Maine artists will soon install granite sculptures along Ellsworth’s Union River trail, which begins behind the city’s public library.
The project — led by community group Heart of Ellsworth — will add sculptures made with locally sourced materials to the Union Riverwalk in the latest investment in Ellsworth’s downtown riverfront.
Several of the pieces, which were made by artists from the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium, were temporarily installed on the Ellsworth Public Library lawn in May 2025. The symposium also contributed to the 34-piece Maine Sculpture Trail, which covers over 200 miles from the Bangor area across Hancock and Washington counties.
Heart of Ellsworth is using state grants and private donations for the sculpture trail’s funding, according to an April 28 press release. The group is also partnering with the city of Ellsworth to extend the existing quarter-mile trail northward, connecting it to residential streets overlooking a dam on Leonard Lake.
“Located along Riverwalk North, the project will create a 0.75-mile loop connecting downtown Ellsworth, the Union River and nearby neighborhoods, while strengthening access to Knowlton Park,” the group’s press release said.
Future phases of the riverwalk project could stretch the trail from downtown to the city’s waterfront Harbor Park further downstream, according to a document presented to Hancock County commissioners in early April.
The city of Ellsworth, Hancock County and Brookfield Renewable Partners — the entity that owns the nearby hydroelectric dam — donated the riverfront trail easements to the local land trust Frenchman Bay Conservancy, who now maintain the trail for public access.
The initial trail will include five granite sculptures, two of which will be installed this fall and the remaining three of which will be installed in 2028, pending additional trail work.
Four of the sculptures will be commissioned under the direction of the community group’s design committee and one — the Chaise Gabion by Maine sculptor Celeste Robere — will be purchased. The Chaise now serves as a bench overlooking the Union River, with stones encased in metal netting.
The remaining four sculptures will be commissioned by four artists of the symposium, including its founder Jesse Salisbury, who grew up near Ellsworth, and Tim Shay, a Wabanaki artist from Indian Island.
Artists Kazumi Hoshino, a Japanese-born Maine resident, and Mark Harrington, who has an art studio near Ellsworth, will also carve pieces for the trail.
The sculptures will use locally sourced Ellsworth schist, which is known to be the oldest rock on Mount Desert Island.
The project’s organizers are hosting a Jane’s Walk, a community-led walking tour, beginning at the trailhead behind the library at 4 p.m. on May 2, during which they will discuss the installations and future plans.
