Isles of Shoals

Isles of Shoals Review

Many of these nine small, rocky islands (eight at high tide) retain the earthy names—Hog and Smuttynose to cite but two—given them by transient 17th-century fishermen. A history of piracy, murder, and ghosts surrounds the archipelago, long populated by an independent lot who, according to one writer, hadn't the sense to winter on the mainland. Not all the islands lie within the state's borders: after an ownership dispute, five went to Maine and four to New Hampshire.

Celia Thaxter, a native islander, romanticized these islands with her poetry in Among the Isles of Shoals (1873) and celebrated her garden in An Island Garden (1894; now reissued with the original color illustrations by Childe Hassam). In the late 19th century, Appledore Island became an offshore retreat for Thaxter's coterie of writers, musicians, and artists. The island is now used by the Marine Laboratory of Cornell University. Star Island contains a nondenominational conference center and is open for guided tours.