Hemlock Bridge is one of those places in Acadia National Park where the history is almost as impressive as the scenery.

Completed in **1924**, Hemlock Bridge was the fourth of **17 stone-faced bridges** constructed along the historic carriage-road system on Mount Desert Island. John D. Rockefeller Jr. financed **16 of the 17 bridges** as part of his vision for a network of roads where people could travel through the landscape by horse, carriage, or on foot — away from the growing presence of automobiles.

Rockefeller was an avid horseman and wanted visitors to be able to experience the forests, mountains, streams, and valleys of Mount Desert Island without motor traffic dominating the experience. Beginning in 1913, that vision eventually became an extraordinary network of carriage roads designed to follow the natural contours of the land rather than overpower them.

Hemlock Bridge itself stretches about **200 feet** across the deep ravine of Maple Spring Brook. Its reinforced-concrete structure was faced with native granite so it would feel as though it belonged in the surrounding forest — which, more than a century later, it still does.

Today there are **16 of the historic stone-faced bridges within Acadia National Park**, with the 17th, Cobblestone Bridge, located just outside the park.

It’s one of my favorite examples of how the human history of Acadia and the natural landscape were intentionally designed to work together.

For those who have explored Acadia’s carriage roads — **which of Rockefeller’s bridges is your favorite?**

**Sources: National Park Service, Acadia National Park, Joe's Guide to Acadia National Park**

Hemlock Bridge, Acadia National Park