Summer Colony
During the 1880s, wealthy people had extensive leisure time and the means to enjoy it. They sought out seaside resorts to escape the heat of pre-air conditioning cities. In 1881, most of the southern portion of Campobello Island was acquired by a consortium of Boston and New York businessmen who, intending to develop the area as a fashionable resort, constructed three luxurious hotels.
Canadian and American press touted the favorable climate, the clean, bracing, salt-tinged, balsam-scented air, and the abundant scenic beauty. Brochures also espoused unequaled boating (sailboats, rowing, canoes with Passamaquoddy Indian guides), enjoyable excursions by land and sea, and relief from hay fever.
Families from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Ottawa, and Montreal came to Campobello’s hotels by private yacht, steamship, and train for extended summer vacations. Several of the families, including Franklin Roosevelt’s parents, James and Sara Roosevelt, liked the area so much that they purchased land. They then either refurbished existing houses or built new, large “cottages”.
At left, the Tyn-Y-Maes hotel, 1881.
A Family Summer Retreat
Young Franklin Roosevelt’s parents were among those who summered at Campobello’s hotels and who purchased land and built a cottage. With his parents, he spent many enjoyable summers on this small Canadian island in the Bay of Fundy. His parents, and later he, his wife Eleanor, and their children were attracted to Campobello Island for the ample opportunities for outdoor recreation.
As a young father, FDR found that his family enjoyed Campobello and it became customary to spend July, August, and part of September there. Over the summers, the energetic, athletic father taught his children sailing and many other pastimes he had learned there during his childhood. Campobello became as much a part of the lives of his family as it had been of his.
At right, young Franklin Roosevelt with his parents, James and Sara, at their summer cottage in 1900.
The Roosevelt Cottage
The cottage neighbouring James and Sara Roosevelt’s cottage was owned by Mrs. Grace Kuhn, a family friend of the Roosevelts. After Mrs. Kuhn’s passing in 1908, Sara Delano Roosevelt purchased the red summer home as a belated wedding gift for Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt and their growing family.
The young Roosevelt family visited often. Sailing was the most important part of the Campobello summer. The Roosevelts enjoyed both day-sailing, often picnicking on nearby islands, and cruising, taking three and four-day trips around Passamaquoddy Bay, up to St. Andrews, or along the Maine coast.
Although FDR's growing political responsibilities and health problems eventually limited his visits to Campobello, his love of the island and his long associations with its people left a lasting impression. After he became President, FDR returned to his summer home for three brief visits: in 1933, 1936, and 1939. Eleanor returned with the children and two of her friends in the summer of 1925 and again in 1933, 35 and 36.
At left, the Roosevelt family on the porch of the Roosevelt Cottage, 1920. Clockwise from the top left: Franklin Roosevelt, Sara Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt, James, Anna, John, FDR Jr, and Elliot Roosevelt.
Gallery of Historic Images
All images courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum digital collections.