Historical Archive
Every image in this archive is anchored to a place on the island, a person in its history, and a moment on the timeline. Nothing here is decorative.
1885 · Manuscript planPlan of Cushing's Island (Longfellow, 1885)
Manuscript plan showing Bayberry Ridge, Rock Terrace, the Meadows, Lobster Cove, Spring Cove, and White Head. The earliest detailed island plan reproduced here.
A. W. Longfellow · Maine Memory Network #23340
1888 · Printed mapMap of Cushings Island (Ilsley & Cummings)
The 1888 printed map used to sell lots — dotted outlines mark parcels already sold. The Ottawa House stands at the western bluff; the U.S. Government Reservation (future Fort Levett) is blocked out on the southern shore.
Ilsley & Cummings, Portland, Me. · Maine Memory Network #23341
c. 1880s–1890s · Oil on canvasThe Island seen from the Ship Channel
A late-19th-century oil showing the Ottawa House on the western bluff, a coasting steamer in the Passage, and rocky ledges of the north shore. The best surviving colour view of the resort in operation.
Unattributed · Maine Memory Network #52394Related places
late 19th – early 20th c. · PhotographThe Ottawa House
The Victorian resort hotel with its wraparound porches, twin towers, and flag flying — photographed from the bluff below its front lawn.
Maine Historical Society · Maine Memory Network #17392Related placesRelated people
c. 1917 · PhotographDistrict Wireless Station, Cushings I., Me.
A shingled hut with an antenna platform on the roof, looking north across the island toward Munjoy Hill and the Portland Observatory. A single figure sits on the ledge below with signal wires visible against the sky.
Maine Historical Society · Maine Memory Network #102431Related places
c. 1915–1930 · Photograph6-inch coastal rifle, Fort Levett
Three soldiers stand beside a large disappearing-carriage rifle on the parade behind one of Battery Foote's neighbouring emplacements — a rare period photograph of the fort's armament in place.
Courtesy of Tom Richards · Maine Memory Network #105419Related places
c. 1930s–1950s · Colour linen postcard (#61191)White Head, Cushing's Island, Portland Harbor, Me.
A mid-20th-century linen postcard reproducing the same White Head cliff painted by Harrison Bird Brown for Sargent's 1886 sketch — showing how the image of the island travelled through the tourist economy.
Boston Public Library · Maine Memory Network #71608Related placesRelated people