Mount Kineo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mt. Kineo, situated beside Moosehead Lake in Maine, is in the northern Maine forest, which stretches north to Canada. Kineo is a peninsula, comprising 1150 acres (4.7 km²), which extends from the easterly shore into the lake. Mt. Kineo, with 700 foot (213 meter) cliffs rising straight up from the water, is a dramatic setting that has attracted visitors for centuries.
Native Americans once traveled great distances to Mt. Kineo to acquire its rhyolite rock. The mountain is a peculiar geological formation of flint known as siliceous slate, or hornstone. It is the country's largest known mass of this rock, once used by Indians to craft arrowheads, hatchets, chisels, etc. Because Indian implements made from the stone have been found in all parts of New England and even further south, it is evident that various tribes visited Mt. Kineo for centuries to obtain this material.
In 1846, Henry D. Thoreau visited the Moosehead Lake region, and the mountain's geological formation, Indian relics and traditions deeply interested him. The first Mt. Kineo House was built on the shores of Moosehead Lake in 1848, but burned in 1868. Rebuilt in 1870 and opened in 1871, the second Mt. Kineo House would burn in 1882. Designed by Arthur H. Vinal, the third Mt. Kineo House opened in 1884. Mt. Kineo Golf Course, built in the 1880s, is believed to be the second oldest in New England. In 1911, the Maine Central Railroad purchased the resort and engaged the Hiram Ricker Hotel Company to operate it. Then the largest inland waterfront hotel in America, it had accommodations for over 500 guests. But in 1933, the railroad eliminated its Kineo branch, and in 1938 sold the hotel. It burned during demolition.
