History of Highseas
JAX® NOTES Issue 513, Spring 2009
by Arthur and Isabelle Stover and Kathryn Mittelberger**
Highseas* was built in 1912 by Professor Rudolph E. Brunnow, a professor at Princeton University. The granite was quarried locally, but the tapestry bricks were bought in Philadelphia and shipped here packed in boxes of straw. John Preble was the mason, Fred Savage the architect, and Howard Marshall the "boss" carpenter. All the cabinetry and finish work was done by Lester Hanson of the R.H. Moon company. These were all Bar Harbor men, excellent in their fields of work.
The story goes that Professor Brunnow was a widower with several children and that he built the house for his bride who was coming from Europe. Unfortunately, this lady was on the Titanic when it went down. It is said that he laid out the now famous Precipice Trail. He fell while mountain climbing and was not found until the following morning. He developed pneumonia and died at Highseas.
It was rumored during World War I that Professor Brunnow was a German spy, and the local people thought he was supplying the Germans with information. It was also said that there was a secret room at Highseas. None of this, however, was verified.
Mrs. Eva Van Cortland Hawkes of New York City bought the house in 1924 for the sum of $25,000! Mrs. Hawkes' family was descended from Governor Morris (one of the signers of the Articles of Confederation) and the wealth of the family came from the New York Central Railroad, the American Tobacco Co., and real estate in New York City. Mrs. Hawkes was divorced from McDougall Hawkes, an engineer who built the Old Battery Park in New York City, for which he received very little recognition; the plaque is placed in a spot where it is not easily seen. Mrs. Hawkes had one daughter, who was an invalid from birth until her death at about age 13. She had the attention of doctors in in Vienna and Paris, but nothing could be done. The child's nursemaid married Mrs. Hawke's butler and they lived in Bar Harbor for many years.
Mrs. Hawkes, for all her wealth, was a lonely woman, keeping mostly to herself. She was very patriotic and during World War II entertained frequently for both American and English natives whenever ships were in Bar Harbor. No expense was spared at these parties: champagne flowed freely and Lobster Newburg was made in 30 gallon tins. Mr. Wolf, a longtime caterer in Bar Harbor, was in charge of these parties. For one occasion $2000 was spent on an awning for the porch- probably never used afterwards. There was a large staff of servants- a butler, two footmen, a downstairs maid, cook, kitchen maid, laundress, an upstairs maid, a personal maid, a cleaning woman, a chauffeur, and a gardener. With this household to wait on her, there were many nights when Mrs. Hawkes would have a bowl of soup for dinner- served by the butler with a footman in the background!
At one time Mrs. Hawkes had 24 Sealyham terriers; the so called "dog house" was built to house them. She always had one dog as a personal pet, but the others were kept in the doghouse and outside yards.
During World War II, Mrs. Hawkes was fearful of being bombed and had some of the roofs painted pine green for camouflage. (Of course, Egg Rock Light was lit!) She also, in her later years in Bar Harbor, had a night watchman, as a precaution against kidnapping. She usually arrived in Bar Harbor around Memorial Day and left before Labor Day. She was driven from New York by a chauffeur, in the earlier days, in a car custom-built by Brewster. She was told this would be a one of a kind car, but was chagrined to see another just like it soon after she bought hers. The "help" came by train usually a couple of days before "Madam". There was a great flurry to get things ready for her arrival.
Mrs. Hawkes was very interested in her garden, and in the 1930's did a great deal of renovating. There was no lawn to mow at Highseas, but very beautiful gardens both on the front door side and toward the ocean. The rose garden was especially lovely, and for many years her tea roses took first place at the Flower Shows, then held at the Building of Arts.
Mrs. Hawkes was not at Highseas at the time of the October 1947 fire. The garage (with an 11 room apartment) and the butler's house across the brook (always called The Little House) both burned. A small greenhouse also burned. That the doghouse wasn't destroyed was a miracle. However, the gardener had kept the hoses on the "Big House" and only the cellar door was scarred by the raging flames that devastated so much of Bar Harbor. Mrs. Hawkes was ill at the time in New York and never knew of the destruction here.
Among her heirs (three nephews) was A. Newbold Morris (former member of the New York City Council under Mayor LaGuardia). These nephews inherited Highseas at Mrs. Hawkes' death. They later conveyed the estate to the Jackson Laboratory, and it has been used for many years as a summer residence for students in the Laboratory's Training Program.
Much of Mrs. Hawkes' personal property went to the Philadelphia Museum where there is a room set aside in her name.
Mrs. Hawkes was fond of young people and had given most of her library to the gardener's daughter before the fire- unfortunately these precious books burned in his apartment. She would be gratified to know of the good use to which Highseas has been put in the interest of young people.
*This name was given to the house by Mrs. Hawkes one morning when there was a particularly rough sea. The Jackson Laboratory later changed the spelling to Highseas.
**Mr. Stover was the gardener at Highseas from 1931 to 1951. Ms. Mittelberger is his daughter.
