LB2012.17.295

LB2012.17.295

U. S.Flag atop the tower on Mt Battie, Camden, Maine A corporation of CamdenÆs wealthier summer residents, the Mt. Battie Association, purchased Summit House in 1899 and turned the building into a clubhouse and social center. During the peak of CamdenÆs carriage trade days at the turn of the century, Summit House was visited by many notable people, including the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Roosevelt himself came to Camden many years later to climb the mountain. A forest fire in 1918 burned the mountaintop, destroying the natural beauty of the summit for many years. Summit House was undamaged by the fire, but was torn down two years later as its use declined and CamdenÆs carriage trade days came to an end. In 1921, the Mt. Battie Association erected the stone tower that now stands on the exact location of Summit House. Iron pins that anchored the old building can still be seen in the rock around the tower. The 26-foot structure was designed by one of CamdenÆs summer residents, Parker Morse Hooper. The Hooper design is almost an exact replica of an existing tower found in Newport, Rhode Island. The bronze plaque on the front of the tower reads: In grateful recognition of the services of the men and women of Camden in the World War, 1914-1918. Another plaque set in stone near the tower commemorates the writing of the poem Renascence by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It is said Millay wrote the poem while enjoying the view from the summit of Mt. Battie.