"Later [Abraham Somes] built a substantial frame house on the site of the Somes House and a part of that house is embodied in the present hotel. Some of the rooms at the back remain almost as they were at first. The house was built as a one-story building and later the walls were raised. Since then there have been many alterations and additions. George A. Somes finally inherited the property, developed the hotel business and built the two cottages toward the shore. His widow now owns it and conducts the hotel." - “Traditions and Records of Southwest Harbor and Somesville, Mount Desert Island, Maine” by Mrs. Seth S. Thornton, 1938, p. 270-271.
“When George A. Somes inherited the [Somes House], he expanded the family inn by constructing two large additions, one attached at the left and the other freestanding to the right, giving the hotel a capacity of 150 guests. Noted visitors included Louis Comfort Tiffany, Alfred Vanderbilt, Joseph Pulitzer, J.P. Morgan, Pres. William Howard Taft, and Mary Cassatt. Known for its chicken and lobster dinners, the Somes House operated into the 1950s with rates of $5 to $10 a day." - “Mount Desert Island - Somesville, Southwest Harbor, and Northeast Harbor” by Earle G. Shettleworth Jr. and Lydia B. Vandenbergh - Images of America Series, 2001, p. 27.
