TIMELINE

Explore the history of Hog Island and the Audubon Camp and discover important moments from the past. View the entire timeline here, filter the timeline to see milestones from a particular year, and click on associated subjects and items to learn more about major developments in the history of Hog Island.

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Mabel Loomis Todd and David Todd Purchase Land On Hog Island

David and Mabel Loomis Todd purchase 257 acres on Hog Island, where the following year they establish a vacation camp and begin near-annual summer visits.

1908

RELATED ITEM: Queen Mary and The Bridge From the Water Photograph, 1936
1910

Mabel Loomis Todd Bans Hunting on Hog Island

1910

RELATED ITEM: Birches on Hog Island Photograph, June 14, 1940
1919

Closure of the Point Breeze Inn and Bungalows

The largest tract of land on Hog Island not owned by the Todd Family belonged to the operators of the Point Breeze Inn and Bungalows, a summer retreat for vacationers. In 1919, Point Breeze closed, leaving Mabel Todd, David Todd, and their daughter Millicent Todd Bingham as the only permanent occupants of the island. Several Point Breeze buildings and cabins would later be used in the Audubon Camp.

1919

RELATED ITEM: Point Breeze Inn and Bungalows Stationery, 1910s
1932

Mabel Loomis Todd Passes Away

In the midst of preparations to leave Hog Island for the winter season, Mabel Loomis Todd passed away on October 14, 1932, leaving Millicent Todd Bingham as the sole owner of the majority of Hog Island.

Oct 14th, 1932

RELATED ITEM: Mabel Loomis Todd Portrait Slide
1933

Millicent Todd Bingham Searches for a Buyer

After Mabel Loomis Todd's death, the owners of the Point Breeze Inn and Bungalows expressed interest in selling their land but agreed to wait while Millicent Todd Bingham looked for a buyer who would commit to the island's conservation.

1933 - 1934

1935

Millicent Todd Bingham, John Baker, and James Todd Agree to Establish the Audubon Camp in Maine

In 1935, James Todd, a friend of Millicent Todd Bingham, agreed to purchase the Point Breeze land and donate it to an organization that would commit to its upkeep. Bingham met with John Baker, the newly appointed executive director of the National Association of Audubon Societies, and the two developed a plan to establish an environmental education camp for teachers.

1935

RELATED ITEM: Hog Island Deed of Gift, May 25, 1936

Todd Wildlife Sanctuary Established

After finalizing the agreement with John Baker and the National Association of Audubon Societies, Millicent Todd Bingham quickly made arrangements to purchase the remaining land on Hog Island under private ownership and lease the entire island to Audubon for $1 per year. Under this plan, the entire island would become the Todd Wildlife Sanctuary, in honor of her mother's vision for Hog Island.

1935

RELATED ITEM: Todd Wildlife Sanctuary: Audubon Association To Turn Hog Island Into Memorial Clipping, c. 1935

Waterfront Access Agreement With Nash Family Finalized

In 1935, Carl Buchheister and the National Association of Audubon Societies finalized an agreement with the Nash family to cross their property on the mainland in order to access Hog Island for the camp.

Dec 23rd, 1935

RELATED ITEM: Nash Property Use Agreement, December 23, 1935
1936

The Osprey Camp Boat Purchased

1936

RELATED ITEM: Campers Travel in the Osprey Photograph

Carl Buchheister Appointed the First Camp Director

Prior to his appointment as the first camp director in 1935, Carl Buchheister worked as a Latin teacher at the Lawrence School in Long Island, New York. As the first camp director, Buchheister worked closely with John Baker to flesh out the vision for the camp and the plan for its operation. Buchheister continued in the role of camp director until 1957.

1936

RELATED ITEM: John Baker to Carl Buchheister Letter Photocopy, November 13, 1935

First Camp Instructors Hired

Among the first instructors hired to teach at the camp, Assistant Bird Life Instructor Allan Cruickshank, shown here holding a herring gull, was a leading figure in American ornithology, nature photography, and conservation. Cruickshank would go on to teach at Hog Island for 20 summers. Rounding out the first summer's staff were Dorothy Treat as the Nature Activities Instructor, Roger Peterson as Head Bird Life Instructor, Dr. Young as Plant Life Instructor, Fred Fletcher as as Insect LIfe Instructor, and Gerard Pomerat as Marine Life Instructor.

1936

RELATED ITEM: Allan Cruickshank With Young Herring Gull Photograph, 1938
1937

Campers Begin Fundraising to Construct a Well on Hog Island

1937

RELATED ITEM: Contributions for Camp Well List, September 27-December 31, 1937

Joseph Cadbury Becomes an Instructor

After only one summer as a camper, Joseph Cadbury returned to the Audubon Camp in Maine as an instructor in 1937.

1937

RELATED ITEM: Joe Cadbury Sitting on the Ground Photograph, July, 1939
1938

Josiah Lowe Joins Staff as Plant Life Instructor

1938

RELATED ITEM: Instructor Lowe and Campers Photograph, 1938-1946
1939

Elmer Osier Hired as Boatman and Caretaker

Elmer Osier was hired as the head boatman for the Audubon Camp in Maine in 1939. He served as caretaker of the camp over the winter season and during its World War II years of closure, finally retiring in 1966.

1939

RELATED ITEM: Head Boatmen Elmer Osier Outside the Workshops Photograph
1941

Fish House Built

Recognizing the need for a new building with a fireplace for campers to gather, four campers - Ruth Steele, Edna Byrne, Gertrude Clark, and Gertrude Gold - created a committee to fundraise for a new camp building. That building, which became the Fish House, was constructed in 1941.

1941

RELATED ITEM: All About the New Building at Audubon Camp! Letter, November 9, 1940
1943

Closure of the Camp During World War II

Due to the impact of World War II, the Audubon Camp in Maine was closed for the 1943, 1944, and 1945 summer seasons. During the war, many staff members enlisted in various branches of the armed forces, and wartime rationing severely restricted the availability of supplies. The camp reopened for the summer of 1946.

1943 - 1946

RELATED ITEM: Buchheister and Campers Examine Cormorant Nests Photograph, c. 1946
1946

Audubon Camp Bell Purchased

In 1946, the Audubon Camp in Maine purchased the camp bell from a second-hand dealer in Rockland. The bell had been cast by George H. Holbrook of the Holbrook Bell Foundry in Massachusetts in 1846. A local carpenter built the wooden frame for the bell, which was modeled after the bell frame of the lighthouse on Matinicus Rock.

1946

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Workshop Bell and the Holbrook Bell Foundry Report
1947

Farida Wiley Joins Staff as Plant Life Instructor

Farida Wiley taught at the Audubon Camp in Maine for twenty years, retiring after the summer of 1967.

1947

RELATED ITEM: Self-Made Expert Guides the Laymen Along Many Paths to Natural Science, May 26, 1956
1948

B. Bartram Cadbury Joins the Camp Faculty as the Marine Life Course Instructor

In 1958, Bartram Cadbury was promoted to Camp Director, a position he held through 1968.

1948

RELATED ITEM: Bartram Cadbury to Carl Buchheister Letter, December 11, 1957

State Department of Education Certifies the Audubon Camp in Maine for Teacher Accreditation

1948

RELATED ITEM: H. A. Ladd to Carl W. Buchheister Letter, August 25, 1948

Audubon Camp in Maine Profiled in Life Magazine

Aug 30th, 1948

RELATED ITEM: Life Goes to a Nature Camp in Maine Clipping, August 30, 1948
1950

Marine Life Aquarium Tanks Constructed in the Queen Mary

1950

RELATED ITEM: Bartram Cadbury to Carl Buchheister Letter, December 26, 1950
1951

Maine Audubon Society Deeds Western Egg Rock to National Audubon Society

In 1951, Maine Audubon Society President Barbara Corning approached Carl Buchheister about the possibility of deeding ownership of Western Egg Rock, an island in Muscongus Bay that was home to a significant seabird population, to the National Audubon Society, to ensure its conservation and to allow its use as a site for camp field trips. Buchheister and John Baker agreed, and the deed was transferred on September 18th.

Sep 18th, 1951

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Historical Note Document
1953
1954

Hog Island Sustains Damage From Hurricanes Carol and Edna

In 1954, two different hurricanes, Hurricane Carol and Hurricane Edna, caused significant damage on Hog Island. In response, Carl Buchheister launched an appeal fund, which swiftly raised over $10,000 to cover repairs.

1954

RELATED ITEM: Carl Buchheister to Maine Campers Letter, May 1955
1956

Audubon Camp in Maine Celebrates Its 20th Birthday

1956

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Historical Note Document
1958

B. Bartram Cadbury Becomes Camp Director

In 1958, Bartram Cadbury was promoted to Camp Director, a position he held through 1968.

1958

RELATED ITEM: Bartram Cadbury to Carl Buchheister Letter, December 11, 1957
1959

Carl Buchheister Becomes President of National Audubon Society

1959

RELATED ITEM: The Talk of the Town: New President Clipping, January 16, 1960

Title Transfer of Hog Island to National Audubon Society

In 1960, Millicent Todd Bingham formally deeded ownership of Hog Island to the National Audubon Society, ensuring its long-term preservation and use as a site of conservation education. National Audubon Society President Carl Buchheister accepted the transfer. Rachel Carson, a personal friend of Bingham's, attended the ceremony.

Aug 13th, 1960

RELATED ITEM: Millicent Todd Bingham to the Directors and President of the National Audubon Society Letter, August 13, 1960
1964

Audubon Camp Kitchen Renovated

1964

1966

B. Bartram Cadbury and Arthur Borror Publish Research on Dredging Results at the Audubon Camp of Maine

From 1949 to 1963, the Audubon Camp in Maine conducted over 900 marine dredge hauls, many with campers. Arthur Borror and B. Bartram Cadbury compiled these results and published them in this long-term study of ecological communities in Muscongus Bay.

Jun 1966

RELATED ITEM: Subtidal Animal Communities of Muscongus Bay, Maine: A Brief Summary of Fifteen Years Dredging Results at the Audubon Camp of Maine Article Reprint, June, 1966
1968

John H. Baker Scholarship Fund for Conservation Education Established

Launched in 1968 to commemorate former National Audubon Society President John Baker's long career in conservation work, the John H. Baker Scholarship Fund for Conservation Education provided scholarship assistance for prospective attendees of the Audubon camps, including the Audubon Camp in Maine. Preference for the scholarship funds were given to those who had completed a naturalist training program run by the National Audubon Society and who would go on to work in nature centers across the United States.

1968

RELATED ITEM: John H. Baker - The Audubon Years Article Reprint
1969

Herbert Houston Becomes Camp Director

1969

RELATED ITEM: New Audubon Camp Director Clipping, April 17, 1969

Stephen Kress Joins the Faculty as an Ornithology Instructor

Stephen Kress taught ornithology at the Audubon Camp in Maine from 1969 through 1981, at which point he became camp director. Kress is known for his work as the founder and longtime director of Project Puffin, the effort to restore puffins to islands in the Gulf of Maine where they had historically nested.

1969

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Camp in Maine: Introducing the Teaching Staff Information Sheet, 1969
1971

Duryea Morton Becomes Camp Director

Duryea Morton started at Hog Island as a kitchen helper shortly after the end of World War II. He later became second boatman before finally becoming camp director in 1971.

1971

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Camp in Maine Staff List, 1971
1973

Project Puffin Effort Launched

In 1973, Dr. Stephen Kress launched Project Puffin, an effort to reestablish a puffin colony on Eastern Egg Rock. Prior to this effort, no puffin colony had been recorded on the island since 1906. To reestablish the puffin population, Kress led a group of ornithologists based on Hog Island to transport chicks from an island in Newfoundland. The group reared chicks in burrows they constructed, before releasing the puffins in hopes that they would return to the island to rear their own chicks.

1973

RELATED ITEM: Report on the Re-Establishment of the Common Puffin, Fratercula arctica, To a Former Breeding Site in Muscongus Bay, Maine, December 30, 1975

Lincoln Audubon Society Granted Conservation Easement On Harbor Island

Leverett and Eugenie Davis, the owners of Harbor Island in Muscongus Bay since 1950, granted the Lincoln Audubon Society a conservation easement for much of the island in 1973 to ensure its long term preservation; the easement was extended to include more of the island in 1979. Harbor Island was a regular field trip destination for the Audubon Camp in Maine beginning in 1947.

1973

RELATED ITEM: Easement on Harbor Island Granted to Audubon Society Clipping, April, 1974
1974

Joe Johansen Hired as Warden and Head Boatman

Joe Johansen was hired as the warden and boatman for the Audubon Camp in 1974. In this position, he lived on the mainland and took care of the island year round.

1974

RELATED ITEM: Ideal Man in an Ideal Job Clipping, July 5, 1981

Ted Gilman Joins the Faculty as an Ornithology Instructor

1974

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Workshop in Maine: Meet the Teaching Staff Information Sheet, 1975
1976

Allan Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary on Eastern Egg Rock Dedicated

Allan Cruickshank passed away on October 11, 1974. On July 9, 1976, the Allan Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary on Eastern Egg Rock was dedicated in memory of his vital work in the fields of photography, ornithology, and conservation. The site of many Audubon Camp in Maine field trips to study and photograph nesting seabirds, Eastern Egg Rock continues to provide a nesting habitat for puffins and guillemots. The island is owned by the Maine Bureau of Land Management, and Allan Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary remains under the management of the National Audubon Society.

Jul 9th, 1976

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Camp in Maine: Introducing the Teaching Staff Information Sheet, 1969
1977

National Audubon Society Receives Conservation Easement From Elizabeth Noyce

Having witnessed the important conservation work being done on Hog Island, a local landowner, Elizabeth Noyce, granted Lincoln Audubon Society, and by extension the National Audubon Society, conservation easements to her properties on Bremen Long Island and Louds Island.

1977

RELATED ITEM: Agreement to Correct Deed Contract, December 14th, 1988

First Puffins Return to Eastern Egg Rock

1977

RELATED ITEM: Operation Puffin Clipping, May, 1977
1978

Coastal Flooding Reaches the Queen Mary Porch

Jan 9th, 1978

1979

Duryea Morton Audubon Sanctuary on Harbor Island Dedicated

In honor of his long association with the Audubon Camp in Maine, a portion of Harbor Island, a frequent field trip destination, was named the Duryea Morton Audubon Sanctuary.

1979

RELATED ITEM: Comments by Duryea Morton at the Dedication of the Duryea Morton Audubon Sanctuary Harbor Island, Maine Transcript, August 10, 1979
1982
1983

Puffin Hatched on Eastern Egg Rock Returns for the First Time

1983

RELATED ITEM: Puffins Return to Eastern Egg Rock Clipping, August 12, 1983
1987

Eugene Beckham Becomes Camp Director

Eugene Beckham, who served as the director of the Audubon Camp in Maine for two summers, worked on the collection and study of fish and shellfish samples in the Gulf of Mexico for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. A known wildlife artist, Beckham also contributed artwork for books on fish and wildlife, including the Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America.

1987

RELATED ITEM: Audubon Camp Staff, Instructors, and Student Assistants Group Photograph 1, c. 1987
1992
1993

Donald Burgess Becomes Camp Director

1993

1998

First Naturalizing by Kayak Session Offered

In 1998, the Audubon Camp in Maine began offering a specialized kayaking camp called Naturalizing by Kayak, in which campers studied ecology while learning kayaking techniques and exploring Muscongus Bay. Camp instructor Eric Ylagan led the first session.

1998

RELATED ITEM: Friends of Hog Island Newsletter, Volume 1, No. 2, 1999

First Family Camp Offered

1998

Friends of Hog Island Established

In 1998, a group of longtime supporters of the Audubon Camp in Maine developed a plan to found an organization that would work in partnership with National Audubon Society to support the camp and grow its work. The result, Friends of Hog Island, was formed on July 25, 1998 during an open planning meeting that included former staff members, student assistants, and campers.

Jul 25th, 1998

RELATED ITEM: Camp Making Comeback Clipping, July 8, 2012

First Friends of Hog Island Executive Committee Meeting

The Friends of Hog Island Executive Committee held its first ever meeting on October 17, 1998. Four officers were elected: Bart Cadbury as President, Tally Avener as Vice President, Eric Ylagan as Secretary, and Virginia Cadbury as Treasurer.

Oct 17th, 1998

RELATED ITEM: Friends of Hog Island Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1, 1998
1999

First Annual Meeting of the Friends of Hog Island

Jul 7th, 1999 - Jul 9th, 1999

RELATED ITEM: Friends of Hog Island Newsletter, Volume 1, No. 2, 1999

Camp Operations Transferred to Maine Audubon Society

In September of 1999, National Audubon Society transferred responsibility for day-to-day operations to the Maine Audubon Society, as part of a strategic shift to foster more local management of National Audubon Society work.

Sep 1999

RELATED ITEM: Across the Narrows Newsletter, Vol. 2, No. 1, Fall 1999
2001

First Friends of Hog Island Work and Learn Session Held

In conjunction with the 2001 Annual Meeting, Friends of Hog Island held a work and learn session to allow volunteers to give back to the camp.

2001

RELATED ITEM: Friends of Hog Island (FOHI) Minutes of the Fourth Annual Meeting, July 6, 2001
2006

Audubon Camp in Maine Holds Its 70th Anniversary Reunion

Jul 24th, 2006 - Jul 26th, 2006

RELATED ITEM: Hog Island at 70! Come Celebrate With Us Flier, 2006
2009

Hog Island Audubon Camp Closes

Ongoing economic losses force Maine Audubon to close Hog Island Camp in June 2008 and return ownership to National Audubon. Faced with National Audubon’s transfer of the camp’s ownership to a local camp in December 2010, Friends of Hog Island disbands in 2009.

2009

2010

Camp Reopens

National Audubon’s Project Puffin/Seabird Restoration Program opens Hog Island with four sessions.

May 2010

New FOHI Emerges

Campers agree to form a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and adopt the name Friends of Hog Island. FOHI promises to provide Hog Island Audubon Camp with $50,000 a year, volunteers to staff sessions and work weeks, and a three-year business plan for the camp.

Sep 2010

2011

New Way Forward

National Audubon accepts FOHI’s proposal retaining ownership and placing camp operation permanently under Project Puffin/ Seabird Restoration Program. Camp sessions increase from four in 2010 to twelve in 2019.

Apr 30th, 2011

DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY

Friends of Hog Island holds 75th Anniversary Reunion on Hog Island with David Yarnold, CEO of National Audubon and Duryea Morton, former Camp Director as guest speakers.

Aug 21st, 2011 - Aug 22nd, 2011

RELATED ITEM: 75th Anniversary Speech Typescript, August 21, 2011
2012

A Sense of Wonder Performance

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the publication of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring and celebrate the success of its fundraising efforts to create an endowment for the camp, Friends of Hog Island put on a performance of a play called "A Sense of Wonder," based on Rachel Carson's life and work.

Jul 28th, 2012

RELATED ITEM: Camp Making Comeback Clipping, July 8, 2012