*** Updated ***  Blodgett Landing Panorama - 2013   - click on photo for high resolution panorama.

Lake Sunapee History Home
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Blodgett Landing History

Lake Sunapee Historical Maps & Cottage Names

Lake Sunapee Photo Albums

Sunapee Old Postcard Albums

Great Island History

Mt. Sunapee History

Steamboat History

YouTube Videos

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Sunapee Area Attractions
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NOTE: the background shows Helen Wadsworth with her brother James on Great Island in the summer of 1911.

Great Island History

The complete Great Island Cottage and Owners History (41 pages) contains great recollections of family events, cottage building, etc. by many of the original residents of the island - from 1890s to 1980.  In addition, there is a Davis Family History of GI, recording a lot of “great” island history, including a first hand account of the 1938 hurricane (21 pages).

Background to the “Recollections of Great Island” (below)  by Georgiana, Helen Wadsworth Harris’ daughter.

RECOLLECTIONS OF GREAT ISLAND
FIRST SETTLEMENT

by Helen Wadsworth Harris written circa 1970’s

 Norman Brockway started it all.  He was a mechanical engineer from Bellows Falls.  In the 1880’s, he bought land on the island and built a house, the present Burford house [now the McLean house].  My grandparents visited him there and fell in love with the island. My grandfather, James Brady, was also a mechanical engineer.  He chose the land facing Blodgett Landing with the view of the upper lake and the morning sun....
Those fifteen families were the original inhabitants.

6 pages of personal recollections...

 Stowell Sunapee 1952   Lake Sunapee & Great Island - 1936-1954
This is a great video of life on Lake Sunapee in 1950s.  It is a little grainy, and long - but well worth viewing.  It was filmed by Kip Stowell in 1952 on Lake Sunapee.  It includes "Happy Thought", "The Fells Hay Estate" and "Rippawam" their family covered launch.

YouTube  Lake Sunapee 1952 - tour of the lake

   Lake Sunapee & Great Island - 1936-1954
 Lake Sunapee and Great Island 1936-1954  
Home movies of Lake Sunapee/Great Island, including riding on the mail  boats around the lake, swimming on Great Island, fishing, waterskiing,  hiking to Lake Solitude on Mt. Sunapee, views of Mt. Sunapee from the  lake, etc..

1890 Great Island Survey
Lake Sunapee & Great Island - 1936-1954

Oct. 1890 - Survey map by F.J. Browing, C.E. "Great Island in Lake Sunapee"

 *** Updated ***
All photo album links corrected.

Lake Sunapee, NH - Great Island Photographs from the early 1900s. All photos are on Great Island, unless otherwise noted.

Last updated 03/23/2019

Great Island in the early 1900s