The cutback would have removed the island's caretakers. Though the island was spared, funding has continued to be the bane of its existence. This 18th-century saltbox, in serious need of restoration to preserve it, overlooks the Kennebec River from the shores of Swan Island. A state-run motorboat, with a capacity of 12, takes day trippers and campers to the island from a landing in Richmond. About 5,000 people visited the island in 1996.
Public access is managed through a reservation-only system.
Swan Island is also known as the Steve Powell Wildlife Management Area, after the island's former manager, who died in 1971. James Hewat, an architectural historian with the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, lives in neighboring Richmond. He has studied the island's history at length. The island was settled around 1719. In September 1750, the Whidden farm was attacked by Abenaki Indians.