Bibliography: Suggested Reading

If you’re captivated by the deep history of Mount Desert Island, Acadia, or the broader Wabanaki homelands, this list is for you.

Whether you’re interested in Native American heritage, early European exploration, colonial settlement, or the ecology of the region, these books and articles offer rich insight. Many of the titles focus specifically on Maine and the surrounding coastal areas making them ideal companions for visitors, history lovers, educators, and researchers alike.

Recommended Reading List

  • Baker, Emerson W., Churchill, Edwin A., D’Abate, Richard S., Jones, Kristine L., Konrad, Victor, and Bock, Harald E. L. (1994). American Beginnings: Exploration, Culture, and Cartography in the Land of Norumbega. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
  • Bourque, Bruce J. (2001). Twelve Thousand Years: American Indians in Maine. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
  • Bourque, Bruce J. (2010). The Swordfish Hunters: The History and Ecology of an Ancient American Sea People. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, NE.
  • Georges, Suzanne. (1989). A Penobscot Profile and a Profile of Maine. n.p. Burt Franklin, NY.
  • Tream, Francis J. (1906). History of Boothbay, Southport, and Boothbay Harbor, Maine, 1623–1905 with Family Genealogies. Loring, Short and Harmon, Portland ME.
  • Hoddick, Wendell S. (1941). Three Shell Heaps at Pemaquid, Bay. Bulletin VI, The Robert Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, ME.
  • Harding, W. A. A Sketch of the Life of a Community: Recording the Oral and Written History of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, and Southport, Maine.
  • Hardy, Kery. (2009). Notes on a Lost Flute: A Field Guide to the Wabanaki. Down East Books, Camden, ME.
  • Mitchell, Bill and Speiss, Arthur R. (Spring 2002). “Early Maine Archaeological Site Occupation in the St. George River Valley, Maine.” Archaeological Society of Connecticut Bulletin (41.1): pp. 15–24.
  • Mosher, John and Speiss, Arthur. (2004). “An Archaic Site at the Penobscot River.” The Maine Archaeological Society Bulletin (42.1): pp. 1–35.
  • Morey, William C. (2005). The Voyage of Archangel: James Rosier’s Account of the Weymouth Voyage of 1605. A Rare Reprint. Tilbury House, Gardiner, ME.

Continued Reading

  • Herald, Harold E. L. and Medrek, Bunny. (2007). Aisicon, St. Island Domain: Wabanaki Peoples at Mount Desert Island 1500–2000. Vols. 1 and 2. Acadia National Park and The Abbe Museum, Bar Harbor, ME.
  • Purchas, S. (1625). The Description of the Country of Wawenock… in the French Voyages (compiled from Hakluyt 1534–1606). Charles Scribner’s Sons, NY.
  • Rosier, James. (1605). A True Relation of the Voyage of Captain George Weymouth, reprinted in Burrage, Henry S., Ed. (1909). Early English and French Voyages chiefly from Hakluyt 1534–1606. Charles Scribner’s Sons, NY.
  • Russell, Howard S. (1980). Indian New England Before the Mayflower. University Press of New England, Hanover, NH.
  • Sewall, Rufus King. (1859). Ancient Dominions of Maine. Bath, ME.
  • Sewall, Rufus King. (1895). Ancient Voyages to the Western Continent: Three Phases of History on the Coast of Maine. Lincoln County News, PB.
  • Snow, Dean. (1980). The Archaeology of New England. Academic Press, NY.
  • Speck, Frank G. (1928). Wawenock Myth Texts from Maine. 43rd Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, DC.
  • Speiss, Arthur R. and Cranmer, Leon. (Fall 2001). “Native American Occupations at Pemaquid: Review and Results.” Maine Archaeological Society Bulletin (41.2), pp. 1–25.

Tip:

You may find some of these titles in local libraries or historical societies, especially The Abbe Museum, Jesup Memorial Library, or College of the Atlantic’s library in Bar Harbor.