Blue Hill
Welcome to Blue Hill!
Blue Hill is a thriving community north of Brooklin and Sedgwick and southwest of Ellsworth. It is located at an opening to the Mount Desert Narrows, offering wonderful views of the ocean and the surrounding coastal hills. Blue Hill Mountain is a notable feature located nearby, with numerous hiking trails accentuating the striking beauty of the region.
Blue Hill has an interesting history as being one of the parcels of land that came out of the French and Indian War in the middle of the 18th century, granted by Massachusetts. Because of its position lower to the water in relation to surrounding land, multiple streams historically powered the many mills that provided goods. Firewood was a major export of the town.
In the 1950s an 11th century Norse coin was found in Brooklin by Blue Hill resident Guy Mellgren, which created conversation about the extent to which Nordic people may or may not have had a presence in the area, or engaged in trade with natives a millennium ago. The known colony of Vinland on Newfoundland is currently one of the most notable examples of Norse activity in the eastern half of North America, but the coin found in Brooklin sparked interest into the idea that Norse peoples may have been present along the Maine coast as far back as the 11th century. Other explanations include early trade with natives may have resulted in the movement of currency as an isolated incident west from Canada.