approximately 31 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1908 March 31:
   Pretty Marsh post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

Seal Harbor

1887 June 8:
   Long Pond (1) post office renamed Seal Harbor post office. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1893 September 15:
   The circular postmark is approximately 27 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1919 July 26:
   The circular postmark is 24 mm in diameter. The outside vertical height of the seven horizontal bars to the right of the circle is 20–21 mm.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1933 March 30:
   The circular postmark is 29–30 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1936 August 18:
   The circular postmark is 29–30 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1991 October 10:
   The circular postmark is approximately 20 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

2014 June 10:
   Seal Harbor post office:

      (click on image to enlarge)

2020:
   Seal Harbor post office. 14 Main Street; Seal Harbor, Maine 04675. Lat./Long.: N 44°24′17″ x W 68°14′44″.

      (click on image to enlarge)

today:
   Seal Harbor post office is still in operation.

Sound

1882 March 21:
   Sound post office opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1911 July 18:
   The circular postmark is approximately 28 mm in diameter.

      (click on image to enlarge)

1913 October 31:
   Sound post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1917 May 17:
   Sound post office re-opened. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)

1918 October 15:
   Sound post office closed. (source: Maine Philatelic Society. 1995. The Post Offices of Maine: A Rarity Guide.)