Still..these were the happiest of Misery's years. The island had a summer population of a hundred. The men took the ferry or their own motorboats to the West Beach landing,walked up to the Farms depot and commuted weekdays to their offices in Boston. Gus Rengman,the caretaker, kept an eye on the casino, ran the engine that pumped fresh water from the well up into the tank, and delivered ice to the cottagers that he had cut from the pond during the winter. When heavy supplies were wanted on the island, he towed them over behind his launch in a scow.

Stemming the unstemmable tide, the Casino rocked with gaity and parties as the Great War rolled across the Atlantic. Ominously, at the end of 1915 season the trust mortgaged its 77 acres against $15,000.00 in debts, and the Casino opened in 1916 as usual. But when 1917 dawned like thunder, the property again changed hands, new money was found, and the summer was spent adding an annex to sleep the expected overflow that never flowed. There was a war on, and we were in it. The Casino, alias the Mystery Island Inn, alias the Beverly Farms Inn, alias Misery Island Club, never again opened its doors. The foreclosure in 1918 locked the lid. Even the concrete hanger that Godfrey Cabot had built on the west shore for his experiments with refueling seaplanes in flight was abandoned when he entered active service in 1917.

The final demise of the Casino left the seven or eight families remaining on Misery Island in 1917 the sole beneficiaries... The...returned to nature...... Their last year was 1920. Mrs. Harwood had had enough loneliness, and the family never returned. On May 7,1926, the Casino with all its cottages, the barn, the water tower and one of the private houses burned to the foundations when a brush fire ran out of control.

Again Misery was sold. Years passed, and in 1935 a Beverly oil dealer wanted to erect storage tanks for 12 million gallons of oil on the island. The Salem city councel turned them down....

Credit:Portions:Bostons Gold Coast:Joseph Garland.

Property Description 87 acres | Established 1935 Misery Islands offer coastal views, rolling rocky terrain, diverse wildlife habitats, and interesting ruins that recall the Islands' past as an exclusive resort and summer colony. A system of trails provides access to most parts of Great Misery Island, including spectacular overlooks, stony beaches, and grassy fields. Little Misery Island is accessible from Great Misery Island by wading across a narrow, shallow channel at very low tide. On the beach of Little Misery can be seen the remains of the steamship, The City of Rockland, wrecked off the coast of Maine and scuttled here many years ago. The Misery Island Syndicate bought the Islands in 1900. They built the Misery Island Club, which featured a pier, a club house, a saltwater swimming pool, guest cottages, a tennis court, and a nine-hole golf course. Tournaments and regattas attracted Boston and North Shore socialites, but the club fell on hard times a year after opening. Subsequent business ventures failed, but individual lots sold and a summer colony of more than twenty-five cottages took hold. In 1926, however, a devastating brush fire destroyed many homes, and summer families eventually lost interest in the islands.

Before its last three acres were acquired in 1997, several threats to Misery Islands had been fended off, including a 1935 plan for a twelve-million-gallon oil storage facility and a 1988 plan for a secondary sewage treatment plant.

The name Misery Islands arose from the ordeal of shipbuilder Robert Moulton. Harvesting timber on the islands in the 1620s, Moulton became stranded for three miserable days during a December storm.

Property Acquisition History Original acreage purchased in 1935. Additional land given by Mrs. Charles S. Bird and Dr. John C. Phillips in 1938, and by the Estate of Theodore C. Hollander in 1940. Additional land purchased in 1950, 1955, 1983, and 1988. Final 3-acre parcel purchased in 1997.

Credits:Trustees of Misery Islands