THE OLD HOTEL: THE OTTER CLIFF HOUSE by Avis Ellingwood
Many years ago, brothers Ellis and Rupert Ellingwood learned of an old hotel that was for sale. Thinking it would be fun to own, they bought it and made needed repairs.
The old hotel, which was called "The Otter Cliff House" was situated at Five Islands, Maine, about 14 miles beyond Bath, and a little beyond Reid State Park. It faced the ocean. Nearby was a pier where fishing boats would arrive with their catches, and I remember the mail boat would arrive with a whistle announcing it had arrived.
In front of the hotel when the tide went out was a large hole where shells could be found. Starfish were numerous under the pier. The thing I enjoyed most was a walk along a path which wound through the woods to a place where the waters were shallow and people would swim.
I would climb and sit on the rocky rugged coast and watch the ocean. I would tremble as the waves would depict the power of God through those deep surging waters.
Down by the pier was a small busy store and post office. It was the only one around for miles. There was one church within walking distance, which I attended. Close by was a small school which was also used as the town hall. Every week people gathered there for games and dances.
During WWII, Ellis and two other men, Walter Newell and Mike Porter lived at the hotel as bachelors while they worked at the Bath shipyard. Ellis and I were married on September 14, 1941 and the Otter Cliff House became our first home. Later, Mike married and brought his new wife Yvone to live with us.
We made a small apartment in the corner of the hotel. We had a cute kitchen. I painted some old kitchen chairs and a table. The kitchen contained frying pans, pots and pans and silver which had been used when the hotel was in operation. The place was full of antiques, but we didn't realize their value at the time. There was an old wood stove, marble topped stand, and beautiful lamp in the hall with a huge glass shade. It took me hours of scraping, scouring and cleaning to get those items in a useable condition.
Just after we finished the apartment we were living in, Ellis was transferred to the South Portland shipyard. We would move to West Scarborough. As we packed and moved our things, the radio was on. An announcement came - Pearl Harbor had been bombed!
After we moved, the others stayed a while. In due time, Ellis and Rupert sold the hotel. Still later, we read that the old hotel had burned to the ground in a fire.
Many years later we returned to see the old places we had loved. The hotel was gone. To this day, you can see the foundation where it once stood. The path I used to walk is now a road. The rocks were so covered with seaweed that one could no longer walk over them down to the water. The little store remained. Time had changed most everything but it could never take my memories away.
In July of 2020, BeautifulDisaster311 and I decided to come out and see this part of my family history with our own eyes. I looked upon the site while reading the above story. Ellis and Avis were my (Melodius) grandparents. I had heard the story and seen these pictures of the old hotel many times growing up. Walk to the end of the parking lot towards Route 127 and look right. You will see the empty lot and old stone foundation where the hotel once was. After seeing it for yourself, head the other way through the parking lot into Ipcar Preserve for the cache. BYOP.
Congratulations to the PUIP team (Polo1953, unicornfartsprinkles, iamgrooot and Porphyrion) on the first to find!