he Ledgelawn Inn is in the heart of the historic corridor of Mt Desert St and is the oldest residence along this historic corridor.  It was constructed in 1904.    The Ledgelawn was not the first mansion to be constructed on this site however.  There was a prior structure here owned by a Miss Shannon, dating to the mid 1800's.  Ms Shannon's estate was massive, her property line ran all the way down to Compass Harbor.    The road that encloses the property to the east still bears her name.    After the Shannon estate burned, a wealthy shoe manufacturer from Massachusetts named John Brigham acquired the property.  He commissioned the well known architecht Fred Savage to design the home and Bar Harbor builder John Clark to construct the Ledgelawn.  Mr. Savage was a prominent figure in the architecture world at this time.  He is credited with developing one of the few architectural forms indigenous to the the U.S; the shingle style.  This particular building was constructed during Mr. Savage's later period and is called a colonial revival.  These shingled-style cottages were very popular with "rusticators".   The Ledgelawn was the last summer residence built on Mt. Desert Street.  Mr. Savage was also the architect of many other buildings in the area using elements of the colonial revival, including the Asticou Inn in Northeast Harbor, and the Chiltern Inn here in Bar Harbor.  (www.chilterninnbarharbor.com)   After the completion of the Ledgelawn, Mr Brigham stayed here during the summers and was known for throwing lavish parties. The formerly spacious interior of the first floor, which has now been altered, provided the perfect place to entertain.  In 1947 Bar Harbor suffered a terrible fire.  Much of the town was destroyed. The fire came right up to the property line before halting.  As a result, the Ledgelawn is one of the few surviving residences from before the mid 20th century.    The Ledgelawn was first established as a commercial property in the 1970's when it was purchased by Nancy Cloud and Michael Miles, who owned the property for more than twenty years.  During that time they made several alterations.  Noticeably, they added walls ot the left and the right as you enter the lobby in order to make more rooms.  Originally, the entry way was completly open from north to south, with only columns for support.   You can see those old columns embedded in the walls.  Another wall was added around the grand staircase, which used to be open for the full three stories.  The couple also modernized the decor of the Ledgelawn according to the fashion of the times; hence the floral wallpaper and wall to wall carpeting.   The new owners, Joan and Daniel Mills, have begun renovating in their own fashion. Most of the recent work, however, has been less noticeable because they have been focusing on reinforcing the basic structure of the building itself.  Mr. and Mrs. Mills are researcing the history of the Ledgelawn, from the interior layout to the furnishings and floorings, in hopes of restoring the building in a more authentic style..