After being privately owned by several families such as the Rodicks and Pineos, the long period of arguments over its development and ideas to build a bridge to Bar Harbor lasted until John D. Rockefeller, Jr. quietly purchased the half of the island that has the sandbar which provides access to the town. Acadia National Park now owns the entire island which is accessible by foot at low tide. A word of warning. Be sure to check tide charts before you go there; the way across is completely covered by four to eigtht feet of water at high tide.
Veazie Cottage, the mansard architectural-style building on the corner across the street, was the third summer home built in Bar Harbor. It originally stood where the Bar Harbor Inn is now located, at the end of Newport Drive and was moved to its present site in 1887.