A FASCINATING HISTORY
The name of the first European to set foot on Smuttynose Island remains unknown, but the Isles of Shoals were sighted by many early explorers including Gosnold (1602), Pring (1603), Champlain in (1605), and Argal (1610). Captain John Smith visited in 1614 and named these rocky outcroppings Smythe Isles, perhaps after himself.
Tales of pirates, ghosts, and shipwrecks abound on the Isles. While there is no factual basis for the legend of 16-yr old Mary Ormand, abandoned here by the infamous pirate Blackbeard, the myth has inspired spectral sightings on foggy moonless nights. The popular myth, that she was left behind to guard her pirate husband's booty, still inspires Star Islanders to chant, "You will come back! You will come back!" to each departing ferry.
The rocky cairn on the eastern high point of Smuttynose is likely an aid to navigation, and despite claims of Viking origin, was likely built in the 19th century to attract hotel tourists. We know, thanks to recent archaeological digs, that Native Americans frequented Smuttynose from at least 6,000 years ago. European fishermen were here from the 1620s, returning seasonally with their valuable catch of large cod, that they salted and dried on the rocks ofSmuttynose Island, Appledore, and Star. Smuttynose was a highly active staging area for fishing into the early 1700s.
The stone pier that shelters Smuttynose Cove was built by the Haley family who lived on Smuttynose from around the time of the American Revolution until it was purchased by Thomas Laighton in 1839. Capt. Sam Haley, according to family lore, built the breakwater to Malaga after he discovered bars of silver hidden on the island. Despite imaginary tales of Blackbeard, the only documented pirate story at the Isles of Shoals involves the crew of John Quelch whose men were captured with a small cache of gold dust on Star Island in the early 1700s.
Capt. Haley's silver bars, if real, would more likely have been salvaged from a ship wrecked against the rocky island. In 1813, for example, a Spanish ship crashed on Smuttynose. All of its crew perished and were buried by the Haley family, although the actual burial site remains a mystery. That may be the year that the Haley's built the first hotel on the islands, curiously named The Mid-Ocean House of Entertainment. The foundation of the old hotel can still be seen behind Gull Cottage, built for "Rozzie" Thaxter in the mid 20th century. . The Haley's also built the surviving cottage sometime between 1770 and 1800. It is the only other surviving structure on what was once a populated little island.
A young Cela Laighton met her future husband, Levi Thaxter, on Smuttynose when he was a guest at the hotel in the mid 1840s. Thomas and Eliza Laighton, Celia's parents, opened their grand Appledore Hotel in 1848. The Appledore Hotel became a cultural Mecca for Victorian tourists--including famous writers, musicians, and artists of the day. Celia Thaxter became one of the best known writers of her era.
The stone foundation of the Hontvet House can be seen to the right of the Haley Cottage. This was the site of the 1873 ax murders of two Norwegian women by a fisherman named Louis Wagner, who was executed two years later. Rumors that the surviving victim, Maren Hontvet, was the killer are utterly false.
Tales of pirates, ghosts, and shipwrecks abound on the Isles. While there is no factual basis for the legend of 16-yr old Mary Ormand, abandoned here by the infamous pirate Blackbeard, the myth has inspired spectral sightings on foggy moonless nights. The popular myth, that she was left behind to guard her pirate husband's booty, still inspires Star Islanders to chant, "You will come back! You will come back!" to each departing ferry.
The rocky cairn on the eastern high point of Smuttynose is likely an aid to navigation, and despite claims of Viking origin, was likely built in the 19th century to attract hotel tourists. We know, thanks to recent archaeological digs, that Native Americans frequented Smuttynose from at least 6,000 years ago. European fishermen were here from the 1620s, returning seasonally with their valuable catch of large cod, that they salted and dried on the rocks ofSmuttynose Island, Appledore, and Star. Smuttynose was a highly active staging area for fishing into the early 1700s.
The stone pier that shelters Smuttynose Cove was built by the Haley family who lived on Smuttynose from around the time of the American Revolution until it was purchased by Thomas Laighton in 1839. Capt. Sam Haley, according to family lore, built the breakwater to Malaga after he discovered bars of silver hidden on the island. Despite imaginary tales of Blackbeard, the only documented pirate story at the Isles of Shoals involves the crew of John Quelch whose men were captured with a small cache of gold dust on Star Island in the early 1700s.
Capt. Haley's silver bars, if real, would more likely have been salvaged from a ship wrecked against the rocky island. In 1813, for example, a Spanish ship crashed on Smuttynose. All of its crew perished and were buried by the Haley family, although the actual burial site remains a mystery. That may be the year that the Haley's built the first hotel on the islands, curiously named The Mid-Ocean House of Entertainment. The foundation of the old hotel can still be seen behind Gull Cottage, built for "Rozzie" Thaxter in the mid 20th century. . The Haley's also built the surviving cottage sometime between 1770 and 1800. It is the only other surviving structure on what was once a populated little island.
A young Cela Laighton met her future husband, Levi Thaxter, on Smuttynose when he was a guest at the hotel in the mid 1840s. Thomas and Eliza Laighton, Celia's parents, opened their grand Appledore Hotel in 1848. The Appledore Hotel became a cultural Mecca for Victorian tourists--including famous writers, musicians, and artists of the day. Celia Thaxter became one of the best known writers of her era.
The stone foundation of the Hontvet House can be seen to the right of the Haley Cottage. This was the site of the 1873 ax murders of two Norwegian women by a fisherman named Louis Wagner, who was executed two years later. Rumors that the surviving victim, Maren Hontvet, was the killer are utterly false.
