One Traveler's Opinion: In the footsteps of Celia Thaxter
Oct 31st, 2003, 12:31 PM
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One Traveler's Opinion: In the footsteps of Celia Thaxter
This past summer on a day that was stifling hot in Boston, my wife and I took a day trip back in time and space, and stepped inside an impressionist painting. For a few hours, we wandered an island largely forgotten by time and, for a few minutes, stood inside an incredible garden that until a few years ago, had existed for more than a century only in a painting. We went to see Celia Thaxter's garden on Appledore Island off the New England coast. Herewith, a report.
A century ago, it was common for families of means to escape the cities' summer heat and spend two to three months in the mountains or along the ocean. Those with great wealth built homes in the Berkshires or along the Maine coast. Those of less affluence flocked to massive hotels, only a few of which still stand today.
One of those long-vanished hotels was Appledore House on Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals, a dozen or so specks of land six miles off of the coast on the Maine-New Hampshire border. The hotel was built by Thomas Laighton, who moved his family to a cottage on the island while he ran the hotel. Laighton's daughter, Celia, would marry Levi Thaxter, her tutor and her father's sometime-business partner. Levi ran the hotel, Celia built an enduring legacy.
Celia Thaxter (1843-1894) was a writer, poet and artist, drawing her inspiration from Appledore Island. Her vivid poetry attracted the attention of many of the literary and artistic figures of the late 19th century and, for nearly two decades, her home on the island became a summer literary salon for notables including Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Mark Twain. Appledore would also attract an artists' colony led by Childe Hassam, who painted more that 400 views of the Isles of Shoals. One of his most memorable paintings is of Celia Thaxter in her garden. You can see the painting here: http://www.progressiveart.com/americ...%20_garden.jpg.
The era of hotels like the Appledore House passed with the coming of the automobile, and it and Celia Thaxter's cottage were destroyed by fire in 1915. The Isles of Shoals were left to the gulls for more than 70 years. Revival of interest in the works of Thaxter and Hassam prompted expeditions to the island to try to locate the remains of the house and garden. Several New Hampshire coastal garden clubs took it upon themselves to re-create the garden, using Thaxter's 1893 book, "An Island Garden" as their guide (Hassam contributed illustrations). About five years ago, the gardeners pronounced the project "suitable for presentation."
All trips to Appledore Island pass through Ithica, NY. That's because the island is now owned by Cornell University, which uses one end of the island as a marine laboratory. The island is open to visitors only from the end of June through the end of August, and only on Wednesdays. A maximum of 43 visitors are allowed on the island, so that on the eight Wednesdays the island is open in 2004, fewer than 350 visitors will see the Island and Celia Thaxter's garden. Cornell will open its reservation line on April 1, 2004; the number to call is (607) 255-3717. We called the first week of April; during our visit our guide told us the "prime" mid-July to mid-August dates were fully subscribed by May 1. The cost, including the ferry from Portsmouth, is $36.50 per person, with much the proceeds going to benefit student scholarship funds.
Getting to Appledore is a two-step process. The first is a voyage on the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company (800-441-4620), which departs from Portsmouth's Barker Wharf at 9:25 a.m. The ferry, which takes about 90 minutes, carries day trippers to Star Island, the only populated island in the Isles of Shoals. That island, in turn, is dominated by the Oceanic Hotel, a great brute of a building dating from the 1870s. It provides a sense of what Appledore House may have looked like.
Our visit: At the dock on Star Island, there was a second boat waiting to take us to Appledore. This one belonged to Cornell's Shoals Marine Laboratory, and we traveled with crates of food, water, and laboratory equipment.
The most prominent feature of Appledore Island is a World War II-era spotting tower used to look for submarines and enemy ships. It is long unused, but startling to see given that the rest of the island appears at first to be uninhabited. The Shoals Marine Laboratory blends inconspicuously into the vegetation. The 43 of us, which included docents and gardeners there for a weekly weeding session, walked up to the laboratory's dining room for an orientation. The docents knew their stuff, taking us through the history of the island and of Celia Thaxter's life. During lunch (you're expected to bring your own), a modest Celia Thaxter gift shop opened for business, offering her books, biographies of her, and the obligatory sweaters and tee shirts. Then, we set off across the island.
Appledore Island is less than ten acres in size but sufficiently rugged to offer hikers a challenge. There are no paved roads and few paths. It's a delicate ecology made all the more fragile because, for eight months of the year, the island is both uninhabited and uninhabitable (ice, snow, wind-driven salt water). But for a few months in summer, it sparkles.
There is no longer any trace of Appledore House and the location of Celia's bungalow is known only because of a few foundation stones (volunteers knew where to look using contemporary paintings of the house and its background). But her garden is exactly where and how she left it in 1893, her last summer on the island before her death. Should you choose to go, don't expect some mass of perennial borders and annual beds: this is a small garden, rectangular in shape, modest in size, but intensively planted in the style of that era. According to "An Island Garden", each spring Celia carried seedlings in egg shells on the ferry from Portsmouth; it took a dozen trips to populate the garden. Each seedling had to be carefully nurtured because May's weather along the New Hampshire coast is unpredictable.
We spent 45 minutes at the garden, then walked the rest of the island, which has returned to its natural state. Docents pointed out interesting plants and evidence of earlier habitation. It is remarkable what a century can erase when nature is left to work its magic. By 2 p.m. we had walked all we cared to, and gathered under shaded porch at the marine laboratory. There, a docent told more tales of the visitors to the island in its heyday and of Celia's other works. At 2:45 we boarded the launch and, ten minutes later, made the transfer to the ferry back to the mainland. On the cruise home, we saw the other islets that make up the Isles of Shoals, including one with a lighthouse where Celia spent part of her childhood.
By 4:15, we were navigating Portsmouth's narrow streets and steeling ourselves for the five-mile-backups at the Hampton tolls on I-95. But the drive home turned out to be far more serene; we had a different attitude on that trip home that can still be recalled these months later. Once upon a time there was a woman who was inspired by a rugged island, and who in turn inspired writers and painters to follow her to it. That day, we didn't just see a garden; we walked for a few hours in her shoes and were able to imagine ourselves in her time.
A century ago, it was common for families of means to escape the cities' summer heat and spend two to three months in the mountains or along the ocean. Those with great wealth built homes in the Berkshires or along the Maine coast. Those of less affluence flocked to massive hotels, only a few of which still stand today.
One of those long-vanished hotels was Appledore House on Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals, a dozen or so specks of land six miles off of the coast on the Maine-New Hampshire border. The hotel was built by Thomas Laighton, who moved his family to a cottage on the island while he ran the hotel. Laighton's daughter, Celia, would marry Levi Thaxter, her tutor and her father's sometime-business partner. Levi ran the hotel, Celia built an enduring legacy.
Celia Thaxter (1843-1894) was a writer, poet and artist, drawing her inspiration from Appledore Island. Her vivid poetry attracted the attention of many of the literary and artistic figures of the late 19th century and, for nearly two decades, her home on the island became a summer literary salon for notables including Ralph Waldo Emerson, John Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Mark Twain. Appledore would also attract an artists' colony led by Childe Hassam, who painted more that 400 views of the Isles of Shoals. One of his most memorable paintings is of Celia Thaxter in her garden. You can see the painting here: http://www.progressiveart.com/americ...%20_garden.jpg.
The era of hotels like the Appledore House passed with the coming of the automobile, and it and Celia Thaxter's cottage were destroyed by fire in 1915. The Isles of Shoals were left to the gulls for more than 70 years. Revival of interest in the works of Thaxter and Hassam prompted expeditions to the island to try to locate the remains of the house and garden. Several New Hampshire coastal garden clubs took it upon themselves to re-create the garden, using Thaxter's 1893 book, "An Island Garden" as their guide (Hassam contributed illustrations). About five years ago, the gardeners pronounced the project "suitable for presentation."
All trips to Appledore Island pass through Ithica, NY. That's because the island is now owned by Cornell University, which uses one end of the island as a marine laboratory. The island is open to visitors only from the end of June through the end of August, and only on Wednesdays. A maximum of 43 visitors are allowed on the island, so that on the eight Wednesdays the island is open in 2004, fewer than 350 visitors will see the Island and Celia Thaxter's garden. Cornell will open its reservation line on April 1, 2004; the number to call is (607) 255-3717. We called the first week of April; during our visit our guide told us the "prime" mid-July to mid-August dates were fully subscribed by May 1. The cost, including the ferry from Portsmouth, is $36.50 per person, with much the proceeds going to benefit student scholarship funds.
Getting to Appledore is a two-step process. The first is a voyage on the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company (800-441-4620), which departs from Portsmouth's Barker Wharf at 9:25 a.m. The ferry, which takes about 90 minutes, carries day trippers to Star Island, the only populated island in the Isles of Shoals. That island, in turn, is dominated by the Oceanic Hotel, a great brute of a building dating from the 1870s. It provides a sense of what Appledore House may have looked like.
Our visit: At the dock on Star Island, there was a second boat waiting to take us to Appledore. This one belonged to Cornell's Shoals Marine Laboratory, and we traveled with crates of food, water, and laboratory equipment.
The most prominent feature of Appledore Island is a World War II-era spotting tower used to look for submarines and enemy ships. It is long unused, but startling to see given that the rest of the island appears at first to be uninhabited. The Shoals Marine Laboratory blends inconspicuously into the vegetation. The 43 of us, which included docents and gardeners there for a weekly weeding session, walked up to the laboratory's dining room for an orientation. The docents knew their stuff, taking us through the history of the island and of Celia Thaxter's life. During lunch (you're expected to bring your own), a modest Celia Thaxter gift shop opened for business, offering her books, biographies of her, and the obligatory sweaters and tee shirts. Then, we set off across the island.
Appledore Island is less than ten acres in size but sufficiently rugged to offer hikers a challenge. There are no paved roads and few paths. It's a delicate ecology made all the more fragile because, for eight months of the year, the island is both uninhabited and uninhabitable (ice, snow, wind-driven salt water). But for a few months in summer, it sparkles.
There is no longer any trace of Appledore House and the location of Celia's bungalow is known only because of a few foundation stones (volunteers knew where to look using contemporary paintings of the house and its background). But her garden is exactly where and how she left it in 1893, her last summer on the island before her death. Should you choose to go, don't expect some mass of perennial borders and annual beds: this is a small garden, rectangular in shape, modest in size, but intensively planted in the style of that era. According to "An Island Garden", each spring Celia carried seedlings in egg shells on the ferry from Portsmouth; it took a dozen trips to populate the garden. Each seedling had to be carefully nurtured because May's weather along the New Hampshire coast is unpredictable.
We spent 45 minutes at the garden, then walked the rest of the island, which has returned to its natural state. Docents pointed out interesting plants and evidence of earlier habitation. It is remarkable what a century can erase when nature is left to work its magic. By 2 p.m. we had walked all we cared to, and gathered under shaded porch at the marine laboratory. There, a docent told more tales of the visitors to the island in its heyday and of Celia's other works. At 2:45 we boarded the launch and, ten minutes later, made the transfer to the ferry back to the mainland. On the cruise home, we saw the other islets that make up the Isles of Shoals, including one with a lighthouse where Celia spent part of her childhood.
By 4:15, we were navigating Portsmouth's narrow streets and steeling ourselves for the five-mile-backups at the Hampton tolls on I-95. But the drive home turned out to be far more serene; we had a different attitude on that trip home that can still be recalled these months later. Once upon a time there was a woman who was inspired by a rugged island, and who in turn inspired writers and painters to follow her to it. That day, we didn't just see a garden; we walked for a few hours in her shoes and were able to imagine ourselves in her time.
Nov 2nd, 2003, 12:06 PM
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On our recent trip to - dare I say - San Francisco, I became aware of how much it was the city's history that made it so interesting to me. So it was most enjoyable to read about this piece of history in a place I know so little about.
Nov 3rd, 2003, 07:18 PM
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I don't know about access to Appledore, but you can visit Star Island, which Neal mentioned, which is right next to Appledore, and is equally beautiful and historic. The Isles of Shoals Steamship Co. has several sightseeing boats a day in season that go out to the Isles of Shoals, and if you take the morning boat you can get off at Star Island for several hours, and return on the late afternoon boat. The remains of Gosport Village, a once thriving but isolated fishing community, including a beautiful stone chapel on the highest point of the island, are there. The massive, formerly Grand Hotel, the Oceanic, overlooking scenic Gosport harbor, dominates the north side of the island - it is now a conference center co-owned by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ, and has week-long conferences in the summer, and weekend events in the spring and fall. I've had the good fortune to spend a couple of different weekends there. Once away from the hotel and the village, the island is wild and rugged, with trails leading through the profusion of beach roses and other plants to rocky ocean overlooks. It is a special and magical place, with an incredible beauty. It only takes about 10 - 15 minutes to walk from one end of the island to the other, but it is easy to find a place of solitude to sit and contemplate the gorgeous views.
If you go for a day trip to Star, you can take a free guided tour of the island which leaves from the porch of the Oceanic around noontime, which gives you lots of fascinating info about the history of the island. Bring a picnic lunch, as there's no place to buy it on the island - only ice cream at the Oceanic snack bar. I think you can also order a boxed lunch from the steamship Co. ahead of time. I highly recommend this trip, I've done it with my family. You can find out more at www.islesofshoals.com. Star Island is one of my very favorite places; although only a few miles off the coast, it's like being in another world.
Across Gosport Harbor from Star and Appledore is Smuttynose, an island that was the scene of a lurid and sensationalist murder of two women in 1899 by a man who supposedly rowed there and back from the mainland, intent on a burglary while the women's husbands were away. This was the subject of the book "The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve (I believe it was a movie too) that gave a fanciful account of the author's vision of what might have really happened.
On one of my weekend trips I was able to go with a group over to Appledore and see Celia Thaxter's garden, and tour the Cornell Marine Lab, and their Lab of Ornithology - I agree with Neal, it was very interesting, I enjoyed it a lot.
If you go for a day trip to Star, you can take a free guided tour of the island which leaves from the porch of the Oceanic around noontime, which gives you lots of fascinating info about the history of the island. Bring a picnic lunch, as there's no place to buy it on the island - only ice cream at the Oceanic snack bar. I think you can also order a boxed lunch from the steamship Co. ahead of time. I highly recommend this trip, I've done it with my family. You can find out more at www.islesofshoals.com. Star Island is one of my very favorite places; although only a few miles off the coast, it's like being in another world.
Across Gosport Harbor from Star and Appledore is Smuttynose, an island that was the scene of a lurid and sensationalist murder of two women in 1899 by a man who supposedly rowed there and back from the mainland, intent on a burglary while the women's husbands were away. This was the subject of the book "The Weight of Water" by Anita Shreve (I believe it was a movie too) that gave a fanciful account of the author's vision of what might have really happened.
On one of my weekend trips I was able to go with a group over to Appledore and see Celia Thaxter's garden, and tour the Cornell Marine Lab, and their Lab of Ornithology - I agree with Neal, it was very interesting, I enjoyed it a lot.
Nov 4th, 2003, 04:46 AM
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Sara, I'm pleased that someone else has been out to the Isles of Shoals and can describe it so well. Thank you!
One of the things I neglected to write is that on a hot summer's day, the 90-minute passage out to Star Island is like being dropped into an air-conditionhed post card. As soon as we got out on the water, the temperature dropped from 90+ degrees to a cool, delicious 58.
Ben, the purpose of the tours is to raise scholarship funds for the marine laboratory, so taking you own boat would seem to defeat the purpose of the organized activity, though I would be the first to acknowledge that limiting visitors to 350 a year invites such thoughts. Also, the island has only one dock, which could be problematic.
Cigalechanta, we bought a re-issued hardcover edition of "An Island Garden" a few weeks before our visit (it comes in its own pasteboard sleeve), and used it to "steep" ourselves in the island before our visit.
One of the things I neglected to write is that on a hot summer's day, the 90-minute passage out to Star Island is like being dropped into an air-conditionhed post card. As soon as we got out on the water, the temperature dropped from 90+ degrees to a cool, delicious 58.
Ben, the purpose of the tours is to raise scholarship funds for the marine laboratory, so taking you own boat would seem to defeat the purpose of the organized activity, though I would be the first to acknowledge that limiting visitors to 350 a year invites such thoughts. Also, the island has only one dock, which could be problematic.
Cigalechanta, we bought a re-issued hardcover edition of "An Island Garden" a few weeks before our visit (it comes in its own pasteboard sleeve), and used it to "steep" ourselves in the island before our visit.
Apr 1st, 2004, 01:11 PM
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Have wanted to do this for several years, but never managed to call in time to get one of the very limited spaces reserved. Untill today, April 1st 2004.
Thanks Neal, made a note on my calendar after reading this post several months ago. My name is now first on the list for the Wednesday of my choice.
Thanks Neal, made a note on my calendar after reading this post several months ago. My name is now first on the list for the Wednesday of my choice.
Jul 25th, 2004, 02:48 AM
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We made the trip to Appledore last Wednesday. It was a perfect day on the water and on the island, and it truly is a step back in time as Neal said. There are a still a few openings on the remaining Wednesdays this summer.
Jul 26th, 2004, 08:55 AM
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I too made the trip to Appledore Island this July. I have to say that I was unimpressed. I think this is way overbilled as an Island Garden when in fact it could have been anyone's back yard. The garden is only 15x50 and packed full of very ordinary flowers. It is very pretty but not what I was hoping to see. I was also under the impression that we could see the Shoals' marine lab however, we were not allowed to tour that. The ferry announcer kept referring to the fact that we'd been to Appledore and the marine lab, but in fact we were not allowed, even though there is a big push to buy t-shirts and hats that advertise Shoals marine lab. Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents worth since it was an expensive day; $30 plus for the island tour and 23.50 for the ferry. In my opinion, it was a nice day, but really the whole thing is over rated.
Jul 26th, 2004, 11:49 AM
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tbelgian, I'm sorry you went expecting some grand garden and were disappointed. In my original post, I thought I had stressed that it was "a small garden, rectangular in shape, modest in size, but intensively planted in the style of that era." As to its being "ordinary", well, I guess we all have different definitions.
I had the pleasure this past weekend to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Childe Hassam retrospective, which included an entire room of his Isles of Shoals paintings (which span two decades), including "Celia Thaxter in Her Garden". To me, Hassam's views of the island, and of the garden, can still be seen on Appledore a century after they were painted; no mean feat in a would that changes as much as our's does.
Again, sorry you were disappointed. If you'd like some listings of spectacular gardens in coastal Maine and New Hampshire, I'd be glad to oblige.
I had the pleasure this past weekend to see the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Childe Hassam retrospective, which included an entire room of his Isles of Shoals paintings (which span two decades), including "Celia Thaxter in Her Garden". To me, Hassam's views of the island, and of the garden, can still be seen on Appledore a century after they were painted; no mean feat in a would that changes as much as our's does.
Again, sorry you were disappointed. If you'd like some listings of spectacular gardens in coastal Maine and New Hampshire, I'd be glad to oblige.
Jul 27th, 2004, 02:43 PM
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Yes Neal, I would love recommendations to great gardens in NH or ME.
You didn't address the fact that we weren't allowed in the marine lab. Do they usually let people tour that or is that just sort of a lead on?
Also, the $30. plus is for the tour only. The ferry costs another 23.50. I didn't say that it was terrible, I just said that it was over rated, and expensive. History is always interesting, but it would be better to be totally up front about what you get and how much it costs.
You didn't address the fact that we weren't allowed in the marine lab. Do they usually let people tour that or is that just sort of a lead on?
Also, the $30. plus is for the tour only. The ferry costs another 23.50. I didn't say that it was terrible, I just said that it was over rated, and expensive. History is always interesting, but it would be better to be totally up front about what you get and how much it costs.
