Abbe Musem
Photo: TripAdvisor
The Abbe Museum was established in 1926 and opened to the public in 1928. It is named after its founder, Dr. Robert Abbe), a prominent New York physician known for his pioneering use of radiation therapy. As a summer resident of Bar Harbor during the 1920s, Dr. Abbe collected early Indigenous artifacts from the Frenchman Bay area. He encouraged others with similar collections to join him in creating a museum that would protect these items and make them accessible for public education and enjoyment. Key early supporters included George B. Dorr, known as "the father of Acadia," and John D. Rockefeller Jr.
Initially focused on archaeology, the Abbe Museum soon broadened its scope to include ethnographic materials from the 17th through the 20th centuries. In 1931, Mary Cabot Wheelwright, the founder of the Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian in Santa Fe, donated a significant collection of Native American baskets and other artifacts. The museum has since received additional major collections of baskets, making it home to the largest documented collection of Wabanaki basketry. Additionally, the Abbe Museum has acquired an extensive collection of contemporary works that document ongoing Wabanaki artistic traditions. Today, the museum's collections span 12,000 years of Indigenous culture and history in Maine.
