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Coordinates: 42°58′53″N 70°36′41″W / 42.98139, -70.61139

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.

Some of the islands were used for seasonal fishing camps by Native Americans, and first settled by Europeans in the early 1600s. They became 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 hotel 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 led to establishment of the Mid-Ocean House on Smuttynose Island, and the Oceanic Hotel, which is still in use today on Star Island.

Appledore Island, in Maine, is the largest of the Isles of Shoals, at 95 acres (38 ha). Formerly known as Hog Island, and prior to that as Farm Island, it is approximately a mile (1.6 km) from east to west, and five-eighths of a mile (1 km) from north to south. It was the home of a large hotel, the Appledore House, during the 19th century, but was lost to a fire in 1914. Today, the island is the operating station of the Shoals Marine Laboratory, run cooperatively by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire. The island is mostly owned by the Star Island Corporation.

Gosport Chapel in 1905

Second in size at 46 acres (19 ha), Star Island is the only island served by a commercial boat 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 hosts 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 welcomed, although that may depend on the boat schedule. This is also a popular destination for sailboats wishing to tie up overnight in Gosport harbor.

Smuttynose Island, at 25 acres (10 ha), is the third largest. It is known as the site of Blackbeard's honeymoon, later for the shipwreck of the Spanish ship Sagunto in 1813, and then for the notorious 1873 murders of two young women. The latter is recalled in the story, "A Memorable Murder", by Celia Thaxter, in the 1997 novel, The Weight of Water, by Anita Shreve (and in the film of the same name), and in the song, "The Ballad of Louis Wagner" by John Perrault. There are two small houses on the island. One of them, the Samuel Haley house, was once believed to be the oldest structure in the state of Maine.[1] Smuttynose is not populated today.[2]

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

White Island Light in c. 1910

Other islands include 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 features one of the two lighthouses on the New Hampshire coast. Lunging Island, formerly Londoner's Island, was the site of an early trading post for codfish. Today, it is privately owned.

Duck Island lies about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north and once was used as a bombing range for the US Navy. It has been sold by the Star Island Corporation to the Maine Coastal Heritage Trust, and is kept as a wildlife sanctuary. It is home to a seal colony, and has never supported a human population.

Cedar Island is connected by breakwaters to both Smuttynose Island and Star Island and is privately owned.

• Star Island Corporation
• Shoals Marine Laboratory