Appledore Island (formerly known as Hog Island) is the largest of the Isles of Shoals located about seven miles off the

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

coast. It is part of the Town of Kittery, in York County.

History

Appledore Island was originally settled by Europeans in the colonial era, when the ease of transport by water made farming on an island economically efficient. A church was established in 1640. Near 1700, the entire settlement on this island moved to Star Island in

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

to escape taxes imposed by Massachusetts (of which Maine was then a province). The heyday of the island was the artists salon that thrived there in the late 19th century, before the advent of artists' colonies as we know them today.

Celia Thaxter Celia Thaxter (née Laighton; June 29, 1835 – August 25, 1894) was an American writer of poetry and stories. For most of her life, she lived with her father on the Isles of Shoals at his Appledore Hotel. How she grew up to become a writer is d ...

reigned over an impressive group of friends who were also the leading artists, musicians, and writers of the day. These included

Edward MacDowell Edward Alexander MacDowell (December 18, 1860January 23, 1908) was an American composer and pianist of the late Romantic period. He was best known for his second piano concerto and his piano suites '' Woodland Sketches'', ''Sea Pieces'' and ''Ne ...

and his wife; American pianist

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

, son of Lowell Mason, who played the grand piano in her salon daily; and

John Knowles Paine John Knowles Paine (January 9, 1839 – April 25, 1906) was the first United States, American-born composer to achieve fame for large-scale orchestral music. The senior member of a group of composers collectively known as the Boston Six, Paine wa ...

, America's first serious composer of note.

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressionis ...

painted Celia's magnificent garden in a style similar to

Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

's Giverny paintings. The hotel burned in 1914, bringing down the final curtain on this heyday in American arts. A charming small original daybook from this time period was re-published in part, in 1992, titled ''The Isles of Shoals Remembered'', by Caleb Mason. The island is home to

Shoals Marine Laboratory Shoals Marine Laboratory (SML) is a seasonal marine field station located on Appledore Island, Maine, in the United States. Appledore Island is the largest of the Isles of Shoals archipelago, a group of rocky islands just offshore of the coastlin ...

, run cooperatively by

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

and the

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

since the early 1970s. Appledore Island is owned predominantly by the Star Island Corporation. The most prominent feature on the island is a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

concrete

observation tower An observation tower is a tower used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision to conduct long distance observations. Observation towers are usually at least tall and are made from stone, iron, and woo ...

built to hold a

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

installation. The dome intended to hold the radar no longer exists, and the radar unit was never installed.

Geology

The maximum elevation of Appledore is approximately 80 feet above sea level. The majority of the island has a metamorphic makeup, with

gneiss Gneiss (pronounced ) is a common and widely distributed type of metamorphic rock. It is formed by high-temperature and high-pressure metamorphic processes acting on formations composed of igneous or sedimentary rocks. This rock is formed under p ...

being the most prevalent. The formation of the island is thought to be characterized by five major geological events: namely, formation of the Rye Complex of Maine and New Hampshire, intrusion of diorites, Acadian orogeny, diabase dikes, and glaciation. Evidence of these events can be seen in glacial scarps, evidence of abrasion, presence of dikes, glacial plucking, and more. For example, glacial plucking contributed to the whaleback shape of the island which is resultant of rock drumlin cliff faces.

References

External links

Shoals Marine Laboratory
{{authority control Islands of York County, Maine Kittery, Maine Islands of Maine Coastal islands of Maine

History

Geology

See also

References

External links