Misery Islands
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Misery Islands
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 The main island of Beverly Farms seen from |
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| location | Massachusetts , United States | |
| surface | 35.21 ha | |
| WDPA ID | 55553532 | |
| Geographical location | 42 ° 33 ' N , 70 ° 48' W | |
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| Setup date | 1935 | |
| administration | The Trustees of Reservations | |
Misery Islands ( German misery islands , officially Misery Island Reservation ) is the name of an 87 acres (35.2 ha ) nature reserve in Salem in the state of Massachusetts in the United States . It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations organization.
history
Various families farmed on the larger of the two islands from 1673 until the beginning of the 20th century . The best known among the farmers was Daniel Neville, who was referred to as " Lord of the Isles " ( German ruler of the islands ); due to its extensive land ownership or hospitality, depending on the source. Neville bought the island in 1849, and his family owned it until it was sold to Annie Neville in 1900 for the then unimaginably high price of $ 60,000 (around $ 1,880,000 today).
That same year, the islands were resold to a group of investors who called themselves the Misery Islands Syndicate and converted the larger island into an exclusive summer getaway called the Misery Island Club for wealthy Boston and North Shore residents . To this end, she built a pier , a customs house , a saltwater pool , a bathhouse , a water tower and several guest houses. A tennis court as well as a 9-hole golf course and a clubhouse have been built for guests' leisure activities .
Just a year after its opening, the club ran into financial difficulties and owed money to contract partners and the city of Salem. This then took possession of the islands and auctioned them in 1904 at the highest bidder to a second group of investors called the Misery Island Trust . This sold 1 acre (0.4 ha) plots of land to private individuals, but also ran into financial difficulties in 1917 and sold both islands to another group of investors. All other business activities on the islands also failed, although almost 100 people lived there in 26 buildings in the summer.
In 1926, a resident of the island lost control of a fire he set to remove weeds, which then spread across the entire island and destroyed many of the houses in addition to the water tower. As a result, the island was no longer used as a destination for summer excursions and the remaining buildings were left to decay. Today there is only one house, which was moved to Marblehead in the 1920s and thus escaped decay.
In 1935 the Beverly-based Coastal Oils Terminal Company asked the city of Salem for permission to build oil tanks with a capacity of 12 million gallons (approx. 54.5 million liters ) on the islands . However, against the background of intense protests from local residents, this request was rejected.
To protect the islands from industrial use, the surrounding towns from Marblehead to Manchester-by-the-Sea founded the North Shore Association that same year and raised funds to buy up the islands - except for 15 private properties on Great Misery Island . Towards the end of the year they handed the archipelago over to the Trustees of Reservations in order to protect them permanently. Over the years, they were also able to acquire the remaining properties; the last 3 acres (1.2 ha) were purchased in 1997.
Protected area
The reserve consists of the two eponymous islands Great ( 42 ° 32 ′ 55 ″ N, 70 ° 47 ′ 53 ″ W ) and Little Misery Island ( 42 ° 32 ′ 40 ″ N, 70 ° 47 ′ 53 ″ W ), the 83 Acres (33.6 hectares) or 4 acres (1.6 hectares). The islands have a good view of the North Shore and Salem Sound . 2.5 mi (4 km ) of hiking trails are available for visitors.
On the coast of the smaller island, the remains of the steamship The City of Rockland can be seen, which capsized off the coast of Maine many years ago .
See also
Web links
- Misery Island Reservation in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- Great Misery Island in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
- Little Misery Island in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
- Misery Islands on TripAdvisor
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Property History. (No longer available online.) The Trustees of Reservations , archived from the original on March 10, 2014 ; accessed on March 10, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ About Misery Islands. (No longer available online.) The Trustees of Reservations , archived from the original on March 10, 2014 ; accessed on March 10, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
