On September 24 at 5:30pm, the MDI Historical Society and Jesup Library will host Durlin Lunt for "Otter Creek’s Lost Waterfront." Based on his 2026 Chebacco article, Durlin will explore how land acquisitions by John D. Rockefeller Jr. and the expansion of Acadia National Park systematically isolated the village from its ancestral shores and will advocate for a modern restoration of the village’s working maritime identity to remedy nearly a century of disenfranchisement. 

As a lifelong resident and former Town Manager of Mount Desert, Lunt will examine the power dynamics between this small community and federal agencies, illustrating how unrecorded agreements transformed a thriving maritime hub into an "island within an island." The program will highlight efforts to reclaim the village’s ancestral shores and recent legislative efforts, such as the 2024 Waterfront Resolution, to reconcile generations of community isolation. 

This program is hosted by the MDI Historical Society and the Jesup Memorial Library.