History of Islesboro Central School Islesboro Central School was built in 1928 as a summer cottage by Mrs. J.T. Atterbury.
The cottage was built for approximately $225,000 on a twenty-one
acre site on Warren Mountain in the Dark Harbor section of the island.
The structure was built from stone that was blasted from the original
site. The twenty-five room mansion later became known as "Rock Ledge"
when Mrs. Lillian Whitmarsh of New York owned the estate.  "The ultimate goal of the educational system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursing his own education. This will not be a widely shared pursuit until we get over our odd conviction that education is what goes on in school buildings and nowhere else." ~ John William Gardner |  In the summer of 1952 the town of Islesboro offered to buy the residence
from Mrs. Whitmarsh to be used as a school. However, at that time Mrs.
Whitmarsh refused to sell the property. That December, at a special town
meeting, the island residents voted unanimously to accept the gift of
Mrs. Whitmarsh's estate to be renovated and used as their new public
school. Mrs. Whitmarsh had given the island what was described as, "The
most wonderful Christmas gift ever"  |
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