Why is it called Rattlesnake Island?

[Dave R]

Anyone know the story?

[IslandSib]

It has to do with at one time it was thought rattlesnakes used to bask in the sun on rocks at Rattlesnake...I am sure you will get the full answer from one of the forum members who are rich with history and facts. This should hold you until then.

[upthesaukee]

It's all Rattlesnake Gal's fault. They were going to name it after Governor Wentworth, but she didn't want to be known as Wentworth's Gal :D . Don't know why they picked Rattlesnake, unless they knew in advance that she was going to use Rattlesnake Gal!:laugh: ...Then again, one of our historians may have a more plausible answer...

[GWC...]

The island was a spawning area for the elusive rock bass and if the island were named Rock Bass Island, they would be fished to extinction.

So, in an effort to scare fishermen away, it was named Rattlesnake Island. :eek:

The fact that there were rattlesnakes on the island did not sway the naming of the island.

One other thought, neighboring Sleepers Island, formerly, Little Rattlesnake Island, was not a nursery for young rattlesnakes. ;)

[Island Girl]

I understood that there were Rattlesnakes on the island until the early 1940's. I heard that wild pigs were let loose to root them out. They were probably Timber Rattlesnakes aka Crotalus horridus


http://www.mpm.edu/collect/vertzo/herp/timber/gif/Crotalus.jpg

[CEP]

Here's what I can recall!
Years ago there where two brothers that owned the island. They got into some kind of hissy fit and one of the brothers put a stone wall down the middle of the island. (You stay on your side and I'll stay on my side, type of thing) Trying to drive the other brother off the island he let rattlesnakes go on his brother's side. Now the snakes grew in number! This drove both brothers of the island. Then they had to get some pigs to root out the snakes and get rid of them. They didn't get all of them because snakes where on the island till the 1940's. Libby Museum has some old remains taken from the island.

Now! I don't know if that's true or not!
That is what I have heard!
I'm sure I'll be corrected! HEHEHE!

CEP

[RLW]

I have always been told that it is to cold for to long of periods for a rattlesnake to survive here in the north country as they do need warmth to live.
McD can you help us out? :coolsm:

[IslandSib]

I know I read about the rattlesnakes when I was looking into history of Lake Winnipesaukee.
But, alas the memory fails me where I found this information.
I will begin again as they say...but where the heck are you two...you two I know have the answer. :confused:
Now I sign off to research.
I shall return. ;)

[Island Girl]

I have always been told that it is to cold for to long of periods for a rattlesnake to survive here in the north country as they do need warmth to live.
McD can you help us out? :coolsm:
Actually there used to be a lot more in NH. They are now an endangered species.

http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050619/REPOSITORY/506190339/1017/OPINION

[Island Girl]

"I can honestly say, however that the name came from the fact that there were 'rattlers' on the island. I can recall a Weirs Reunion Week exhibition of 'rattlers' caught on the island by experts. A few years ago it was possible to follow down the east shore of the island in a small boat on a bright, clear day, and see one or more snakes on the ledges in the sun. During lumbering operations on the island workmen have been bitten by them. On as least one occasion the island was burned over in an effort to exterminate them, once and for all. But the ledges that are their natural habitat were their natural protection against the fire, and, crawling deep into the rock clefts, they escaped the flames. I have not heard or seen any definite proof of the presence of snakes on the island in recent years."

Three Centuries on Winnipesaukee, pp 11-12 Second Edition, Paul H. Blaisdell

[Senter Cove Guy]

I always thought that it got its name from its shape. It kind of looks like a snake when viewed from the water looking north to south, say from light buoy #18.

[jimbob1603]

Climb Mt. Major and take a gander north. Rattlesnake Island must be named (at least in part) appropriately for its familiar shape of a snake.

[Dave R]

Thanks folks, especially Island Girl. I have that book... duh

[Misty Blue]

flboater......

We need one of your stories!!!

Misty Blue.

[KBoater]

Look in the tread "In ancient times" for more.

[Smith Point]

As we all know there were many Indians in and around the lakes regain of New Hampshire as legend has it they had many caressed possessions in witch they wanted to protect from the white man who recently inhabited the area, so what they did was to berry there treasures and riddle the island with rattle snakes to detour any one from venturing out on the island. Thus that’s how it got its name Rattle Snake Island.

As a boy 15years old or so I was very interested in hiking and rock climbing just graduating for outward bound I decided to climb the cliffs of rattle snake island. As I approached the top of the cliff there was a loose rock witch I removed and behind it was a snake! Well it took me about 2 seconds to scale down the mountain! (no pun intended) when I returned home I told my grandfather what I had seen, a brown snake with black squares on its back, we looked it up in a book of his and came to the conclusion that it was a diamond back rattle snake! As god as my witness this is a true story.

Come to think of it I wonder if that how Diamond Island and Treasure Island (witch are in the area) if that’s how they got there names.

[Island Girl]

The only native venemous rattlesnake in NH is the Timber Rattlesnake..

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Newsroom/News_2003/News_2003_Q3/snakes_091203.htm

[camp guy]

The fact behind the naming of Rattlesnake Island is simple: when you look at the island from the east and north it looks like the tail of a rattlesnake, with the tip being toward Alton Bay. The irregular bumps going south to north represent the rings ("rattles") on the snake's tail. End of discussion. I must say, though, that the different versions of actual rattlesnakes being on the island do add to the mystique of the legend.

[Senter Cove Guy]

with the rattlesnake's head closest to Alton Bay.

[keepyouredge]

I once encountered a snake on rattlesnake is. that curled up and rattled its tail when I approached it, not sure if it definitley was a rattlesnake, but it fit the criterion.

[cemetery guy]

The fact that there once really were rattlers on Rattlesnake Island is also commented upon in Benjamin Parkers 1901 "History of Wolfeborough". One man that frequented the island was Jesse Whitten, a well known citizen of Wolfeboro. A man of religious bent, he was also known as a healer of sorts, even though he had no medical training of any kind and despite the fact that there were trained doctors in town. Among the ingredients in his remedies/concoctions were rattlesnake tails, "harvested" upon Rattlesnake Island.

[Wing Nut]

Long ago in the days of undeveloped landscapes and water of pure the local natives feared the island now known as "Rattlesnake". Though no one ever actually witnessed the object of this deemed terror, wild rumors abounded of a giant ape that roamed the hills of the island which was also guarded by a mammoth squid-like creature just off its rocky shores.

Tales of lore include a delicate princess who, after cheating on her prince husband, was sacrificed to the great ape to make amends for her sins. Other tales include children being taken to the nearby shores of the island and being thrown overboard to satisfy the great hunger of the giant squid. It was believed that the sacrificing of children taught other children to respect their elders and to remember to brush their teeth before bed each night.

As the ages went by and man learned to walk upright the tales of giant apes and squid gradually faded away, only to be replaced by fantastic stories of the island being overrun by horrible snakes that had fish-like tails and heads of Roman gladiators. Man had truly evolved up to this point and it was decided in public courts that the best way to drive the snakes from the island was to allow the land to be developed. Soon afterward, summer homes began to crowd the Ossippee sunsets and the snakes were driven off into the water.

In 1990 eels were discovered just off Little Bear Island. These eels are believed to be the snakes that were driven from Rattlesnake Island, having adapted to their environment. There have been several accounts of these eels suffering the fate of being mutilated by outboard motors and they have even been accused of slithering up water intake lines.

But alas, I have truly seen a mink on Mink island.

[sawyers_point_girl]

I always thought it was because of the shape too! But hey, what do I know?? Learn something new every day! :)

[CHSLTD]

All the different stories are very interesting. Makes for great reading!

[carguy]

I remember seeing some "stuffed" Rattlesnakes at the Libby Museum in Tuftonboro that were supposingly caught on Rattlesnake Island. I also heard the stories of the island being set afire to get rid of the snakes.

Speaking of Lumbering Operations, I recall seeing photographs where portions of the island were denuded of trees due to the lumbering operations on the island. I also read that the island was used for sheep grazing when there were meadows on the island. Looking at the island now it is hard to believe that there were once meadows on the island.

In the mid 1950's myself and a group of fellow teenagers camped overnite on the island on a few occasions. In the early 1950's I don't recall there being any structures on the island. I remember when the Wolfeboro Real Estate Broker, J.I. Melanson, had the island surveyed and divided into lots. The lot numbers were nailed to the trees at the water's edge.

On my first camping experience on Rattlesnake Island in the early 1950's a group of us from Lake Shore Park motored over to the island in our flat bottom Dory boats with a small outboard motor. We pulled the boats up on a flat rock ledge just opposite Ames Farm. I didn't sleep a wink that night because I thought the chattering of insects were noises coming from the Rattlesnakes.

A couple of years later in the late 1950's on another camping excursion we docked our boats in the cove on the NW side of the point where it meets the main part of the island. Previous hikers had marked a trail to the summit of the island. We camped overnite on the island at the summit with a rock ledge being the backdrop for our campfire. Boy what a view of the lake from up there. I believe the elevation is around 900' at the summit. Shorly thereafter the island was developed and that put an end to our camping excursions on Rattlesnake Island.

Back in the late 1950's and early 1960's there was a measured mile with markers on the northwest coast of the island. We use to check out the speed of our boats on the measued mile. Not having been on the Lake in a boat since the late 1990's, I do not know if that measured mile still exists.

Finally, I nerver ran into any Rattlesnakes on the Island. If I had, I probably wouldn't have been here to write this posting, having died of a heart attack upon sighting the snake.

[MJM]

I have heard there is a public hiking trail on the island.

True?

Where do you anchor & enter?

[Island Girl]

Rattlesnake Island, like most Winnipesaukee islands, is private.

[MJM]

Isn't there a LRCT dock and a trail for hiking?

[Pepper]

MJM, not all of the LRCT holdings are open to the public. Click here for a list of those that are open and accessible to the public: http://www.lrct.org/public-access.html

The acreage on Rattlesnake Island is not on the list of publicly accessible areas. The remainder of Rattlesnake Island is held by private landowners, and therefore the entire island is private. Docking at any dock on that island would be considered tresspassing, I'm sure.

For a nice island hike on LRCT land, try Stonedam Island! :D

[MJM]

Thanks for the clarification, Pepper.

One more question: Is the dock/trail open to LRCT members?

We did Stonedam in July, and found it to be absolutely fantastic. That's what got us looking for other places, especially any closer to us in Wolfeboro. And it got us to contribute to the LRCT.

We had several friends/family mention Rattlesnake, and I do know there is some sort of LRCT dock there, but no one seemed 100% sure what the actual status is.

[Pepper]

MJM - I think that question is best posed to the LRCT. My guess is the answer is no, but I'm sure someone at the Trust could answer all your questions, and offer explanations. Judging by the size of the holding, versus the size of the island, I would imagine the gift was for the purpose of maintaining the parcel for wildlife conservation, not for public access.

Contact the Trust and let us know what you find out. :)

[MJM]

I checked out the dock sign in person yesterday, and now understand the differentiation:
It is not open to the general public (as Stonedam Island is, for example), but it is open to LRCT members.

What a gorgeous weekend!