Ottawa House Grounds

A large Victorian resort hotel that drew hundreds of summer guests to Cushing Island from the mid-19th century until it burned in 1917. Its grounds are the highest-probability zone for everyday personal artifacts.

• Old paths radiate from the former hotel footprint toward overlooks and the beach.
• Shade-tree gathering areas retain flatter ground worn into the lawn.
• Carriage routes are still legible as gentle cuts through the terrain.

1. 1.Which walk did guests use to reach the water?
2. 2.Where were the porches, and therefore the drop-lines?
3. 3.What does a lost hotel look like a hundred years later?

Distances are straight-line from recorded coordinates. Island roads curve, so allow more time than the estimate.

• Map of Cushing Islandca. 1888
• Ottawa House, Cushing Islandca. 1900
• Cushing Island, Portland Harborca. 1870
• An Historical Sketch, Guide Book, and Prospectus of Cushing's Island1886
• Ottawa House, Cushing Island, c. 1900 (glass negative)c. 1900
• SAH Archipedia — Cushing Islandundated