Bear Island

[Pineedles]

You're right, it's not what I expected. How do you know it was a graveyard? Indians never used marker stones, did they? I guess I need to pickup a book on Bear Island history, if there is one? Thank you for the picture.

[Barney Bear]

Bear Island Reflections [second edition] is a very complete and interesting history of our fabulous island.

[Pineedles]

I did a search and wound up at this site: http://www.lwhs.us/islands/bearislandearylhistory.htm

Very informative, and included a map. Is #6 the "graveyard' the one that Bear Islander posted a picture?

[Bear Islander]

That "Old Island Map" is not really that old. It lists Camp Nokomis which was founded in 1952. However we have island residents whose grandparents purchased of Bear going back to 1895 and 1913. That provides an oral history of where the graveyard is. The old map does show the approximate location of the graveyard but you would never find it with that.

Copies of "Bear Island Reflections" our history book are available. They are $10 and we usually have a few available when the mail boat is at the dock.

[Pineedles]

I was struck with the names of some of the early settlers, Bickford being one. They are relatives of mine through marraige. Some of the other names still are represented here in the Lakes Region. That's nice. I will be buying a copy of the book, probably through Amazon via the Winni forum.

[Bear Island South]

Our property was orginally owned by Bickford, sold off to Duquette in 1906.
Aiken is another name, the majority of the camp lots around us came out of the 125 acres he owned. The majority of that property was deeded to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests which is adjacent to the church property.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

Our property was orginally owned by Bickford, sold off to Duquette in 1906.
Aiken is another name, the majority of the camp lots around us came out of the 125 acres he owned. The majority of that property was deeded to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests which is adjacent to the church property.

According to the Society's web site they have a 152 acre reservation known as "The Bear Island Forest" which also according to their web site is completely open to the public. From their site...

"The Forest Society owns over 160 reservations, located on over 50,000 acres spread across New Hampshire – and we want you to come explore it! All of our properties are open to the public, yet several offer a more complete recreational experience by having designated parking, kiosks, trails, and events. We've highlighted some of these reservations in our Guide to Our Lands area of the site. We hope you visit these gems and share your experiences with us."

I'm curious why Bear Islander stated the entire island is privately owned and only owners and guests can visit??

Dan

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

According to the Society's web site they have a 152 acre reservation known as "The Bear Island Forest" which also according to their web site is completely open to the public. From their site...

"The Forest Society owns over 160 reservations, located on over 50,000 acres spread across New Hampshire – and we want you to come explore it! All of our properties are open to the public, yet several offer a more complete recreational experience by having designated parking, kiosks, trails, and events. We've highlighted some of these reservations in our Guide to Our Lands area of the site. We hope you visit these gems and share your experiences with us."

I'm curious why Bear Islander stated the entire island is privately owned and only owners and guests can visit??

Dan

I was giving a simple answer to a complex subject. Yet what I said is perfectly true. In the first place the forest in question is in the center of the southern end of the island. It is owned by "Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests" and is therefore private property, NOT public property. If the society wishes to open their land to GUESTS then that is their privilege. The society can also rescind that permission at any time they wish. So as I said the entire island is private property and only open to owners and guests.

Additionally the forest property in question has no access from the lake. There is no way to get to this land without passing over private property. So unless you plan to parachute in you can't get to the forest. And then of course how would you get out. Helicopters are no allowed on society lands.

So you see the simpler answer I gave is still true. You can't take a boat to the island and walk around unless you are a property owner or a guest of a property owner.

Anyway my post was only about why I don't post my map on the internet. Not a legal argument on land access.

[Jonas Pilot]

Is it OK if we look at the island when we boat by?

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Bear Islander

I was giving a simple answer to a complex subject. Yet what I said is perfectly true. In the first place the forest in question is in the center of the southern end of the island. It is owned by "Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests" and is therefore private property, NOT public property. If the society wishes to open their land to GUESTS then that is their privilege. The society can also rescind that permission at any time they wish. So as I said the entire island is private property and only open to owners and guests.

Additionally the forest property in question has no access from the lake. There is no way to get to this land without passing over private property. So unless you plan to parachute in you can't get to the forest. And then of course how would you get out. Helicopters are no allowed on society lands.

So you see the simpler answer I gave is still true. You can't take a boat to the island and walk around unless you are a property owner or a guest of a property owner.

Anyway my post was only about why I don't post my map on the internet. Not a legal argument on land access.

All of the Society's land is open to the public. Since the society is a property owner and since all their land is open to the public, would that not make the public their guest??

It would be a shame to have such a large parcel of land gifted to the society for the enjoyment and recreational experience of all be curtailed by a few island curmudgeons who believe their property lines and rights extend beyond their purchased deed.

Dan

[Barney Bear]

Visitors to our beautiful island could land at the dock in Church Cove. A short walk up the hill past St. John's-on-the-Lake chapel will take you to the tracts of land donated to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests by the East Bear Island Association and the Mayo Family. Welcome!!!

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Barney Bear

Visitors to our beautiful island could land at the dock in Church Cove. A short walk up the hill past St. John's-on-the-Lake chapel will take you to the tracts of land donated to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests by the East Bear Island Association and the Mayo Family. Welcome!!!

Thanks Barney Bear for the welcome!! The lake needs more people like you! I knew the land abutted St Johns land just was not sure about access.

I have yet to see the chapel and hear it is beautiful!! I have every intention of attending at least one service there this summer.

Thanks again!

Dan

[Islander]

Barney,

I don't know who you are but do you know that you have just invited possibly thousands of boats to use the church docks? Are you an officer or director of St. Johns on the Lake? Do you have the authority or permission to make that decision?

Does the offer include your own dock? What number are you?

[RailroadJoe]

I'll get FLL and we will sneak in on your island and check it out!

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by Islander

Barney,

I don't know who you are but do you know that you have just invited possibly thousands of boats to use the church docks? Are you an officer or director of St. Johns on the Lake? Do you have the authority or permission to make that decision?

Does the offer include your own dock? What number are you?

I think that was awful nice of Barney Bear and CTYankee to offer an option for us "out crowd" folks to enjoy a piece of "public" property.

And sense you took the tone, as a multi-generation NH Native, I will ask; do you have the authority or permission to prohibit the use or access of public lands in this state or any other? Because, as a NH Native (read resident) I am certain that I would be more than willing to put a petition in front of my local House Rep., that an easement should be put in place so that I and anyone else that would like to explore a piece of public land within the borders of NH, can do so without issue.

Your posting history speaks volumes and I would hope that your neighbors will convince you that that is not the NH way of thinking!

Oh I almost forgot, in case any of you folks forgot about NH's open land law, I may just tie off my canoe to a shore line tree and head on in for a look see. There has to be some unposted land on that Island, it is big enough.

BI, I respect your position (and your reason), but you should really check yours and your neighbors tone when it comes to your seasonal properties in this state. It is these types of attitudes that get you folks in hot water around here. Be a neighbor and be neighborly.

[Bear Island South]

Originally Posted by jmen24

I think that was awful nice of Barney Bear and CTYankee to offer an option for us "out crowd" folks to enjoy a piece of "public" property.

And sense you took the tone, as a multi-generation NH Native, I will ask; do you have the authority or permission to prohibit the use or access of public lands in this state or any other? Because, as a NH Native (read resident) I am certain that I would be more than willing to put a petition in front of my local House Rep., that an easement should be put in place so that I and anyone else that would like to explore a piece of public land within the borders of NH, can do so without issue.

Your posting history speaks volumes and I would hope that your neighbors will convince you that that is not the NH way of thinking!

Oh I almost forgot, in case any of you folks forgot about NH's open land law, I may just tie off my canoe to a shore line tree and head on in for a look see. There has to be some unposted land on that Island, it is big enough.

BI, I respect your position (and your reason), but you should really check yours and your neighbors tone when it comes to your seasonal properties in this state. It is these types of attitudes that get you folks in hot water around here. Be a neighbor and be neighborly.

I think the real question here is access to the Society property. I know first hand that there was an access easement granted to the Society, however they do not have any dock facilities. I guess if you would like to come and anchor and swim in than you could.
I am not sure what the rules are for the church docks, but I would have to guess they are private and open to the public during service hours.

Please lets not go on a witch hunt with this thread, we are all just here to enjoy our little piece of heaven.

[Jonas Pilot]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

I think the real question here is access to the Society property. I know first hand that there was an access easement granted to the Society, however they do not have any dock facilities. I guess if you would like to come and anchor and swim in than you could.
I am not sure what the rules are for the church docks, but I would have to guess they are private and open to the public during service hours.

Please lets not go on a witch hunt with this thread, we are all just here to enjoy our little piece of heaven.

I wholeheartedly agree. We are all here to enjoy this wonderful location. It should not be, I am here to enjoy this all for myself.

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

I think the real question here is access to the Society property. I know first hand that there was an access easement granted to the Society, however they do not have any dock facilities. I guess if you would like to come and anchor and swim in than you could.
I am not sure what the rules are for the church docks, but I would have to guess they are private and open to the public during service hours.

Please lets not go on a witch hunt with this thread, we are all just here to enjoy our little piece of heaven.

No witch hunt needed BI South, from the Bear Island posters that have responded in this thread, it shows a minority in narrow minded thinking.

Thank you for that nice picture of the Chapel.

[secondcurve]

BI, I respect your position (and your reason), but you should really check yours and your neighbors tone when it comes to your seasonal properties in this state. It is these types of attitudes that get you folks in hot water around here. Be a neighbor and be neighborly.


Jmen: Aren't you employing the same narrow minded view used by Bear Islander to keep folks off of Bear Island but on a larger scale by jabbing at the out of state folks? Your implication is seasonal folks are second class citizens in NH.

[Bear Island South]

I would like to share our journey today on the island, we set out to look for the hidden graveyard and made a couple of other stops along the way.
First stop St Johns Church.

[Bear Island South]

On our way to Dolly's Well my boy Sam found a dear antler.

[Jonas Pilot]

Thanks for sharing. It looks like you have a lot of fun exploring.

[Bear Island South]

We think we found the graveyard, it was marked with stonewalls forming a square roughly 20 feet square. There were what looked like a few stone monuments located inside the stone boundaries. The site is located close to camps on either side. My son kept saying it feels weird being here, we were very respectful of the site and did not disturb anything.

[jmen24]

Originally Posted by secondcurve

BI, I respect your position (and your reason), but you should really check yours and your neighbors tone when it comes to your seasonal properties in this state. It is these types of attitudes that get you folks in hot water around here. Be a neighbor and be neighborly.


Jmen: Aren't you employing the same narrow minded view used by Bear Islander to keep folks off of Bear Island but on a larger scale by jabbing at the out of state folks? Your implication is seasonal folks are second class citizens in NH.

In a sense yes, but I did not paint with a broad brush. More BI residents posted welcomes than "stay away" attitudes. I have to assume that at least CTYankee is from Conn. I made no assumptions in my posts about state of residence, just mine.

My statement was to simply imply that those two posters should really take a long look at why they responded in this thread the way that they did. Nice folks are nice folks, it does not matter where they register their cars. I stand behind my statement.

[Islander]

Barney Bear posts a general invitation to use the church docks and tour the island. I posted to ask who that person was and ask if they had the authority to extend the invitation. So naturally I need to be bashed for being unneighborly. That is just the way it goes on a public forum. We still do not know if the invitation is legitimate or not. I will take the chance of being unneighborly again and say that an invitation from an anonymous person with unknown authority is no invitation at all. If you end up talking to the Meredith Police tell them that a bear invited you.

If the invitation turns out to be legit then enjoy the island. It's a great place!

[CTYankee]

Yes, Bear Island South, you found the cemetery. I can see my camp through the trees. It is believed that eight early settlers of Bear Island rest there. Although no one is really sure, the stone in your photo may be a grave marker.

[Barney Bear]

In the seventeenth century, there were several farms on Bear Island. The large number of stone walls all over the island defined pastures for grazing cattle. Cattle Landing on Meredith Neck was an active area [very moooving]. One resident, Dolly, farmed here and probably lived here full-time, and probably others as well. There are many other interesting stories in Bear Island Reflections that folks may enjoy reading.

[secondcurve]

Originally Posted by jmen24

In a sense yes, but I did not paint with a broad brush. More BI residents posted welcomes than "stay away" attitudes. I have to assume that at least CTYankee is from Conn. I made no assumptions in my posts about state of residence, just mine.

My statement was to simply imply that those two posters should really take a long look at why they responded in this thread the way that they did. Nice folks are nice folks, it does not matter where they register their cars. I stand behind my statement.

At least you acknowledged my point....that is a start. Thanks

[Bear247]

Took this on one of our many walks to the church over the years.

[Jonas Pilot]

Originally Posted by Islander

Barney,

I don't know who you are but do you know that you have just invited possibly thousands of boats to use the church docks? Are you an officer or director of St. Johns on the Lake? Do you have the authority or permission to make that decision?

Does the offer include your own dock? What number are you?

Barney,
When would be the best time to come over? If I came very early in the morning could I beat the thousands coming later?

[Bear Island South]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Thanks Barney Bear for the welcome!! The lake needs more people like you! I knew the land abutted St Johns land just was not sure about access.

I have yet to see the chapel and hear it is beautiful!! I have every intention of attending at least one service there this summer.

Thanks again!

Dan

Here's one of the Church entrance, if you haven't been to a service than it is worth the trip. I believe there is a service when you can bring your pet and have them blessed.

[Jonas Pilot]

What a beautiful sight. Thanks for sharing.

[NoBozo]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

Here's one of the Church entrance, if you haven't been to a service than it is worth the trip. I believe there is a service when you can bring your pet and have them blessed.

I found the Church on Google Earth today..picture taken one year ago. The satellite camera is almost directly above..but just enough to the side to figure out it's a tower. NB

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Bear Island South

Here's one of the Church entrance, if you haven't been to a service than it is worth the trip. I believe there is a service when you can bring your pet and have them blessed.

Thank you so much B.I. South!! Do you know when the church updates their web site showing the time and dates of service?? I would love to bring my pet for the special pet blessing service. She is currently not doing well and the comfort of the blessing and service would mean a lot to me and my wife.

Thanks again!!

Dan

[Barney Bear]

For the thousands of boaters interested in our great island, check this very comprehensive web site [www.bearisland.org] - - and enjoy!!!.

[Bear Island South]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Thank you so much B.I. South!! Do you know when the church updates their web site showing the time and dates of service?? I would love to bring my pet for the special pet blessing service. She is currently not doing well and the comfort of the blessing and service would mean a lot to me and my wife.

Thanks again!!

Dan

I haven't seen anything yet, they usually have a work party when the take the boards off the windows and clean the trails. (see pictures from today - boards are still up) The will post a schedule at the church and Cattle Landing, I will keep you posted.

[Jonas Pilot]

I wonder if there were ever any year round residents on Bear?

[Oblio13]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

According to the Society's web site they have a 152 acre reservation known as "The Bear Island Forest" which also according to their web site is completely open to the public. From their site...

"The Forest Society owns over 160 reservations, located on over 50,000 acres spread across New Hampshire – and we want you to come explore it! All of our properties are open to the public, yet several offer a more complete recreational experience by having designated parking, kiosks, trails, and events. We've highlighted some of these reservations in our Guide to Our Lands area of the site. We hope you visit these gems and share your experiences with us."

I'm curious why Bear Islander stated the entire island is privately owned and only owners and guests can visit??

Dan

I'm the Forest Society's Land Steward for Bear Island, perhaps I can help clarify.

All of the Society's reservations are open to the public. However, some - like this one - are difficult to access.

The town of Meredith owns a lot that abuts the Forest Society land, but there is no dock there.

There is a narrow right-of-way by the church's docks, but the docks themselves are owned by the church.

[CTYankee]

Originally Posted by Pineedles

I did a search and wound up at this site: http://www.lwhs.us/islands/bearislandearylhistory.htm

Very informative, and included a map. Is #6 the "graveyard' the one that Bear Islander posted a picture?

Hi Pineedles, No, it's not the same cemetary. The one marked on the map found in [I]Reflections[I] is actually next to my camp on West Bear (315).

By-the-way, everyone is welcome to come explore and enjoy BI as my guest whenever they like.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by CTYankee

Hi Pineedles, No, it's not the same cemetary. The one marked on the map found in [I]Reflections[I] is actually next to my camp on West Bear (315).

By-the-way, everyone is welcome to come explore and enjoy BI as my guest whenever they like.

That is very generous CTYankee. I hope you have a lot of space at your dock at #315. Perhaps you could show the cemetery to those that are interested.

Just to clarify, when you invite people to explore BI, I assume you are not including the children's camps or other areas that are fenced or posted "No Trespassing".

[pam.in.ny]

I went to the link www.bearisland.org to look for information about purchasing the book "Reflections of Bear Island. Is there another link? I see they have a used copy on Amazon but would rather purchase from the ".org" so that they receive the money.

Thank you!

[Jonas Pilot]

Thank you Barney Bear and CtYankee. It's good to know that there are still people around that understand the New Hampshire spirit.

My apologies to Alton Mumma for the direction in which this great post traveled.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by pam.in.ny

I went to the link www.bearisland.org to look for information about purchasing the book "Reflections of Bear Island. Is there another link? I see they have a used copy on Amazon but would rather purchase from the ".org" so that they receive the money.

Thank you!

You can purchase the book for $10 at the Bear Island Mail Dock starting late June. Or you can purchase it by mail. I have just added information on purchasing the book to the bearisland.org website.

[NoBozo]

As an Off Islander..and ALWAYS respectful of Private Property, anywhere I find it, ..I am encouraged that some people on the island are open to having visitors, without prejudice.

The OTHERS.....I guess we can draw our own conclusions.. ............... NB

[pam.in.ny]

Originally Posted by Bear Islander

You can purchase the book for $10 at the Bear Island Mail Dock starting late June. Or you can purchase it by mail. I have just added information on purchasing the book to the bearisland.org website.

BI, Thank you very much for the information. I'll definitely be ordering one via the mail. I have a couple others NH history books and would love to add another one to my collection.

Thank you again, BI, for the adding the purchasing info to the website.