Page "College of the Atlantic" Paragraph 5

College of the Atlantic was started by Mount Desert Island residents that wanted to stabilize the island economy by forming a year-round institution bringing educational opportunities, jobs, activities, and culture to the island during the seasons when tourist visitation was slim.

First, they proposed the Acadia Peace College, but the idea was quickly dropped and COA as a school of human ecology was granted temporary approval on June 23, 1969, by the Maine State Board of Education.

Most of the campus was purchased for $ 1 from the Oblate Fathers of Mary Immaculate Seminary, who used the site as a monastery.

Parts of the campus were also donated by the Cough family ( Bernard K. Cough I was one of the five founders of the school ).