Hunter's Brook Crossing

I really enjoyed the video rockit posted the other day about "the town that never was." The video compares the current landscape around Ravenscar to old plans drawn up for a more extensive settlement there which ultimately didn't get built. 

Around here the landscape is more likely to reflect the opposite phenomenon - remnants of settlement patterns that shifted or were abandoned, and are now overgrown by the woods. This is really the case all over New England, but because there is a national park here on the island the historical record of the area is much more complete.

This old bridge foundation is a case in point. At one time it would have been part of the Green Mountain Trail, leading from Jordan Pond up to the shoulder of Cadillac Mountain. That is how it appears on maps back in the 1880s. By the 1900s the path had already been rerouted to follow the stream, which is what I did today.

Then there are places like Jordan Pond, where I started my hike early in the morning before it got crowded. The photo in the extra, doctored a little to appear more "vintage," actually looks remarkably like photos of the same spot taken 100 years ago. Back then people were also eating popovers on the lawn, only they dressed differently.

Just to keep with the spirit of the day I ended my hike at the Wildwood Stables and gawked at the horses and buggies and such. Then I climbed in my newfangled automobile and headed home for breakfast.