Nautilus Island’s History
Nautilus Island’s Importance and Influence has spanned the centuries.
The earliest inhabitants of Maine, known as the Red Paint People, who lived during the Archaic Period between 3,000 - 9,500 years ago. They used stone tools and were primarily hunter gatherers.
The first inhabitants of Nautilus Island were the Etchemin Native Americans, meaning Ancient One. They lived during the Ceramic Period, between 500 - 3,000 years ago. These American Indians maintained summer encampments on the Island for countless centuries. Positioned north, between Rockland and Bass Harbor, Nautilus became a convenient and inviting camp to the Etchemin people who sought Nautilus for it’s abundant shellfish while traveling along the coastal waterways.
Nautilus Island’s standing as a prime position for fishing and security rose through the period of European contact, beginning in the early 17th century. Castine Harbor was surveyed by Samuel de Champlain in 1607. It was during this expedition that he first met the Etchemin people who described their seasonal encampments along the Penobscot River. Nautilus stood as sentry to Castine Harbor, and played a pivotal role in the fortifications and economy of Castine during the time between the earliest French settlers and American nationhood.
Accounts during this time refer to the Island as Cross Island, named for the cross which marked the grave of a Jesuit priest, whose mission included the Island. During the Revolutionary War, the British war sloop Nautilus was engaged by the American vessel, Hazard, off the Island’s shore, and became its namesake from them on.
Of particular note, Nautilus Island is the site of the first successful landing by American Marines under fire. The marines were led by Paul Revere, who defeated, and then expanded the small British batter under his command in the notorious assault of Castine, known as the Penobscot Expedition of 1779.
The height of the Island's fishing industry was undoubtedly during the mid-nineteenth century, when Mr. William Witherle of Castine build the first wharves and buildings to house and serve the Salt Banks fishery. Mr. Witherle had purchased Nautilus from Andrew Gray, for a considerable sum, in 1839. The Island was later sold in 1882 to Henry C. Williams, who was the first to build upon the present-day main house site, only a few yards from the remains of the British Battery. The island was the summer residence for the Williams family until 1906 when Nautilus was sold to Dr. J. Howard Wilson. Dr. Wilson remodeled the main house, contracting the New York architecture firm, Cady & See, to which is credited the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, and many more buildings, including 15 at Yale University.
Along with the remodeled main house, Dr. Wilson built a modernized dairy barn in 1916. The barn was equipped with patented stalls, and hay carries. Nautilus Island became the model of self-sustainable saltwarer farms. The Wilson family travelled the world extensively, and founded the Wilson Museum to house and share their private collection of antiques. Their last heir, Ellenore W. Doudeit, the daughter of Dr. Wilson, lived on the Island until her death in 2004.
Since then, a 4-year restoration of the Island took place that energized the estate, and renewed its status as a comfortable, self-sufficient New England Island farm. The reconstruction of Nautilus reclaimed valuable farm land, restored culturally significant buildings and meeting spaces, and developed a framework of growing enterprise and production.