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The dock at Cranberry Isle. |
| Today |
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Cranberry Isles Stands a World Apart
Theoretical question:
Where in Hancock County could America’s richest couple, Microsoft
magnates Bill and Melinda Gates, go for a week in the summer and not
make the news?
<complete story>
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| Yesterday |
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Cranberry Club Isn’t Even For The
Locals
The Cranberry Club, however inviting it sounds, simply isn’t
anything of the sort. Carefully guarded is more precise.
<complete story>
|
| Neighbors |
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Islesford’s Ted Spurling Remembers
His Roots
Fortunately for the 77 year-round residents of Islesford, Ted
Spurling has a life-long appreciation for local lore.
<complete story>
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| Community |
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Cranberry Isles Working to Make
Housing Affordable for Year-Round Families
A house listed for sale on Great Cranberry in May carried a price of
$600,000. Another house, with five acres, recently sold for
$700,000. Land can go for $50- or $60-thousand an acre—and that’s
not in sight of water.
<complete story>
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| Memories |
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The Day They Danced at Baker Island
Years ago, the locals used to dance on the flat rocks on Baker Island. So
much so that maps today mention the point as the “Dance Floor.”
<complete story>
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| Written and photographed
by Katherine Williams. She can be contacted at 667-2576. |
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Go
Figure |
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Cranberry Isles Facts:
Acreage: 2,043
Population, 2000: 128
Population, 1990: 189
Population 19 years old and younger, 2000: 24
Median age: 45.5
Schools: Islesford Elementary School, Longfellow
School (temporarily closed)
Libraries: Great Cranberry Island, Islesford Library
Churches: Congregational 2, Roman Catholic 1
Town meeting: Second Monday in March
<more town facts>
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They
Said It |
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They Said It
“When we go off-
island,
 we wear our good clothes, our funeral clothes. On the
island, we are practical and wear our flannel shirts.”
— Selectman
Richard Beal
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Milestones |
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The Early
Years:
1760: Earliest settler Benjamin Bunker arrives in
Great Cranberry, and is believed to have lived to age 108.
1762: Massachusetts Governor Bernard names town
after exploring the cranberry-covered islands.
Late 1700s: Other original families settling the
five islands are the Spurlings (and Bunkers) on Great Cranberry;
Stanleys and Hadlocks on Little Cranberry; the Gilleys on Baker Island;
and Rices and Fernalds later on Great Cranberry. The Lancasters, Moores
and Richardsons are said to be the first families on Sutton.
1820s: Steamboats serve the Cranberry islands.
1830: Town of Cranberry Isles is incorporated.
Early 1900s: The islands are popular with summer
visitors and year-round residents.
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