Yesterday

Waukeag Neck, the narrow peninsula on Frenchman Bay that is today Sorrento, was initially located in the town of Sullivan.

Sullivan was incorporated in 1789, the same year that Hancock County was created. The Waukeag Neck portion of Sullivan was incorporated as Sorrento in 1895, when the locals wished to establish legal independence from Sullivan.

Sorrento was born of a dream, a dream made real by the enterprise of Frank Jones of Portsmouth, N.H., and Charles A. Sinclair of Boston. These men sought to build a summer colony that would rival that of Bar Harbor. Streets and lots were laid out, a wharf built to accommodate steamboats, a library was built, and tennis courts were created for the benefit of the community. The thoughtfulness with which the community was built can be seen in the construction of a water works, connecting Long Pond, some seven miles distant, with the homes of Sorrento.

The grand hotel at Sorrento was the Hotel Sorrento, built circa 1888 by the Frenchman Bay and Mount Desert Land and Water Co. Jones, who made his fortune in the brewery business, was the key figure behind this company.

The hotel had about 100 rooms, with an annex and cottage containing another 50. Electric lights were installed, complete with a telegraph office, long distance phone, an express office and a livery service. The hotel had its own restaurant, serving the finest cuisine, a bowling alley, tennis courts and a billiards parlor.

On one level, the building stood some five stories high. It was a massive structure built in the era in which lumber was cheap and labor plentiful.

Travelers arrived in Sorrento by train and steamer. There was direct steam service between Boston and Sorrento. And, there also was the direct connection to Bar Harbor and other grand summer resorts. That allowed some patrons to make the grand summer circuit, visiting one posh resort after another.

Sorrento was served by the steamer Sebenoa, built in 1880 at Bath; and the steamer Frank Jones, built in 1892 at Bath. Other popular steamers included the Sorrento, the Norumbega the Sieur De Monts and the Mount Desert, built in 1879. These grand old steamers gave the traveler a measure of style and elegance rarely seen today. The sense of adventure and the chance to enjoy the coast of Maine, along with the accommodations, provided an experience that lasted throughout one’s life.

The grand hotels of the Edwardian age would disappear one by one, falling victim to changing tastes, economics and various “acts of God.” The Hotel Sorrento burned on June 27, 1906, ending the era of grand resorts in Sorrento and beginning the age of summer cottages there.

In 1891, Sorrento would have its own post office, with Mrs. Hattie Conners in attendance; E.R. Conners’ Store; M.P. Cleaves’ livery stable; and a building contractor, William Laurence who also sold insurance on the side.

By 1900, the community was served by a physician, Dr. W.L. Jackson; three merchants, E.R. Connors, S.S. Bunker and Sons and J.W. Hall and Son; and a barber, A.H. Reinhart. There were three churches: Union, Methodist and Episcopal. William Lawrence was the postmaster, C.L. York managed the Sorrento House, and Enoch Welch manufactured barrels.