I can't believe it's been almost two years since our last trip to the Harbor Islands. This Sunday, we once again took the ferry to Georges Island. Stephen brought his pinhole camera along, which is what these photos are from. They're a little blurry, but I like the immediacy of the images. They weren't filtered through lenses or fancy digital settings. It was just the object and the film, and a tiny hole in a piece of cardboard.
Ads on the T for the Boston Harbor Islands say, "Minutes away. Worlds apart." I can't think of a better description--it's almost bizarre how tranquil the islands are, given that you can see the Boston skyline and the runway at Logan Airport nearby. After battling our way through the lunchtime crowd at Faneuil Hall, it was a huge relief to board the ferry and chug out into the harbor.
Located 7 miles from Long Wharf, George's Island encompasses 39 acres at high tide and 53 at low. According to the National Park Service, "The island sustained agricultural use for two hundred years until 1825 when the US Government acquired the island for coastal defense. Over the next twenty years, the island was dramatically altered and one of the country’s finest forts was built. Dedicated in 1847, the fort’s defensive design was virtually obsolete upon completion. However, the fort served as a training ground, patrol point, and Civil War prison that gained a favorable reputation for the humane treatment of its Confederate prisoners." Today, the fort is a National Historic Landmark, and is open to the public year-round. Boy, does it sound like I'm doing their PR or what?
But I love it there. Our visit always seems too short. I like to lie on the grass near the ocean for an hour or two and let my mind go blank. Then we spend some time exploring the twisting stairways of the fort and poking around the old granite outbuildings, trying to imagine what each room and structure was once used for. I invariably hear kids ask their parents if the island is haunted, which isn't surprising. It has the spooky air of a place that has lived many lives.
Lives that only ghosts remember now.
