PORTSMOUTH—
History enthusiasts and others who’ve dreamt of spending a few days on the Isles of Shoals, six miles off the New Hampshire coast, will have the chance June 25-29 when the Isles of Shoals Historical and Research Association (ISHRA) hosts a five-day, four-night “Summer on the Seacoast” conference open to the public.
Those attending will journey back to the resort hotel era of the late 1800s, when the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island was built and gems like the Farragut Hotel in Rye graced the Seacoast. Speakers will include designer Robert Cook, Portsmouth Historical Society curator Sandra Rux and historian Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., author of “Summer by the Seaside.”
From a 19th-century cooking demonstration to a candlelit chapel service and an architectural walking tour of Star Island, conference guests will be immersed in the history of the Isles of Shoals. An optional side trip will visit neighboring Appledore Island, where poet Celia Thaxter and her family once presided over the now long-gone Appledore House hotel.
Conferees will stay in rustic yet comfortable accommodations in the Oceanic Hotel and surrounding buildings. Round-trip boat transportation is provided from Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, June 25, returning midday Wednesday, June 29.
“You can relax in the rocking chairs on the Oceanic’s wrap-around porch and breathe the sea air just as the hotel’s first guests did in 1873,” says ISHRA president Joel Plagenz. Other activities include seaweed pressing, a digital photography workshop and a lecture by Steph Frigon on the natural environment of the Shoals.
Reservations are now being accepted while places remain available. For information visit ishra.org, email cook-amy@comcast.net or call (603) 431-2616.
Photo caption: The original Oceanic Hotel in 1873. (Courtesy photo)
History enthusiasts and others who’ve dreamt of spending a few days on the Isles of Shoals, six miles off the New Hampshire coast, will have the chance June 25-29 when the Isles of Shoals Historical and Research Association (ISHRA) hosts a five-day, four-night “Summer on the Seacoast” conference open to the public.
Those attending will journey back to the resort hotel era of the late 1800s, when the Oceanic Hotel on Star Island was built and gems like the Farragut Hotel in Rye graced the Seacoast. Speakers will include designer Robert Cook, Portsmouth Historical Society curator Sandra Rux and historian Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., author of “Summer by the Seaside.”
From a 19th-century cooking demonstration to a candlelit chapel service and an architectural walking tour of Star Island, conference guests will be immersed in the history of the Isles of Shoals. An optional side trip will visit neighboring Appledore Island, where poet Celia Thaxter and her family once presided over the now long-gone Appledore House hotel.
Conferees will stay in rustic yet comfortable accommodations in the Oceanic Hotel and surrounding buildings. Round-trip boat transportation is provided from Portsmouth on Saturday afternoon, June 25, returning midday Wednesday, June 29.
“You can relax in the rocking chairs on the Oceanic’s wrap-around porch and breathe the sea air just as the hotel’s first guests did in 1873,” says ISHRA president Joel Plagenz. Other activities include seaweed pressing, a digital photography workshop and a lecture by Steph Frigon on the natural environment of the Shoals.
Reservations are now being accepted while places remain available. For information visit ishra.org, email cook-amy@comcast.net or call (603) 431-2616.
Photo caption: The original Oceanic Hotel in 1873. (Courtesy photo)
