Naushon Island
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Elizabeth Islands |
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| Islands listed in order from east to west |
| Nonamesset Uncatena Naushon Pasque Nashawena Penikese Cuttyhunk |
Naushon Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands, is seven miles (11 km) long, just off (SW of) Cape Cod, and four statute miles (6 km) NW of Martha's Vineyard. The island is owned by the Forbes family and is included in the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts. It is the largest of the Elizabeth Islands in land area at 19.18 km² (7.4 sq mi) and had a permanent population of 30 persons as of the 2000 census.
Naushon Island has been a Forbes family retreat for more than a century and a half, since its purchase by John Murray Forbes. Forbes was a businessman who began his career in his family's china trading business (trade which included opium, among other things) and made much of his fortune by investing in the early development of railroads. Naushon Island was purchased by Forbes and a business associate, William Hathaway, in 1843, and Forbes purchased Hathaway's share soon after to become the sole owner. Forbes left Naushon to his heirs and it is now owned by Naushon Island Trust, Inc. Pasque Island, and Nashawena Island, the next two islands in the Elizabeth Island chain, were purchased at different times by J. M. Forbes descendants and remain privately owned. There are approximately 35 houses on Naushon, most near the east end.
Naushon and the smaller islands that surround it are private property and closed to the public, with the exception of three beaches, Kettle Cove, West Beach, and Tarpaulin Cove, and Weepeckit Island, off the north shore of Naushon, in Buzzards Bay. Opening to the east northeast, Hadley Harbor, on the east end of Naushon, is relatively deep and is well protected from storms. There are no paved roads but many miles of trails through the mostly beech woods. A lighthouse sits above Tarpaulin Cove.
When he was growing up, Sen. John Forbes Kerry and his first cousin Brice Lalonde summered on Naushon and at Saint-Briac, in France. Kerry did not visit Naushon during his 2004 presidential candidacy to keep media from intruding on the island's privacy.[citation needed]
