It’s a cliche to describe Maine island childhoods as “magical,” but for many who grew up on Peaks Island, it’s also the truth.

Harriet Trefethen Skillings (1821-1903) was a remarkable and energetic woman.  She managed a large family, kept boarders year-round, and developed a summer colony on her shorefront island property — all while taking an active interest in her neighbors and community affairs on Peaks Island.

Peaks Island was inhabited when Italian explorer Verrazzano sailed up what is now the Maine coast in 1524.  The islands were the home of the Wabanaki people and their ancestors, who have inhabited the land for at least 13,000 years, or longer according to oral tradition.

Before highways connected towns and cities together, the easiest way to move around coastal Maine was by boat. Island communities were in some ways less isolated than they are today. Islanders, many who made their living from the maritime trades, moved from island to island routinely. Peaks, House, and Monhegan Islands were linked by several island families.

The museum received a terrific new acquisition today! The circa 1790 Henry Trefethen family desk returned to Peaks Island, a gift from Trefethen descendant, Charles Blackman. A group of board members and other volunteers safely moved it into the building where it is now on exhibit. Come take a look!