Bar Harbor

Cleftstone Inn

Bruce Price's summer cottage, built by 1881 and rented to Joseph Pulitzer, enlarged with a ballroom where President Taft was honored in 1911.

Built
by 1881The NRHP nomination says Cleftstone is believed to have been built by 1881, then substantially enlarged in 1894 and again in 1903; the inn also says 1881. Inn since 1948.
Style
Shingle / Queen Anne / Colonial Revival (eclectic)
Architect
Bruce Price
Type
B&B
Credentials
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places

The story

Architect Bruce Price designed the original cottage for the How family around 1881, when Charles T. How was developing the Woodbury Park neighborhood. The Hows rented it to society summer residents, including publisher Joseph Pulitzer, who spent several summers there. Frank and Laura Ellis of Cincinnati bought it in the 1890s and enlarged it in 1894 and 1903, adding a ballroom where a 1911 reception honored President Taft. The cottage survived the 1947 fire that destroyed its neighbors, and it has operated as an inn since 1948.

Good to know

  • Address: 92 Eden Street, Bar Harbor, ME 04609

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Sources (3)

Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.