White Island State Historic Site
🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 Ghostly Lighthouse Island — 1821 lighthouse on a remote island in the Isles of Shoals — one of the most haunted and storied lighthouses in America
White Island State Historic Site preserves the White Island Lighthouse (1821) — one of New Hampshire’s most iconic and atmospheric landmarks. The lighthouse sits on a barren granite ledge in the Isles of Shoals, 6 miles offshore. The Isles were a thriving fishing community in the 1600s (population 600!) before the settlers abandoned them. Poet Celia Thaxter (1835–1894) grew up here and made the islands famous through her writing and her legendary flower garden. The lighthouse is reputed to be one of the most haunted in New England.
Visitor Information
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | Isles of Shoals, 6mi offshore, NH |
| Entry Fee | Boat access required |
| Built | 1821 — haunted lighthouse! |
| Literary | Celia Thaxter — poet, garden legend! |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the Isles of Shoals famous?
The Isles of Shoals have 400 years of extraordinary history: a 1600s fishing village, pirate legends (Blackbeard supposedly buried treasure here), the 1873 Smuttynose Island murders (one of America’s most notorious cold cases), and Celia Thaxter’s literary salon that attracted the likes of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Mark Twain.
About White Island
White Island State Historic Site preserves the White Island Lighthouse — one of the Isles of Shoals lighthouses standing 9 miles offshore from Portsmouth. The light station, established in 1820, guided ships along the treacherous seacoast for over 160 years. Author Celia Thaxter grew up on the islands and wrote “Among the Isles of Shoals” (1873), making these rocky outposts famous in American literature. Accessible only by boat.
Things to Do
Boat excursions to the island, viewing the historic lighthouse, birdwatching for seabirds (the Isles of Shoals are a major nesting colony), and experiencing the remote island that inspired Celia Thaxter’s literary masterpiece.
🏠 Visit White Island SHS
1821 lighthouse — haunted island, pirate legends, poet’s garden!
Wildlife & Nature
White Island State Historic Site — on the Isles of Shoals, 6 miles off the NH coast — preserves the White Island Lighthouse (1859, automated 1986) and its keeper’s quarters. The Isles of Shoals — a cluster of 9 islands split between NH and Maine — have a history spanning 400+ years of fishing, piracy, and artists’ colonies. Common terns, roseate terns (federally endangered), and Leach’s storm-petrels nest on the islands. Harbor seals and gray seals haul out on the rocks. Humpback and minke whales feed in surrounding waters.
Nearby Attractions
Isles of Shoals — the island cluster — includes Star Island (conference center, open for day trips) and Appledore Island (Shoals Marine Lab, Cornell/UNH). Portsmouth — on the mainland, 6 miles west — has boat tours to the islands. Rye — nearest mainland point. Whale-watching tours depart from Rye Harbor.
