Not every Maine summer home has its own protective, nonprofit organization to look after it. That's your first hint that this was the house of a notable Mainer. And indeed that was the case. The man who purchased this midcoast island in 1881 was one of the most famous people to graduate from Bowdoin College, a school with which his name will always be associated. Though his travels took him away from it more than he liked, our hero always relished returning to this seventeen-acre island in the Brunswick area. He first saw the green isle when he was a schoolboy on a tour of Casco Bay, and ever after he had a restless determination to own it. When he was able to do so, he paid $500 for his own little piece of paradise, and he soon began to remake it to fit his vision. According to lore, he saw this rocky headland as the prow of a ship cutting a northeasterly course across the bay, and he built his home where he envisioned the captain should sit. Home & Garden Television thought enough of the place to showcase it in a special episode. It's the kind of summer home any Mainer would want, with five gabled bedrooms upstairs, glassed-in porches to take in the vistas, a three-sided fireplace, porthole windows, and a study where our captain could sit and enjoy a 270-degree view of the sea. Upon the death of his wife, his family donated their beloved summer place to the state, and it's now a historic site and open to the public for tours. Local tour boats run trips out to the island through Labor Day. Send us a note if you can identify this rugged isle — and the man who made it famous.