Bar Harbor, town in Hancock County, in southeastern Maine, on Mount Desert Island, on Frenchman Bay. Since the middle of the 19th century Bar Harbor has been a popular summer resort. The Jackson Laboratory (1929), which conducts biological research, and the College of the Atlantic are located in the town, and Acadia National Park is nearby. Bar Harbor is the terminus for ferry service to and from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Bar Harbor was settled in 1763 and was incorporated as Eden in 1796. The present name of the town was adopted in 1918. Population 4,124 (1980); 4,443 (1990); 2,768 (1996 estimate).
