Jarvis, Leonard

(1781-1854) a U.S. Representative, was born in Boston on October 19, 1781, attended the common schools, and was graduated from Harvard University in 1800. He moved to Surry and later became sheriff of Hancock County (1821-1829) and was collector of customs for the Penobscot district from 1829 to 1831. Elected as a Jacksonian to the…

Mount Desert, Fires of 1947

Through the summer and into the fall of 1947 Maine received only 50% of its normal rainfall. Vegetation dries; water supplies dwindled. But the autumn rains never came and by mid-October, Mount Desert Island was experiencing the driest conditions ever recorded. The stage was set for a disastrous blaze in the state’s history of forest…