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On September 23 at 5:30pm, the Somesville Library Presents a Romp through MDI’s
Hidden History, with Raney Bench!
A village library with heart...
and 131 years of tradition
The Somesville Library, open year-round on Wednesdays and Saturdays, is a beloved
community space in the village of Somesville, located in Mount Desert, Maine.
The three-room structure, purpose-built as a library, dates back to the mid-1890s.
The lovely back-in-time vibe of our library notwithstanding, visitors enjoy free Wi-Fi,
the use of a late-model Mac computer, and a charging station to top off personal devices.
Private but open to the public, the library also offers coffee and tea for a small donation.
Most important, visitors have access to a strong and ever-growing collection
of contemporary and historical fiction and non-fiction. A year-round
pay-as-you-please book sale draws patrons from all over.
We are located at 1116 Main Street, in the Somesville Historic District,
listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The library is flanked on three sides by the shorelines of Mill Pond and Somes Sound,
where wildlife is abundant. Geese and goslings, bald eagles, otters,
seals, and all manner of water fowl and finned creatures are our neighbors.
Come for the serenity, stay for the books...and have a cup of coffee with our librarian!
Gifts to the Somesville Library, a 501(c)(3) organization, are generally tax-deductible.
We'll gladly acknowledge donations in writing. Thank you for your support!
The Somesville Library was established in 1896. Our mission remains to serve both year-round and summer visitors of Somesville through programming, service, and community-building.
For a small library, our collection is remarkable. Our librarian keeps the library stocked with the most interesting fiction, non-fiction, biographies, books about Maine, and children's selections.
The library offers special programs and community events, including volunteer-staffed soup nights in the winter, the popular annual books-and-blueberries sale, and various children's programs.
Event: “What Happened Here” with Raney Bench
When: Wednesday September 23, 2026 at 5:30 pm
Where: at the Somesville Library, 1116 Main Street, Mount Desert (Somesville)
What is it: An entertaining presentation about some of the most colorful, lesser-known events from MDI’s storied past.
Most Mainers are familiar with the stories of Bar Harbor’s Gilded Age, or George Dorr establishing Acadia National Park, but there’s so much more! Did you know that our smuggling history dates back to long before prohibition, to the Jefferson Embargo in 1807? Have you heard about the Battle of Norwood Cove, when locals successfully fought a British naval frigate, the HMS Tenedos? What was the Purple Fire Snowstorm that terrorized MDI in 1853?
“What Happened Here” will take you on a romp of lesser-known island stories that will have you shaking your head and looking at our familiar landscapes with new eyes.
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Raney Bench is the Executive Director of the MDI Historical Society, and a curator, author, and editor. She publishes and speaks on the importance of history in our understanding of the world today. She is a collaborative leader working with history to promote engagement about climate change, housing, sovereignty, and cultural shifts on MDI. She serves on the Southwest Harbor Sustainability Committee and Environmental Subcommittee; the New England Museum Association board; and is a volunteer ambulance driver for Southwest Harbor and Tremont.