My Pilgrimage To Eagle Island (photos follow)
By
Carol Cotton Hendrix, class of 1964
In September 1997 my husband and I spent a week exploring the
coast of Maine from the New
Hampshire border to the
Downeast/Acadia area. Since we were in the neighborhood,
we decided to
visit Peary's former home on Eagle Island.
Eagle Island is one of the "Calendar Islands" in Casco Bay, so
named because there are 365 of them.
In downtown Portland, we were able to purchase tickets for a
boat trip to Eagle Island. [If anyone is interested, the price
was $14 for
adults for this 4-hour excursion trip.] We left Portland Harbor at 10:00 a.m. on
a foggy Sunday morning, aboard
the Kristy K. The captain told me that the Kristy
K was built in Cambridge, Maryland in 1980. As we cruised out of Portland
Harbor
into Casco Bay, we could observe lots of seals in the water and on the islands.
It took about an hour and 20 minutes
to reach Eagle Island, but it was a very
pleasant trip with beautiful scenery along the way, even in the fog. We didn't
see the
sun all day.
The Peary family gave the Eagle Island to the state of Maine
in 1967. The house had deteriorated over the years because the
family could not
afford to maintain it. The state of Maine, along with an organization called
"Friends of Peary's Eagle Island,"
have been working to restore the house and to
maintain the grounds. On the island there are several nature trails you can
explore. Park Rangers live on the island and see to the maintenance work, as
well as conducting tours and answering questions
about the house and grounds.
Most of the house has been restored back to the way it was when Peary lived
there.
I learned something about Admiral Peary that I hadn't known
before. He was a taxidermist and specialized in birds. There are
stuffed birds
all over the house. When he retired from the Navy and went to live on the
island, he started a mail order business
stuffing birds. He would give his
customers a discounted price if they would send him two birds of the same
species and allow
him to keep one. In that way he was able to increase his
collection and there are an impressive variety of species displayed
throughout
the house, if you are into dead stuffed birds.
After Peary's death, his son went to live on the island for a
time. The son started a business of raising and selling angora rabbits
in order
to eke out an existence. Evidently the bottom fell out of the angora rabbit
market and he was not able to make enough
money to live on the island, and he
had to return to the mainland to seek more profitable employment. After he left,
the house
and island were neglected for many years and they deteriorated. The
family couldn't afford the upkeep and so finally they
donated the whole island
to the state of Maine.
The state has limited funds to spend on the island and so the
Friends of Peary's Eagle Island was formed by interested people.
This group
raises money for the restoration and upkeep of the house and grounds. If you are
interested, you can join this group
and you will receive a monthly newsletter.
Our web site has a link to theirs and you can read more about this group.
I have sent MSO some pictures [posted below] we took the day
we visited the island. Unfortunately the fog was in all day and
the light wasn't
optimal for picture taking. But I understand this is not an unusual weather
condition for Maine in September.
Before I left on my trip to Maine, Bob and I
discussed the possibility of an alumni trip to the island. With that in mind, I
made
some inquiries and found that there are a couple of boat owners who would
be willing to take a group on a private trip to the
island. There are plenty of
motels and bed-and-breakfasts in the area and also lots of places to camp. If
arrangements are made
in advance with the park service we might even be able to
camp on the island. Portland, Maine is about a 7-8 hour drive from the
New York
metropolitan area.
The photos (a little out of order, for layout purposes)....
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Portland office of Eagle Tours where
tickets are sold for the boat to Eagle Island
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The "Kristy K" moored in Portland Harbor
(incidentally she was built in Cambridge,
Maryland in 1980)
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Portland Harbor |
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Kristy K in Portland Harbor facing toward
the downtown area of Portland
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Close-up of stone foundation wall |
Flag staff |
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Stone foundation wall |
Partially underground turret room below the
flag staff (has not yet been restored by the
park service). Peary had used this room as a
lab for his taxidermy work. Later, his son
used the room to raise rabbits.
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Partially underground turret room |
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One of the sides of the three-sided fireplace
inside the house. Each side is made of a
different type of stone found on the island. |
Another side of the
three-sided fireplace |
Peary's son's bedroom. After Peary died,
the son tried living on the island for a time
and he raised and sold angora rabbits for
a living.
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As seen from some of the numerous nature
walk paths which the Park Service maintains
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Nature walk path view |
Nature walk path view |
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Nature walk path view
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Nature walk path view |
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Kristy K in Portland Harbor |
My husband waiting to board the Kristy K for the
trip to the island
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Casco Bay |
Dock at Eagle Island, Peary's house in the background
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Lawn in front of Peary's house
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Close-up of stone foundation wall |
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Back door of Peary's house as seen from the backyard
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Side door of Peary's house |
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Groundskeeper's house where the Park Rangers live
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Another view of groundskeeper's house |
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Some of Peary's stuffed birds are on the fireplace mantle. |
Kitchen - Note the old iron stove which was brought in
pieces to the island and then assembled in the house.
Also note the pump at the kitchen sink.
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Peary's bedroom |
Peary's parka on the bed
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Peary's study |
Nature walk path view
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Nature walk path view |
Nature walk path view
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Nature walk path view |
Nature walk path view
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Nature walk path view |
Boarding the Kristy K to return to Portland |
More about Eagle Island, from Robert E. Peary Jr.
The Friends of Eagle
Island website (with more links about Robert E. Peary)
Return to the "History" Menu
Return to the MSO Main Menu