Chebacco

Our annual history journal Chebacco is one way we foster meaningful engagement with the histories of Mount Desert Island. Each issue is filled with stories that look at oft-told tales from new angles, interpretations based on new sources or emerging pathways, and subjects that explore the boundaries of the annual theme. Chebacco has won national and regional awards for excellence and articles are shared online through our website.

Chebacco is named for a type of boat built in the eighteenth century in Gloucester and the Cape Anne area of Massachusetts. In 1762, Abraham Somes, his wife, and four young daughters sailed in a Chebacco boat to make their home in Somesville and become Mount Desert Island’s first permanent Euro-American settlers.

We invite you to voyage through the histories of Mount Desert Island in this contemporary Chebacco.

Published annually, the journal is sent free to members of the Mount Desert Island Historical Society and is available for purchase on our website.

Contributing to our Annual Fund directly supports the publication of Chebacco.

Check out archives of our Chebacco Chats series