"William Lawton built the house on the Clark Point Road opposite Island Cottage in 1910 and Mr. and Mrs. Lawton moved into it on June 23rd of that summer. He also built the building at the shore on the same lot and there he canned fish and clams for some years. After the death of Mrs. Lawton in 1929 the place was sold to Robert G. Crocker of New York who made extensive changes and additions and used it as a summer home. Mrs. Lawton conducted a very successful tea room in her home for some years and it was a popular gathering place for the summer residents from all over the island. The little shop at the shore was taken down in 1936." - "Traditions and Records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine" by Mrs. Seth S. Thornton, p. 174 - 1938.
The tea room existed in 1923 as Mrs. Lawton ran an ad in that year's High School yearbook, the "Pemetic," for her tea room. Mrs. Lawton's Tea Room and Gift Shop offered souvenirs, post cards, home made ice cream and "all kinds of cut flowers in season."
