Nomination - National Park Service

NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form (Rev. 8-86) OMB No. 1024-0018
EAGLE ISLAND (THE ADMIRAL ROBERT E. PEARY SUMMER HOME) Page 22
United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
Hitherto, we had either lived in rented apartments wherever my father's naval duties called him,
or, when he was north, at the home of my grandmother in Washington.....
But when he returned from the north in 1902, he had been away from home and friends and family for four
consecutive years and he longed for a place of his own where we could all be together and enjoy each other in
the little time that was left us, for he was planning to go north again as soon as he could raise the money. 43
From Peary’s Eagle Island Home - Development Schemes for Casco Bay’s Islands
Peary departed for his seventh trip to the Arctic in July, 1905 and returned in December, 1906, after another
failed attempt to reach the Pole. At the age of 50, after great hardship and with his family entreating him to stay
home, Peary’s future Arctic explorations must have seemed in doubt. But, his resolve to reach the North Pole
did not falter, as he expressed during an award ceremony when he received the National Geographic Society's
Hubbard Medal in late 1906:
To me the final and complete solution of the polar mystery which has engaged the best thought
and interest of some of the best men of the most vigorous and enlightened nations of the world
for more than three centuries, and today quickens the pulse of every man or woman whose veins
hold red blood, is the thing which must be done for the honor and credit of this country, the thing
which it is intended that I should do, and the thing that I must do. 44
Thus began another exhausting round of lectures and fund-raising appearances, planning for the next
expedition, and supervision of repairs to the Roosevelt. Peary had hoped to leave for this final expedition in
1907, but delays in completing the work on the ship and a shortage of funds postponed his final departure until
July 1908.
Somehow, in the midst of his multi-faceted preparations for the next Arctic expedition, Peary found time to
initiate an ambitious development project for several of Eagle Island’s neighboring islands in Casco Bay. In
March 1907, Peary began a series of correspondence (some letters were written from New York, others from
Eagle Island) with Captain Charles Morrill of the Harpswell Steam Boat Company regarding Peary's interest in
purchasing islands. As expressed in a letter to Morrill, “I will also suggest that you look up the addresses of
various prominent yacht clubs along the coast from Portland to New York,” wrote Peary, “in readiness to write
them in regard to Basket Island after I have had suitable photographs made to accompany your letters.” 45
Although he acquired sixteen islands, in the end, Peary’s ambitious plans for these islands came to naught. He
maintained their ownership throughout his life, harvested wood from them, and even kept some of his dogs on
one. But, no other plans were realized and gradually Peary’s heirs sold the islands after his death.
Remodeling and Expansion - The Second Construction Project on Eagle Island
Peary’s eighth and last expedition to the Arctic finally resulted in the attainment of the goal that had consumed
most of his energies for nearly two decades - the hoisting of the United States flag at the North Pole on April 6,
1909. It wasn't until early September that his return trip brought him to Labrador where he was able at last to
cable the news to the world that he had reached the North Pole. His victory, however, was immediately
43
Peary, The Snowbaby’s Own Story, 213 – 215.
44
Peary, typescript of speech, 15 December 1906, quoted in Weems, Peary: The Explorer and the Man, 227.
45
Peary to Morrill, 8 July 1907, R. E. Peary Collection.