November 2017 | view this story as a .pdf

Another delicious crumb is falling from the table of the Gilded Age in Bar Harbor.

By Colin W. Sargent

George Sullivan Bowdoin’s (1833-1913) ancestor James Bowdoin III founded Bowdoin College. Wouldn’t the founder have been proud to see “La Rochelle,” this 41-room chateau, take shape on the Bar Harbor shore in 1902? Everything about this venture was top-drawer, including the architects–the Boston firm of Andrews, Jacques & Rantoul dashed off La Rochelle’s design while Andrews was dreaming up blueprints for the east and west wings of the Massachusetts State House. During construction, the Bar Harbor Record predicted the cost for what’s been called Bar Harbor’s first brick mansion might surpass “$100,000.”

The mystery of this castle’s name sweeps us across the Atlantic back 400 years. James Bowdoin III’s ancestors were Huguenots (French Protestants) from La Rochelle, a seaport in Nouvelle-Aquitaine. They fled to the U.S. for relief from religious persecution. (The word refugee entered the English language with the travels of the Huguenots in the 17th century.) The Baudouins, as in Pierre Baudouin, James Bowdoin I’s father, became the Bowdoins.

Voilà!

Things went very well for the Bowdoins here. Not only did the Bowdoin family heirs hold court in this house, so did Alexander Hamilton’s heirs. George S. Bowdoin, a treasurer at J.P. Morgan, was also the son of Alexander Hamilton’s granddaughter Fanny (1813-1887).

Just Add Water & Stir

Ater George Bowdoin died at his home on 39 Park Avenue in New York at age 81, some Campbell Soup money was poured into the next generation.

Campbell Soup heir Tristram C. Colket, Jr. and his wife, Ruth, finally donated the house in 1972 to the Maine Seacoast Mission, a non-profit. Colket Jr.’s activities are still chronicled by financial fanzines including Bloomberg, though the Mission is the seller. Apparently, it’s time for a sea change.

The Maine Seacoast Mission provides spiritual, health, and youth developmental programs in coastal and island communities from mid-coast to Downeast Maine. Rooted in a history of non-denominational service, the Mission offers hope, encouragement, and help to strengthen individuals, families, and communities. Their main corporate office is located at 127 West Street,” Bar Harbor. As in right here. With views of forever.

Where will the Mission go? “The Mission is exploring options all across Mt. Desert Island,” says president Scott Planting. “I’ll miss hosting the wide range of groups and organizations that used the ‘public’ first-floor rooms for events and meetings. People were happy to come here.”

Planting’s favorite spot on the property is “the back porch overlooking Frenchman Bay.  I loved hosting people on the porch.”

Maybe you’ll like it too.

The Opportunity

At press time, it’s listed for $6.295M on 500 feet of water frontage (three private oceanfront acres) of downtown Bar Harbor’s Historic District, where Eden and West Street converge. The emerald lawn slopes to the sea, offering stunning views of Bar Island. Profile of a dream buyer? A Bowdoin alum, natch. Taxes are $58,844.