Swan's Island: Six miles east of ordinary

During the early 1900s the population in each separate village grew and so did the number of stores. The 1920 census stated that 566 people were living on Swan’s Island. It was said that each of the three villages had two stores at one time or another. Even Irish Point, one of the earliest areas of settlement, had a store. Travel around the island was by foot, carriage, or animal so it was convenient to have these supplies nearby.

These village stores carried just about anything needed: canned goods, "rat cheese," a favorite of islanders, meat and produce, flour, candy, and household goods. It was a long day for a store owner who kept the doors open all day and then would keep the finances and plan to restock the shelves after hours. The stores, much like the post offices, were a meeting place for islanders to catch up on local news.

Stock for the stores would arrive by boat. In 1894 when the first steamboat began a daily trip between Swan’s Island and Rockland, supplies would be delivered by the steamboat.

The Seawind, operated by Fred Thomas and George Stanley, also supplied the island with goods from the mainland in the mid 1900s. It left Swan’s Island at seven in the morning from the Quarry Wharf in Minturn, stopped at nearby Frenchboro, then McKinley (now known as Bass Harbor, on Mount Desert Island), and returned to Swan’s Island in the evening. Stores were able to get needed supplies on a more regular basis while the Seawind was operating.