Isles of Shoals

The Isles of Shoals are a group of nine small islands situated approximately 16 km (10 miles) off the east coast of the USA, straddling the border of the states of New Hampshire and Maine. First settled by Europeans in the early 1600s, they were an important fishing area for the young British and French colonies. The Town of Gosport was incorporated on the New Hampshire side of the border, centered on Star Island in 1724. The community was fairly prosperous up until about 1778, when the Islanders were evacuated to Rye, New Hampshire due to the Revolutionary War. Though a small population remained, the Isles were largely abandoned until the middle of the 19th century, when Thomas and Oscar Leighton opened a popular summer hotels on Appledore Island, and their sister, the poet Celia Thaxter hosted an arts community frequented by such luminaries as author Nathaniel Hawthorne and the impressionist painter, Childe Hassam. The popularity of the Leighton's "Appledore House" soon lead to establishment of the Mid-Ocean House on Smuttynose Island, and the Oceanic Hotel, which is still in use today on Star Island.

The islands

Appledore Island, in Maine, is the largest of the Isles of Shoals. Formerly known as Hog Island, and prior that, Farm Island, it is approximately a mile from east to west, and five-eighths of a mile from north to south. Appledore House having been lost to a fire in 1914, today the Island is the operating station of the Shoals Marine Laboratory, which is run through the cooperation of Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire. It is owned by the Star Island Corporation.

Smuttynose Island is the second largest of the Isles. It is known as the site of Blackbeard's honeymoon, for the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Sagunto in 1813, and for the notorious 1873 axe murders of two young women, remembered in the recent novel "The Weight of Water." Though there are two small houses on the island, Smuttynose is not populated today.

Malaga Island is a small island just to the east of Smuttynose, and is connected to it by breakwater. The breakwater was built around 1820 by Captain Samuel Haley, who is reputed to have paid for its construction with the proceeds from four bars of pirate silver that he found under a flat rock on the island.

The third largest island, Star Island is the only island which is today served by a ferry from the mainland. It is a religious conference center, owned by the Star Island Corporation, which is affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ. During the summer, the island is host to a number of week-long and shorter conferences which make use of the Oceanic Hotel, Gosport House, the 150-year-old chapel, and several buildings dating back to the original village. Short-term day visitors are also welcome, though the ferry service from Portsmouth, NH will be limited durring the 2005 summer season.

Other islands are White Island and Lunging Island on the New Hampshire side of the border and Duck and Cedar Islands in the state of Maine. White Island hosts one of the two lighthouses on the New Hampshire coast. Lunging Island, formerly Londoner's Island, was the sight of an early trading post for cod fish. Today, it is privately owned. Cedar Island is also connected to Smuttynose by breakwater and is privately owned. Duck Island lies about 1.5 miles to the north and was used at one time as a bombing range for the US Navy. It is also owned by the Star Island Corporation, but kept as a wildlife santuary. It is host to a seal colony, though it has never supported a human population.

External links

• Star Island Corporation (http://www.starisland.org)
• Shoals Marine Laboratory (http://www.sml.cornell.edu/)