Naples Historical Society Collection

SummaryThe Naples Historical Society Collection consists of 38 reels of film shot between 1930 and 1965. Much of the footage consists of activities in and around Long Lake at the Chute Homestead tourist resort, a family-owned business in Naples, Maine. There are several scenes of people swimming, fishing, boating, and relaxing at the resort. A popular activity was riding in a bathtub fitted with an outboard motor. The collection also contains footage of local parades throughout Maine to celebrate a number of events, such as the Naples Centennial in 1961. There is quite a bit of footage of railroads as well, from people riding large scale, or G scale, model trains to people in costume acting out scenes in and around narrow gauge trains and train tracks. Several antique car shows and events are also featured in the footage. Scenes of Maine in the winter and fall, including several shots of covered bridges surrounded by orange foliage, appear throughout the collection. The collection also contains footage from various trips outside Maine, including ones to Gaspé, Canada, Washington D.C., Atlantic City, NJ, Florida and the 1939 World’s Fair in New York City, NY. There is footage from the 1973 National Scout Jamboree East, which took place in Moraine State Park, Pennsylvania.

Biographical/Historical NotesJames C. Chute was a lifelong resident of Naples, Maine, where he was born in 1884. He founded the Chute Homestead on his family’s 200 acre farm there in 1910. The Homestead was a resort along the east shore of Long Lake where guests could engage in boating, fishing, swimming, tennis and hiking. James Chute was active in local politics and helped develop the summer tourism industry in his area. He served as town treasurer for Naples, as a director of the Maine Publicity Bureau, and was a member of the Democratic State Committee. His son, Philip Chute, was born in Naples in 1920. Philip Chute began college at the School of Forest Resources at the University of Maine in Orono in 1940, then enlisted in the Army in 1942. This is the same year that his father, James Chute, passed away. Philip Chute took over the family business and added more cottages to the Chute Homestead. Philip Chute served as town selectman, was a Scoutmaster, and co-found the Lakes Environmental Association to protect the lakes region around Naples. The Chute Homestead was destroyed by a fire in 1978. Philip Chute died in 1990.

RepositoryNortheast Historic Film

AvailabilityThe Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and UseAuthorization to reuse and/or reproduce must be obtained from Northeast Historic Film. See http://www.oldfilm.org/research for more information.