History of Great Island

West Yarmouth, MA

About Great Island

The recorded history of Great Island dates all the way back to 1639 when the town of Yarmouth was first organized and named by John Crowe and Thomas Howes.

In the beginning this 266 acre peninsula was used primarily for grazing cattle and supplying firewood. Few families lived here and it remained sparsely settled throughout the 19th century. In 1882 Charles B. Cory, a wealthy ornithologist, purchased the island and established a game preserve. Hoping to encourage friends and acquaintances to visit, Cory and a few of his wealthy friends built the Great Island Club in 1902.

The Club, with 45 bedrooms, and extravagant amenities such as telephones, electric lights, steam heat, and private bathrooms, provided attractive recreational opportunities including an 18 hole golf course, motoring, sailing, beach bathing, fishing, and hunting. Unfortunately for Cory his fortune was lost in a stock market crash, the island was sold, and the Great Island Club became the Aberdeen Hall Hotel.

A popular summer destination, some of the families that vacationed at Aberdeen Hall in its earliest days still retain summer residences on the island today. The hotel, isolated from the mainland and its fire brigade, burned down in 1924. Today, Great Island is comprised of two residential communities, generally referred to as the “inner island” and “outer island” communities, who share a common interest in preserving the character of the island’s history.

About Point Gammon Lighthouse

Great Island is home to Yarmouth’s only lighthouse, Point Gammon. Built in 1816, the stone lighthouse was kept by Samuel Peak, who with his wife and nine children lived in an adjacent keeper’s cottage.

When Samuel Peak died in 1826, the light was taken over by his son, John. John Peak remained as keeper of the light until it was decommissioned in 1859 and replaced by Bishop and Clerk’s light, farther out in Nantucket Sound. After 1859 the light fell into disrepair.

When Charles B. Cory purchased the property in 1882, he and his wife repaired the lighthouse and created a viewing platform at the top so that their friends might enjoy the stunning ocean views. The Cory’s also moved the stone keeper’s cottage closer to their home and used it as a museum for their butterfly collection. Both the light and the keeper’s cottage still stand on Great Island today.

(Source: Yarmouth Historical Society)