This image is the cover for the book Saving Straitsmouth Island

Saving Straitsmouth Island

Just off the coast of Rockport, Straitsmouth Island has enjoyed a noteworthy history that belies the island's small size. From the Pawtucket Indians who summered there more than one thousand years ago to its discovery by famous explorers Samuel de Champlain and Captain John Smith in the seventeenth century, it has seen fishermen, shipwrecks and piracy. From 1835 to 1935, three lighthouses were built, all with fascinating stories of the keepers and their families. Thanks to tireless restoration efforts by the Thacher Island Association and Massachusetts Audubon Society, the island was opened to the public for the first time in 180 years. Local historian Paul St. Germain details the rich history of this unique New England treasure and the efforts to preserve both its structures and natural beauty.

Paul St. Germain

Paul St. Germain has been a resident of Rockport, Massachusetts, for the past twenty-five years. His interest in Cape Ann area began in 1999, when he was asked to join the Thacher Island Association's board of directors, eventually being elected president in 2002. In 2000, he researched and wrote the successful nomination application resulting in the designation of the Cape Ann Light Station on Thacher Island as a National Historic Landmark by the Interior Department's National Park Service. He has written four books in Arcadia Publishing's Images of America series: Sandy Bay National Harbor of Refuge and the Navy, Cape Ann Granite, Lighthouses and Lifesaving Stations on Cape Ann and Twin Lights of Thacher Island. A graduate of Boston University and a master's degree recipient from Northeastern University, he has held several senior-level marketing and advertising positions of major international athletic footwear and soft drink manufacturers. Paul St. Germain is also a board member of the Sandy Bay Historical Society as well as the Thacher Island Association. And when he's not focusing on fundraising efforts for the preservation of structures on both Thacher and Straitsmouth Islands, he volunteers during the summer months to do carpentry work on both coastal islands.

The History Press