The Etna Inn

7 Bishop Row

The building pictured on this sign is The Boarding House which stood in this spot and burned during the fire in April 1922. This building was built promptly after the fire and has 13 rental rooms upstairs. The entire building was closed in the 1990s and used for storage until it was used for a wedding reception in 2010 and legally reopened in 2014.

The 1890 program says:

Camp Etna is 17 miles from Bangor, on the line of the M.C.R.R. All local trains will stop at the platform at the foot of the grounds, to take and leave passengers and baggage.

Accommodations:

“Echo Farm,” the summer hotel of Capt. William Welcome, and the farm house of Daniel Buswell, both near by, with the BOARDING HOUSE on the grounds, will furnish accommodations for visitors. Teams will be waiting for all trains, at the platform, to carry passengers and baggage to the grounds or hotels.

Now, come to the present moment and imagine “teams” pulling up to the Boarding House as mentioned in Camp Etna’s, or as it was called in the 1890 program, the First Maine State Spiritualists’ Campmeeting Association, 13th Annual Campmeeting. Teams would refer to the Horse Drawn carts coming up from the train platform one quarter of a mile away at the pond.

Imagine the men in their three piece suits with an overcoat and hat no matter what the heat, arriving by train, on foot or horseback at the very beginning of what was known as “The Gay Nineties.” In urban areas across the country women were beginning to dress in skirts just above the ankle but in 1890, especially in New England, they were most likely still wearing what they called shirtwaist suits from the stiff Victorian Era covering the ankle. They were coming to a religious, philosophical and scientific gathering rife with important figures of the day. The anticipation of interesting lectures, educational lyceums and lots of music, fun and frivolities would make the energy uplifting and welcoming as they checked into the Boarding House in the photo which once stood here.

As the decades progressed each year brought a two week session of workshops and classes. Occasionally, on a Saturday night throughout the summer, there may have been a bean supper or a rousing dance up at the dance hall, now a community building used for storage (#16 on your Walking Tour). As time goes on we hope to raise funds to make all our buildings functional.

The Etna Inn standing here now was built following the disastrous fire in April 1922. Throughout the summer in 2026 we will host a variety of educational and fun events; perhaps most fun will be the potluck at 5pm followed by an Ice Cream Social and music at 6pm. Join us!