Thursday, November 15, 2007

Bustins Island - An Edward Hopper-like cottage


As you approach Bustins on the Lilly B, the island ferry, from the direction of South Freeport harbor, this classic cottage comes into view. It is located on the southeasterly end of the island that looks out onto Little Bustins island. In front of this cottage is the island mooring area where many island craft reside. One of my favorite boats that I enjoy seeing as I sail by is a sailboat with the name of "Panacea" It is an older Hinckley with very elegant lines.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve,
I noticed your comment about this being an Edward Hopper-like cottage. There was a recent inquiry from a man in Chicago who is writing a book about Dwight Perkins, who is actually the man who designed this cottage while he was in school at MIT (1885-87). An old photo and plans of the cottage were published by the Chicago Architectural Club in 1902. By the way, the reason things appear to be "frozen in time" on Bustins Island is because we deliberately try to stay simple and secluded and don't necessarily like to advertise our island to the world. Tourists who do venture out there will find no store or restaurant, and only public outhouses for facilities.(We don't mind the business for our Lilly B ferry, and it is a pleasant walk around the island, but there is really not much else for a tourist to do other than to enjoy the walk and the view. We kind of like it like that...keeping the island non-commercial)

Steve Drake said...

I greatly appreciate your comments to my post today. I have always found the lines of the Dwight Perkin's designed cottage so striking. And I'm quite sure that Edward Hopper would have jumped at the opportunity to paint this cottage if he had known about it. I support your desire to keep the island forever unspoiled by development pressures that would attempt to spoil the character of the island. One of my favorite memories of Bustins is having dinner with Mr. and Mrs. Butts in the old farmhouse several years ago. My wife and I had sailed to Bustins one evening and were unable to return to South Freeport due to adverse winds. We tied up my Cape Cod Bullseye at the town dock and walked along the eastern shore of the island where we met the Butts. They invited us to come inside for dinner and my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful meal and conversation while enjoying the stunning view of Harpswell in the distance from the dinning room window. Once dinner was over, the wind subsided and we said our "goodbyes" and were able to make it back to South Freeport.

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve, You may be able to find out more information about Bustins by visiting either the Freeport Library or the Freeport Historical Society. Either location may have a copy of the book entitled, History of Bustins Island 1660-1960, written by George B Richardson, who happens to own the cottage next to the white one you are trying to sell.The Bustins Island Historical Society reprinted the book in 1998, with permission from Mr. Richarson. I'm sure there are some copies out there and you will find this to be a wealth of information and full of old pictures.

hannah allen said...

I do research alongside the previous Chicagoan who inquired about this cottage, and I was wondering if anyone on here knows who the owners of this property are. Its a longshot, but I'm currently working on a large-scale architectural history documentation project of the existing works of Dwight H. Perkins which would bring me to the island. I'll be photographing it, and would like to make sure this is alright with the owners beforehand. Thanks so much!!! hannahallen814@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

I found this through a search engine and looking through images. I stayed at this home for an entire summer with my family. My dad worked on the home, re-shingling the roof and doing other things around the house. One of the best summers of my life and we were so lucky to get to be there for 3 months. The house is really cool inside as well... You went up the stairs and on the landing was the bathroom which you stepped down into and if you wanted to continue up to the bedrooms, you would walk up more stairs. The owner also had a fantastic collection of Archie comic books :)