Contributed by Penobscot Marine Museum
Description
In 1908, Freeman H. Merritt, a New York contractor, and his wife, Fanny, bought and developed the area called Horse Island Harbor. They built the Rock Gardens Inn, operated the Club House, and owned a number of cottages. In 1928 they sold part of their property to Nathan A. Cushman but retained the Rock Gardens Inn.
Cushman, who had been in the bakery business in New York, developed a popular modern resort he called Sebasco Lodge and Cottages. It had a swimming pool, tennis court, bowling, and a golf course. Dick, Nathan’s son, and his wife, Ruth, took over running the resort in the 1940s. Over the decades they and subsequent owners made improvements and other changes to the resort, and in 2018 it was the Sebasco Harbor Resort.
In the foreground was Cornelius Creek, first dammed up in 1870 for ice cutting. Often 60 men were cutting ice, which was shipped throughout the world before the days of refrigeration. The Hook and Wyman cemeteries were flooded when the creek was dammed. The Eastern Ice Company built a new boarding house in 1886 so that the men could stay near the ice cutting.
In the background was the William Wallace farmhouse, which later burned, and Merritt Mountain, named for Freeman and Jenny Merritt.
About This Item
- Title: Sebasco Estates club house, Phippsburg, ca. 1910
- Creator: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Creation Date: circa 1910
- Subject Date: circa 1910
- Location: Sebasco, Phippsburg, Sagadahoc County, MR
- Media: Glass Plate Negative
- Dimensions: 12.7 cm x 17.8 cm
- Local Code: LB2007.1.110496
- Collection: Eastern Illustrating & Publishing Co.
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
People
Other Keywords
- Accommodations
- Boarding houses
- Cemeteries
- Cottages
- Ice harvesting
- Ice industry
- Inns
- Lodging
- Mountains
- Shipping
- Summer cottages
- Tourism
For more information about this item, contact:
Penobscot Marine MuseumPO Box 498, 5 Church Street, Searsport, ME 04974
(207) 548-2529
Website
Use of this Item is not restricted by copyright and/or related rights, but the holding organization is contractually obligated to limit use. For more information, please contact the contributing organization. However, watermarked Maine Memory Network images may be used for educational purposes.
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