Asticou Inn

Augustus Chase ("A.C.") Savage (1832–1911) lived with his wife, Emily Manchester (1834–1914), in the 1854-built Harbor Cottage (now Cranberry Lodge), which sits near the apex of the corner of Peabody Drive (almost directly across from both Blue Spruce and Bird Bank, which are the other two "Asticou Cottages" that are part of the inn).[2]

Savage correctly predicted that an overflow of vacationers to Bar Harbor would greatly benefit Northeast Harbor.[2] In 1883, across the road from Harbor Cottage, he built the Asticou Inn. (The name Asticou comes from a Penobscot Indian word believed to mean boiling kettle.)[2]

The original building was destroyed by a fire 16 years after opening. It was rebuilt by A.C. and his son, George (1873–1922). A.C.'s other son, Frederick Lincoln Savage (1861–1924), was the architect.[3] It reopened in 1901.[2] The inn was spared during the great fires of 1947.

The combined Savage families took active parts in the day-to-day management of the business, with the women establishing the inn's reputation for hearty New England food and the children picking berries that contributed to desserts and pies.[2]

George Savage died in 1922, aged about 48. His 19-year-old son, Charles Kenneth Savage (1903–1979), was brought back from his boarding school in Boston, Massachusetts, to help his mother, Mabelle (1877–1965), maintain the inn's tradition.

When Charles married, his wife, Katharine Larcher Savage (1905–2001),[4] became the manager of the inn's kitchen, and her pastries, breads, ice creams and desserts proved very popular.[2] Charles and Katharine ran the inn until 1964. They had a daughter and a son.

In 1956, Savage created the Asticou Azalea Garden across the street from the inn.

Some members of the Savage family were initially interred in a family cemetery around where the cottages Blue Spruce and Bird Bank stand today. They were moved to Forest Hill Cemetery, on the other side of the azalea garden, which was created by A.C. Savage in 1904.[5] Frederick Savage, meanwhile, is buried in Ledgelawn Cemetery on Cromwell Harbor Road, along with his wife of 23 years, Alice (1879–1961), who survived him by 37 years.[6]

In 1965, when Mabelle Savage died, ownership of the inn passed from the Savage family to the Asti-Kim Corporation,[7] a group of local businesspeople and summer residents.[6][8]

Later personnel

A bench at the inn commemorating the service of Guy Toole and Muffy Cyr

Guy Toole (1938–1998) was an employee at the inn for 44 consecutive seasons (1954 to 1998). He was hired as a teenaged potwasher by Katharine Savage, eventually progressing to become the inn's concierge.[2][8]

Marilyn "Muffy" Cyr (1950–2015) worked at the inn for 41 years (1972 to 2013) in various capacities, including chambermaid, head housekeeper, desk clerk, reservations manager, special functions assistant, and floral arranger.[9] For the latter part of her time at the inn, Tom Weverstad was the special functions director.[10]

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  The inn's welcome sign
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  Cranberry Lodge, one of the inn's six adjacent accommodations
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  The rear of the inn, viewed in 2020
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  The inn viewed from the Northeast Harbor marina
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  An original clothes hanger from the inn, found in Kennebunk, Maine, in November 2018

• Official website