Emma Corddry

December 9, 2020

Professor Orwig

Boston Architecture

Plum Island: The Neighborhood Then and Now

My interest in the Plum Island neighborhood ironically springs from its lack of a

neighborhood on much of the island. Since I first visited the Parker River National Wildlife

Refuge in northeastern Massachusetts, its beautiful shoreline, interesting trails, stunning wildlife,

and abundance of water made it a treasured place. A dense neighborhood exits north of the

refuge, but the nature area used to be bustling with summer visitors, farmers, fishermen, and

hunters (“Plum Island: Early Years”; Weare). Our brief tour of Plum Island hints at what it was

before the 1940s and shows what it is today.

slide 1:

The island is named for the beach plums that dot the dunes (Buckley). Beach plums are native to

the northeast and help prevent dune erosion.

slide 2:

Maps help place the Plum Island neighborhood in a geographical context. Plum Island is a thin,

long barrier island that is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the wide

mouth of the Merrimack River, on the west by a network of rivers that form a salt marsh, and on
the south by the Plum Island Sound formed by the confluence of smaller rivers. Plum Island is

about 30 miles north of Boston just south of the New Hampshire border.

slide 3:

Parker River Pavilion, later called Marston's, was a popular dining spot (“History &

Images”). Visitors had easier access to this restaurant via electric railcar(“History & Images”).

This depicts how transportation advances contributed to the growth of Plum Island as a summer

destination (Weare). First, a ferry enabled more people to cross the river and get to the island

(Weare). A train brought visitors from distant cities, further expanding the population that could

visit the island. Lastly, a bridge over the river separating Plum Island from the mainland further

simplified the ability to visit the island (Weare).

slide 4:

A hotel complex with a dance hall was built at the south end of the island (Weare).

A large hotel with a dance hall and other out buildings was built in 1807 and existed until 1914

(“Hotel and Shifting Sands”). The large wood-frame hotel demonstrates the popularity of the

island as a summer vacation destination and its role as a hub of social life.

slide 5:

Structures called “cottages” or “camps,” which I would describe as houses—sometimes very

large houses—were sprinkled across the southern end of Plum Island (“The Building Boom”;

Weare). The first was built in 1881 and a building boom began five years later (“The Building

Boom”). After the southern three-quarters of Plum Island was made a wildlife refuge, structures
were acquired through eminent domain and either bought immediately or when the current

owner left the house (Harris). After a final family gathering celebrating their visits to their family

summer home, the last cottage was razed in 2016 (Harris).

slide 6:

Pink House or Spite House was built in 1925 when a wife agreed to divorce her husband if he

built her a duplicate of their house in town (Bolik). To cause her the most frustration possible, he

built her home isolated, far from town, and without running fresh water (only salt water is

available) (Bolik). The home was inhabited by a family 1960-2001, then intermittently rented,

and finally sold to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in 2012 (Bolik). It does not fit with

refuge’s goal to protect migratory birds, so the home was slated to be demolished (Bolik).

However, some people think it is a valuable building, which acts as a sentinel that you are

nearing Plum Island. Preservation Massachusetts was involved in attempting to preserve the

property 2017 and others suggested it be converted to a field research station (Sargent). The

house still stands as a beacon watching over the salt marshes.

slide 7:

About the northern quarter of the island is developed, mostly with homes. About the top third of

the residential area is in the city of Newburyport and the rest is in Newbury. This could

complicate the provision of city services, decision-making, and financial circumstances (both

taxes and expenditures). The northeastern tip of the island is a protected natural area, which is

shown by the red boundary. I carefully considered the implications of devoting two slides to

maps. I ultimately decided they were crucial to placing the neighborhood in geographic context,
which hints at neighborhood concerns such as beach erosion, and showing how the land is used

for vastly different uses.

slide 8:

The “downtown” of Plum Island is a few locally owned businesses at a major intersection.

Despite the more than a quarter of a million visitors to the nature refuge, there are no major

national companies with a location on Plum Island. This “downtown” area is on the outskirts of

the residential area, but a coffee shop, squeezed in between two homes, exists in the middle of

the residential area.

slide 9:

Some residents have invested significant money into constructing magazine-ready modern beach

houses. This example is elevated to allow storm surge to run through it rather than flood it. This

house exemplifies the dream of living in a beach house.

slide 10:

However, sometimes the reality of a beach house is different than the dream. The new beach

house is hidden by view until one is nearly directly in front of it. The towns seem to have a

patchwork quilt approach to planning.

slide 11:
Plum Island is a popular retreat, which also means that it can be very busy. The houses are often

densely packed and are mix of building styles and uses. This street was very tight even on a

weekday when there were hardly any visitors.

slide 12:

The acquisition of the land comprising roughly the southern three-quarters of Plum Island, which

led to the end of the neighborhoods there, created a national wildlife refuge that Rachel Carson,

the notable environmentalist, called “New England’s most important contribution to the national

effort to save the waterfowl of America.” The story of the Goodwin family’s final reunion at their

home within the refuge emphasizes the difficulty of balancing what exists in an area and what is

imagined. Plum Island is in the Atlantic Flyway and provides necessary habitat for birds and

other wildlife. The people who lived there before 1940 probably felt the same way about their

experience; this sliver of an island provided recreation, social life, family memories, and for

those who farmed, fished, or hunted, food.

The uninhabited part of the Plum Island neighborhood has provided me with experiences I will

remember my entire life. I wonder what experiences the many residents of the neighborhood

treasure the most.

 Works Cited

Bolik, Kate. “Plum Island’s Pink House Inspires a Real Estate Fantasy,” The New York Times, 11

December 2015.

Buckley, M. Renee. “Visitors Can Harvest Cranberries, Beach Plums with Plum Island Permits.”

wickedlocal.com, 28 August 2008.

Carson, Rachel. “Parker River: A National Wildlife Refuge.” Conservation in Action, vol. 2,

United Stated Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 1947.

Harris, Gordon. “The Last Cottage on Plum Island.” Historic Ipswich. historicipswich.com.

“History & Images.” newbury1635.org

“Hotel and Shifting Sands.” newbury1635.org

“Plum Island: Early Years.” newbury1635.org

Sargent, William. Plum Island 2017: Resurrection. 2017.

“The Building Boom.” newbury1635.org

Weare, Nancy V. Plum Island: The Way It Was, Newburyport Press, Newbury, MA, 1993.
Slide Images

slide 1: Ginger Laurits Beach plum (Prunus maritime—- Wild Seed projecthttps://

wildseedproject.net/2020/05/beach-plum-prunus-maritimus/

slide 2: google.com/maps

slide 3: “History & Images.” newbury1635.org

slide 4: Harris, Gordon. “The Last Cottage on Plum Island.” Historic Ipswich.

historicipswich.com.

slide 5: Plum Island: Early Years. http://www.newbury1635.org/plum-island.html

slide 7: Plum Island Beach (29692530), version 13. OpenStreetMap, openstreetmap.org.

slides 6, 8-12: Emma Corddry