Star Island (New Hampshire): Difference between revisions
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'''Star Island''' is one of the [[Isles of Shoals]], located seven miles off the coast of [[New Hampshire]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. It is owned and operated by the [[Star Island Corporation]] as a religious and educational conference center, |
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'''Star Island''' is one of the [[Isles of Shoals]] that straddle the border between [[New Hampshire]] and [[Maine]], approximately {{convert|7|mi|0}} from the mainland. It is the largest of the four islands that are located in New Hampshire at {{convert|38|acre}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://granit.sr.unh.edu|title=GRANIT|website=granit.sr.unh.edu}}</ref> and the second largest overall, after [[Appledore Island]]. It was named by sailors who imagined the shape of the island as points of a star.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoals/map.html|title=Seacoast NH - Isles of Shoals Map|website=www.seacoastnh.com}}</ref> The island was annexed to the town of [[Rye, New Hampshire]], in 1876.<ref>[http://www.nhes.nh.gov/elmi/products/cp/profiles-htm/rye.htm "Community Profiles - Rye"], NH Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau</ref> It has been owned and operated by the Star Island Corporation since 1915.<ref name="star1">{{cite web|url=http://starisland.org/island/history/|title=History and Geography|website=starisland.org}}</ref> |
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with close ties to the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] and the [[United Church of Christ]]. Week-long conferences include the Arts, Natural History, Religious Education, International Affairs, Science and Religion, as well as six family conferences and three conferences for youth (some conferences will operate simultaneously) which change their theme from year to year. |
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==History== |
==History== |
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[[Image:Rocky Coast, Isles of Shoals, NH.jpg|thumb|right|East Rock c. 1912]] |
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Star Island was first settled, as were all the Isles of Shoals, in the early [[1600s]] by fishermen working the rich waters of the [[North Atlantic]] coast. Many were [[English people|English]], coming up from the colonies of the [[Virginia]] companies. Although there may have been shelters built on the island, none were permanent or year-round. |
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Captain [[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] mapped the Isles of Shoals in 1614 and named them "Smyth's Isles".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoals/history.html|title=Seacoast NH - Isles of Shoals History|website=www.seacoastnh.com}}</ref> There is a monument remaining today on Star Island, built in 1864 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of John Smith's trip.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastnh.com/arts/please120599.html|title=As I Please -- The Ugliest Monument in New England|website=www.seacoastnh.com}}</ref> The islands were settled in the early 17th century by seasonal fishermen working the North Atlantic coast. Many were settlers from the colonies of the [[Virginia]] companies. |
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The first permanent settlement of Star Island began in |
The first permanent settlement of Star Island began in 1677 when the [[Province of Maine]] was under the authority of the [[Province of Massachusetts Bay]]. Maine increased taxes on nearby Hog Island (now Appledore Island); Star Island, on the other hand, was in New Hampshire. This tax increase caused a mass migration, and the township of Gosport was established on Star Island in 1715. |
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The town and the island flourished until the [[American Revolutionary War]] when the |
The town and the island flourished until the [[American Revolutionary War]], when the Americans ordered the Shoals evacuated, believing that it posed a threat to have a group of questionable loyalty just off the coast, and many shoalers abandoned their island homes. After the war, some moved back to Gosport, but it never regained its former population.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cowhampshireblog.com/2007/05/03/new-hampshire-missing-places-gosport-isles-of-shoals/|title=New Hampshire Missing Places: Gosport, Isles of Shoals|date=3 May 2007|publisher=}}</ref> |
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The islands were sparsely inhabited until the middle of the 19th century when Thomas Laighton established a hotel on [[Smuttynose Island]]. He eventually opened the Appledore Hotel on Hog with Levi Thaxter, which he renamed Appledore Island. Laighton's daughter [[Celia Thaxter|Celia]] married Thaxter, and she became a popular poet. She hosted an arts community on the island frequented by [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[John Greenleaf Whittier]], [[Harriet Beecher Stowe]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]], [[Sarah Orne Jewett]], and Impressionist painter [[Childe Hassam]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastnh.com/shoals/history.html/|title=Isles of Shoals History|publisher=}}</ref> Sarah Orne Jewett wrote "On Star Island" about her visit to Star Island and the Gosport church, which was published in ''[[Harper's Magazine]]'' in September 1881.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.public.coe.edu/~theller/soj/poe/star.htm |title=On Star Island |journal=Harper's Magazine |volume=63 |pages=550–551 |date=September 1881}}</ref> |
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[[Image: |
[[Image:The Oceanic Hotel, Isles of Shoals, NH.jpg|thumb|right|The Oceanic Hotel c. 1910]] |
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It was a golden era for island hotels. Air conditioning had yet to be invented and the cool sea breezes were a perfect escape from the hot summers of Boston and New York. But the resorts in the mountains of New Hampshire and New York were growing and did not involve a potentially unpleasant sea voyage. By the [[1890s]] the hotels were nearly empty. |
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Thomas Elliott and his wife Lilla established the Shoals Summer Meeting Association in 1896 as a summer conference center. The Meeting Association bought the hotel and the island in 1945, forming the Star Island Corporation. Today conference goers still sleep in the Oceanic Hotel and utilize other historic buildings, such as the stone Gosport Chapel built in 1800. |
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Then, in [[1896]], Thomas Elliott and his wife Lilla arrived on Star Island. They immediately saw in the lightly-occupied hotel a place where summer conferences could be held, to be sponsored by the [[Unitarian]] Church, of which he was a member. He made a deal with the manager to "fill the place to the ridge-poles" the following year, and then went back to the mainland to make good on his promise. He met with the Unitarians in [[Boston]] and then, just to make sure, he went across the street and made a deal with the [[Congregationalists]]. The following summer, he had so many at the conference that the staff was sleeping in the bathrooms. |
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==Present day== |
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The conferences continued and, in [[1915]], the Isles of Shoals Summer Meeting Association which Elliott had organized bought the hotel and the island, forming the Star Island Corporation. |
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{{more citations needed|section|date=August 2019}} |
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Star Island has become increasingly self-sufficient.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.seacoastonline.com/article/20150629/NEWS/150629173|title=Solar array 'a big deal' for Star Island|first=Deborah|last=McDermott|publisher=}}</ref> As of 2015, it contained the largest off-grid [[solar farm]] in New England.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}} This solar grid provides all of the power necessary for the island during the off season and 60-percent during full conference season. The island produces its own water and electricity through solar and diesel generators. It has its own septic treatment plant, one of the few capable of handling salt water, and a [[reverse osmosis]] water purification system for converting sea water to drinking water. There are three separate water systems on the island for drinking water, [[cistern]] water for washing, and sea water for sanitary use. |
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Star Island is also the summer destination of famed shoaler Fred McGill, who had been going to the island for 80 years before his death 2 years ago. He is perhaps best known for his line "I'll bite ya!" |
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Star Island has been owned and operated by the Star Island Corporation since 1915 as a place for family, youth, and individual conferences and retreats.<ref name=star1 /> The Star Island Corporation has close ties to the [[Unitarian Universalist Association]] and the [[United Church of Christ]].{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Conferences vary from a week to a few days, with some focused on religious themes and others on secular subjects (photography, arts, yoga, writing, science, etc.). In 2008, "personal retreats" were created to allow members of the public to stay on the island for up to one week.<ref>[http://starisland.org/overnight/personalretreats/ Personal Retreats], Star Island Corporation.</ref> In 2015, Star Island Corporation held a year-long centennial celebration with both island and mainland events, a ribbon cutting and historical reenactments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://starisland.org/centennial/|title=Centennial|website=starisland.org}}</ref> |
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Star Island Corporation is a [[not-for-profit corporation|not-for-profit]] [[United States]] [[Internal Revenue Code]] Section [[501(c)|501(c)(3)]] membership organization and incorporated in the state of [[Massachusetts]].{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} |
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Thomas Elliott's original conference still meets today, as the Conference on International Affairs, as do a dozen or more other conferences. The Island is like a self-sufficient town, producing all its own water and electricity. There are three separate water systems on the island — drinking water, cistern water for washing, and sea water for sanitary use. The island has its own septic treatment plant, one of the few capable of handling salt water, and a reverse osmosis water purification system for converting sea water to drinking water. The island is staffed by a crew of 150 young adults, mostly college students, termed Pelicans, who live on Star Island for the summer and do everything from transporting luggage to washing dishes, painting buildings, weeding, and making beds. |
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On Star Island there are multiple hotel buildings, the largest of which is the Oceanic Hotel. There is a marine lab, a floating dock often used by swimmers, two tennis courts, two playgrounds, the "Kiddie Barn" where childcare services are given, an old stone chapel, a scenic gazebo termed the Summerhouse, Vaughn Cottage where the historical records are kept, and beautiful scenery all around. The sunsets are breathtaking; those viewed from the Summerhouse and from the Oceanic's front porch are famous. |
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Transportation to Star Island was with the steamship ''Thomas Laighton'' out of [[Portsmouth, NH]] from 1985 through 2004 but starting in 2005 it began to use ''The Captain's Lady'' from [[Rye, NH]], causing conference day change-overs to be made in two trips. Day trips are possible and information about boat schedules can be found on the island's website. [http://www.starisland.org] |
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==Conferences== |
==Conferences== |
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Star Island hosts various conferences, which typically last from two days to a full week and may overlap with other conferences. A number of them tend to have a [[Unitarian Universalist]] orientation, while others are affiliated with the [[United Church of Christ]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://starisland.org/conferences/2015-conference-listing/2015-chronological-conference-listing/|title=Conference Listing (2015)|publisher=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://starisucc.com/|title=Home - Star Gathering Conferences|website=Star Gathering Conferences}}</ref> Other conferences may or may not have a particular religious orientation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhcstar.org|title=NHW Home Page|website=www.nhcstar.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stararts.org|title=Star Arts|website=www.stararts.org}}</ref> |
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==Getting to the island== |
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===June conferences=== |
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Several ferry companies have provided transportation to Star Island. The Isles of Shoals Steamship Company,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.islesofshoals.com/|title=Isles of Shoals Steamship Company|website=www.islesofshoals.com}}</ref> Island Cruises,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uncleoscar.com/|title=Island Cruises, Inc. - Rye Harbor, New Hampshire|website=www.uncleoscar.com}}</ref> and We Like Whales<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.welikewhales.com/|title=We Like Whales|publisher=}}</ref> bring visitors for day trips and overnights or run tours around the island and the rest of the Isles of Shoals. |
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*Young Adults Conference (3 days) |
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*[http://www.stararts.org Conference on the Arts] (7 days) |
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*Isles of Shoals Historical and Research Association (ISHRA) (4 days) |
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*Natural History Conference (7 days) |
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*[[Young Religious Unitarian Universalists]] (YRUU) (7 days) |
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Gosport Harbor, which is created by the islands and connecting breakwaters, is deep and fairly protected, and moorings are available for visiting boats. |
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===July conferences=== |
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*All Star I Family Conference (7 days) |
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*[http://allstar2.gurus.com/ All Star II Family Conference] (7 days) |
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*Religious Education Conference (7 days) |
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*[http://www.internationalaffairsconference.org/ International Affairs Conference] (7 days) |
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==See also== |
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===August conferences=== |
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* [[Tucke Monument]], located on Star Island |
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*[http://www.iras.org/home.html Institute on Religion in an Age of Science] (IRAS) (7 days) |
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* [[List of New Hampshire historical markers (1–25)#18|New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 18]], located in [[Rye Harbor State Park]] |
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*United Church of Christ (UCC) Family Conference I (6 days) |
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*United Church of Christ (UCC) Youth Conference I (6 days) |
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*United Church of Christ (UCC) Family Conference II (6 days) |
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*United Church of Christ (UCC) Youth Conference II (6 days) |
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*Weekend Conference of the Laity (UCC) (2 days) |
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*Life On A Star (LOAS) I (6 days) |
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*Life On A Star (LOAS) II (7 days) |
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==References== |
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===September conferences and gatherings=== |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
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*Pelican Reunion (2 days) |
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*[[Elderhostel]] I (5 days) |
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*Midweek Retreat I (4 days) |
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*Elderhostel II (5 days) |
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*Midweek Retreat II-Retreat to a Star (4 days) |
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*[[Granite State College]] (3 days) |
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*ISHRA September Weekend (2 days) |
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*Writelines (2 days) |
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*Star Women (formerly A Women's Gathering of Renewal) (2-4 days) |
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*Dover Yoga (2 days) |
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*Star Guilford: Rethinking the Small Church Choir (2 days) |
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*Star Hampshire Traditional Music & Dance (2 days) |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.starisland.org/StarIsland/Home/Home.htm Star Island website] |
* [http://www.starisland.org/StarIsland/Home/Home.htm Star Island Corporation website] |
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* [https://aeon.co/videos/the-profound-solitude-of-a-winter-spent-alone-on-an-island-caring-for-an-empty-hotel Video of Star Island in winter] |
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{{authority control}} |
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[[Category:Islands of New Hampshire]] |
[[Category:Islands of New Hampshire]] |
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[[Category:Coastal islands of New Hampshire]] |
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[[Category:Landforms of Rockingham County, New Hampshire]] |
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Latest revision as of 15:18, 29 September 2023
42°58′36″N 70°36′50″W / 42.97667°N 70.61389°W
Star Island is one of the Isles of Shoals that straddle the border between New Hampshire and Maine, approximately 7 miles (11 km) from the mainland. It is the largest of the four islands that are located in New Hampshire at 38 acres (15 ha)[1] and the second largest overall, after Appledore Island. It was named by sailors who imagined the shape of the island as points of a star.[2] The island was annexed to the town of Rye, New Hampshire, in 1876.[3] It has been owned and operated by the Star Island Corporation since 1915.[4]
History
[edit]
Captain John Smith mapped the Isles of Shoals in 1614 and named them "Smyth's Isles".[5] There is a monument remaining today on Star Island, built in 1864 to commemorate the 250th anniversary of John Smith's trip.[6] The islands were settled in the early 17th century by seasonal fishermen working the North Atlantic coast. Many were settlers from the colonies of the Virginia companies.
The first permanent settlement of Star Island began in 1677 when the Province of Maine was under the authority of the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Maine increased taxes on nearby Hog Island (now Appledore Island); Star Island, on the other hand, was in New Hampshire. This tax increase caused a mass migration, and the township of Gosport was established on Star Island in 1715.
The town and the island flourished until the American Revolutionary War, when the Americans ordered the Shoals evacuated, believing that it posed a threat to have a group of questionable loyalty just off the coast, and many shoalers abandoned their island homes. After the war, some moved back to Gosport, but it never regained its former population.[7]
The islands were sparsely inhabited until the middle of the 19th century when Thomas Laighton established a hotel on Smuttynose Island. He eventually opened the Appledore Hotel on Hog with Levi Thaxter, which he renamed Appledore Island. Laighton's daughter Celia married Thaxter, and she became a popular poet. She hosted an arts community on the island frequented by Nathaniel Hawthorne, John Greenleaf Whittier, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Impressionist painter Childe Hassam.[8] Sarah Orne Jewett wrote "On Star Island" about her visit to Star Island and the Gosport church, which was published in Harper's Magazine in September 1881.[9]
Thomas Elliott and his wife Lilla established the Shoals Summer Meeting Association in 1896 as a summer conference center. The Meeting Association bought the hotel and the island in 1945, forming the Star Island Corporation. Today conference goers still sleep in the Oceanic Hotel and utilize other historic buildings, such as the stone Gosport Chapel built in 1800.
Present day
[edit] | This section needs additional citations for verification. (August 2019) |
Star Island has become increasingly self-sufficient.[10] As of 2015, it contained the largest off-grid solar farm in New England.[citation needed] This solar grid provides all of the power necessary for the island during the off season and 60-percent during full conference season. The island produces its own water and electricity through solar and diesel generators. It has its own septic treatment plant, one of the few capable of handling salt water, and a reverse osmosis water purification system for converting sea water to drinking water. There are three separate water systems on the island for drinking water, cistern water for washing, and sea water for sanitary use.
Star Island Corporation
[edit]Star Island has been owned and operated by the Star Island Corporation since 1915 as a place for family, youth, and individual conferences and retreats.[4] The Star Island Corporation has close ties to the Unitarian Universalist Association and the United Church of Christ.[citation needed] Conferences vary from a week to a few days, with some focused on religious themes and others on secular subjects (photography, arts, yoga, writing, science, etc.). In 2008, "personal retreats" were created to allow members of the public to stay on the island for up to one week.[11] In 2015, Star Island Corporation held a year-long centennial celebration with both island and mainland events, a ribbon cutting and historical reenactments.[12]
Star Island Corporation is a not-for-profit United States Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3) membership organization and incorporated in the state of Massachusetts.[citation needed]
Conferences
[edit]Star Island hosts various conferences, which typically last from two days to a full week and may overlap with other conferences. A number of them tend to have a Unitarian Universalist orientation, while others are affiliated with the United Church of Christ.[13][14] Other conferences may or may not have a particular religious orientation.[15][16]
Getting to the island
[edit]Several ferry companies have provided transportation to Star Island. The Isles of Shoals Steamship Company,[17] Island Cruises,[18] and We Like Whales[19] bring visitors for day trips and overnights or run tours around the island and the rest of the Isles of Shoals.
Gosport Harbor, which is created by the islands and connecting breakwaters, is deep and fairly protected, and moorings are available for visiting boats.
See also
[edit]- Tucke Monument, located on Star Island
- New Hampshire Historical Marker No. 18, located in Rye Harbor State Park
References
[edit]- ^ "GRANIT". granit.sr.unh.edu.
- ^ "Seacoast NH - Isles of Shoals Map". www.seacoastnh.com.
- ^ "Community Profiles - Rye", NH Economic & Labor Market Information Bureau
- ^ a b "History and Geography". starisland.org.
- ^ "Seacoast NH - Isles of Shoals History". www.seacoastnh.com.
- ^ "As I Please -- The Ugliest Monument in New England". www.seacoastnh.com.
- ^ "New Hampshire Missing Places: Gosport, Isles of Shoals". 3 May 2007.
- ^ "Isles of Shoals History".
- ^ "On Star Island". Harper's Magazine. 63: 550–551. September 1881.
- ^ McDermott, Deborah. "Solar array 'a big deal' for Star Island".
- ^ Personal Retreats, Star Island Corporation.
- ^ "Centennial". starisland.org.
- ^ "Conference Listing (2015)".
- ^ "Home - Star Gathering Conferences". Star Gathering Conferences.
- ^ "NHW Home Page". www.nhcstar.org.
- ^ "Star Arts". www.stararts.org.
- ^ "Isles of Shoals Steamship Company". www.islesofshoals.com.
- ^ "Island Cruises, Inc. - Rye Harbor, New Hampshire". www.uncleoscar.com.
- ^ "We Like Whales".
