Gosport Remembered: The Last Village at the Isle of Shoals

During the nineteenth century, the Isle of Shoals became one of New England’s most popular summer resorts. Many of America’s leading authors, artists, musicians and politicians flocked to the islands to both enjoy the scenery and to associate with the famous poet Celia Thaxter, whose family owned the large Appledore House. This era is well documented in numerous books, exhibits and film.

            Lost in the history of this unique artist’s colony are the local residents, the fisherman and their families who lived year round on the windswept islands, scraping out a living from the sea. Few photographs show the homes and fish houses of these people, fewer still show the residents themselves. The village of Gosport as it was known came to an end in the early 1870’s when hotel interests bought the interests of the remaining Shoalers. The people moved to the mainland, ending more than 200 years as a permanent community. Most of the houses were torn down or incorporated into various hotel buildings. The people were forgotten.

            In 1995, Peter Randall happened upon a collection of previously unpublished photographs of the Isle of Shoals. These unique images of primarily Star Island in the mid nineteenth century show some of the residents together with their homes, fish houses and boats. Here are views of a little village of fishing families documenting a way of life once common along the coast, now vanished. Many of the building owners are identified providing valuable research data for historians and others interested in the Isle of Shoals.