A Brief History
The Phillips family first came to this area after the war of 1812 when land was given for payment of services to the country during that war. The Lucerne Inn, where it is today (and was originally!), is an expanded building that has some of the original Phillips House construction still existing within. Extensive stables were added, probably on the east side of Route 1A today, to accommodate a change into the Half-Way House which the family operated as a stage coach stop, the location being the noon, or half-way point on the Bangor to Ellsworth Stagecoach Line. An extensive farm was always maintained with some of the apple trees in evidence in the woods today.
The railroad was completed through the area in the early 1890's; the original rail group was a conglomerate of many companies, later consolidated for bankruptcy and business reasons. Two of the original purchasers of recreational land in the 1890's at Phillips Lake were the Parker and Pearl families. They hailed from the Bangor-Brewer area and one presumes the found the train made travel so much easier that they could now build and commute in comfort. The whole Pearl Point was reserved for family (some of whom still return during the summer months) from what is now the Cerebral Palsy Camp around and up to the Files Family Compound which was built at the turn of the century. The Beach family, with connections to the Bangor Theological Seminary, commuted by train in the early days also, from their cottage on the west side of the lake near Lotus/Hurd Brook. When Lucerne-in-Maine was developed, a train station was built right by the Beach Club and passenger service was not uncommon through the late 1940's.
In the very early 1920's, Harold Saddlemire and friends purchased the Half Way House and all of the available surrounding land for the Lucerne-in-Maine development. By that time the present "Inn" had been moved to the east side of the road. As part of the development of Lucerne-in-Maine, the Inn was moved back to its present position and the Log Lodge was built just across the road. The lodge burned in the mid-1950's and the stable and garage deteriorated shortly after. Local lore has it that Mr. Saddlemire absconded with a great deal of the development funds for Lucerne in 1929. Bankruptcy followed, then reorganization, but continuing financial problems plagued the Lucerne-in-Maine development. Finally, in the early 1930's, a prominent local family rescued the Lucerne-in-Maine Village Corporation and reconstituted it to salvage the structures, financial and otherwise. The Beach Club, Music Teachers Colony Golf Course, Log Lodge, Water Company, and Land Development Company were separated from the overall Lucerne-in-Maine umbrella.
What has happened to these development ideas in the present day? The Beach Club operates as a separate entity still, with stock issued around 1936. The winter toboggan no longer exists. The governing body of the Village Corporation functions, differing from usual town government in that landowners can vote in Lucerne for local issues as well as voting where they are registered as resident. The Teachers Colony operated until 1936 when it ceased giving concerts and holding classes. The land and buildings (now fallen or torn down) were purchased by a private party in 1941 but never used. A bridge was to be built from Bayberry Point to Rocky Point connecting the east and west sides of the lake, and thereby the Teachers Colony, but was never completed. The water, electrical and telephone connections were made at the Points area but a plane on a training flight in 1942 crashed and tore the lines down. The Golf Course has changed hands many times, as did the Log Lodge before it burned; the Golf Course was recently divided into the Inn and the Golf Course as separate entities. The Water Company still functions and serves about eighty customers.
In the very early 1950's the residual development land became available to the Lucerne-in-Maine Village Corporation. The voters at an annual summer meeting declined to purchase this large amount of land. The Land Company was the subsequently purchased by three Lucerne residents, and the Islands in the big lake were deeded to the Lucerne Village Corporation with restrictions to preserve them in an unspoiled condition; the rest of the land was sold. William C. Wheeler, a well-known accountant in the Bangor area, was an assistant to Prof. Charles B. Breed who did the original surveying for the entire Lucerne development. With Mr. Wheeler's input the original rights-of-way and development outlines were kept intact, with the exception of the original fifteen feet of land on the lakeside of each lot. This land was intended to be Lucerne-owned for community use in Mr. Saddlemire's plan.
There have been many transitions to Fitts Pond/Phillips Lake/Lucerne-in-Maine... a farm area to an elegant summer colony to a primarily summer cottage community for nearby city dwellers, and now to a more year-round living area with four season capability. The essential beauty of the Lake and surrounding area is still undiminished and continues to draw more and more people who admire its uniqueness.
