Since 1905: 120 Years of History

For 12 decades, Maine Seacoast Mission has served the people of coastal Downeast and island communities by educating youth, supporting families, and promoting good health. Throughout 120 years, we have had many outstanding moments, here are a few that stood out each decade.

1900s

1905—The Mission is founded by brothers and pastors Alexander and Angus MacDonald, who called the organization Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society. The MacDonalds approached members of the Mount Desert Island community asking for support to sail a sloop, Hope, from Kittery Point to Quoddy Head. During the first year, the Mission visited 64 coastal settlements and sailed for 1,535 miles. Alexander ran the Mission until his death in 1922, with Angus taking over until his passing in 1926. Today, the Mission serves a 9,500 square mile area that more than 90,000 Mainers call home including Maine’s 15 islands with a year-round population.

1910s

1912—The Mission becomes year-round when Sunbeam I is launched. The first two Mission boats Hope and Morning Star were not suitable for travel during winter which it was noted when “the Missionary’s services are the most needed” (1912 Annual Report). With Sunbeam I, the Mission is able to continue to visit remote islands and lighthouses throughout the winter.

1920s

1920—A Red Cross Delano Nurse joins the Mission (1921 Annual Report). Delano Nurses were public health nurses assigned to places that were often remote and isolated. During the first year of the program, one nurse was assigned to Alaska, the other nurse Bertha Steeves was assigned to Maine’s coast. A Red Cross-affiliated nurse would continue to make visits to the islands on the Sunbeam until 1944. 80 years after the first nurse stepped on the boat, the telemedicine program began on the Sunbeam as a three-year pilot program. The cutting-edge program was one of the first in the country and today, the Sunbeam still offers healthcare to island residents.

1930s

1937—While the Mission had provided reading materials through a lending library before, a letter in 1937 recounted the work of Missionary Arthur Sargent who had provided roughly three and a half tons of magazines during his visits to communities. In addition, he began setting up lending libraries, that contained anywhere from 30 to more than 100 volumes with the average having 125 volumes. He would provide these libraries to communities he served, and during that year had set up 13 libraries on the coast. By 1941, the Mission had a lending library of 5,000 books Downeast and 9,000 books for lighthouse keepers, Coast Guard Stations, and island residents.

1940s

1942—A white cross is added to the Sunbeam’s hull during World War II to mark the boat as a ship of mercy. Previously, crosses had been on other parts of the boat but never the hull. In the Bulletin, it was written “There is something reassuring in these bold, big crosses. They tell coastguardsmen and shore patrols that at least one ship cruising the Atlantic waters bears ill will to no one.” The Sunbeam has continued to have a white cross on her hull since this time.

1950s

1950—The 1950 Christmas edition of The Bulletin recounts Operation Biscuit which provided flour to families during a particularly hard year. A few years later in 1954, the Mission partnered with the state to provide cheese, dried milk, and butter to families and notes that the program helped students stay in school. While the Mission had provided food to individuals in the past, both of these programs acknowledged the connection between food security and education. Today, the EdGE program provides snacks to students during afterschool and offers free breakfast and lunch to summer camp students. EdGE Coordinators have found that students are more engaged when they have something to eat.

1960s

1963—The property in Cherryfield that will become the Downeast Campus is donated to the Mission. The 1963 Christmas edition of The Bulletin mentions the acquisition of 60+ acres with plans for it to be turned into a retreat center and gathering place. The groundbreaking for the chapel on the property, which would later be called Weald Bethel, happened in the spring of 1964. The property would become home to many programs Downeast including a thrift store, farm, nursery school, and later a food pantry and the EdGE program.

1970s

1976-The 1970s were a busy decade on the Downeast Campus, with reports of campers and Boy Scouts helping to clear the trails that still crisscross the campus to this day. In 1976, it was reported that fourteen young people came to Weald Bethel for a little over a week where they helped paint a house, and sisters from Sigma Kappa came to paint the Seaside Chapel at Mason’s Bay. These small mentions lay the groundwork for the Mission’s Service Tours and Housing Improvement programs that exist today.

1980s

1989—The Mission’s Food Pantry opens in the farmhouse kitchen on the Downeast Campus. From the beginning, the focus of the pantry has been on empowering its clients. (1990 Annual Report). By 1992, the pantry is serving hundreds of families a week, and a garden space was added so people could grow their own food. A new, expanded pantry opened in 2024, which was modeled after a country store. In addition to the pantry, the space has a front porch with rocking chairs and a coffee bar where neighbors can chat with each other and pantry staff.

1990s

1995—The fifth Sunbeam launches. The 74-foot, steel-hulled boat has a larger salon and kitchen to host community gatherings and a space where community members can have private meetings, which will become the telehealth office. In 2020, The Sunbeam underwent a complete refit with changes including navigational upgrades, external repairs, engine room improvements, and refurbishment of the crew quarters, galley, and salon.

2000s

2002—The EdGE program, named after former Mission Board President Ed Greaves, begins at two schools Downeast. Greaves saw the need for a program that would support the aspirations of students in the Downeast region. In 2006, the Ed and Connie Greaves Education Center opened on the Downeast Campus providing the program a permanent home. Today, EdGE offers afterschool programming, summer camps, and the Marion Kane Leadership program to hundreds of students at seven schools in the Downeast region. Students who take part in EdGE challenge themselves, engage with their communities, explore the outdoors, and gain social and leadership skills to build personal, career, and post-secondary education aspirations.

2010s

2018-2019—After serving younger students for almost two decades, the Mission shifted its focus to serve older students. In 2018, the Journey program began thanks to the Rural Futures Fund and its mentoring-based initiative, Aspirations Incubator. Students from Narraguagus Jr./Sr. High School and Cherryfield Elementary School are chosen in seventh grade for the program and receive six years of mentoring and support for Mission staff. The program is designed to develop the tools needed to successfully transition to high school and through higher education and career pathways. The next year, the Davis Maine Scholarship is announced. The Mission has provided scholarships to students since 1911, however, the Davis Maine Scholarship in partnership with the Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund provides full, four-year cost of tuition scholarships to first-generation college students from Washington County to three partner colleges. The first cohort of students began college in 2022.

2020s

2020—During the pandemic, the Mission mobilized and maintained continuity of its programs while adhering to health mandates. Food was distributed through outdoor pick-us, children were equipped with activity kits to stay active and busy while at home, and thousands of phone calls were made to our community members just to check in, see how people were faring, and ask what the Mission could do to help. By that summer, EdGE Summer Camp was in operation with social distancing precautions in place and a slew of outdoor-only activities for children to participate in. By spring 2021 with a Covid vaccine available, Maine CDC selected the Mission as the leading provider to residents living on Maine’s remote, unbridged islands. The Sunbeam relaunches after its complete refit, and the Mission moves its headquarters to Northeast Harbor after selling its historic home of La Rochelle in Bar Harbor. The Mission’s Colket Center, which is located in Mount Desert 365 building in Northeast Harbor, overlooks the Sunbeam’s dock. Proceeds from the sale were placed in the Mission endowment and are used to continue to support Mission programs.

2024—The Downeast Campus undergoes a transformation. The food pantry was expanded and updated, a new pole-based challenge course is installed to replace the aging ropes course, and retreat cabins are added near the Weald Bethel Community Center. These updates help make the campus more flexible and accessible for the whole community.

To explore more of our history, visit our History page. Please consider making a gift of $19.05 in honor of 120 year of the Mission through our Ways to Give page.