The Mysterious Lady of Frye Island

From the Lewiston Evening Journal of Oct. 21, 1878:

A Mystery.—The Press says that on Thursday last the family of Mr. Noah Hooper, who live on Frye's Island in Lake Sebago, saw a well dressed female come from the woods in the vicinity of the house, who sang parts of several songs. Her head was not covered, nor her hair put up, but was hanging loose over her shoulders. In her hand she carried a white handkerchief. When an attempt was made to approach her she fled into the woods. She has been seen once since. Her tracks are plenty on the shore, made by a well-formed foot, and well-written disconnected letters are seen on the sand. Mr. Hooper's cows have come to the barn, having the appearance of having been milked, and a pan of milk has been taken from the cellar. Friday a party searched the island without discovering the mysterious lady. The island is about three-fourths of a mile from Raymond Cape, about three miles from the "Outlet" and about the same distance from the railroad station. Mr. Hooper's family is the only one living on the island, which contains about 900 acres, nearly wooded.

Frye Island community

Down East Magazine has a great article on Frye Island this month. Check it out!

Temporary Town
By Virginia Wright

There is no school in the town of Frye Island. There is no church, either. No commerce, no industry. No historical society. Not even a cemetery memorializing founding fathers and prominent families. In many ways, Frye Island is a town that defies the meaning of the word, but legally, even a bit notoriously, it passes the test.

The thousand-acre island in Sebago Lake made national news eleven years ago when it seceded from the town of Standish, earning it bragging rights as Maine’s most unusual town. Frye is the state’s only freshwater island community and the only town that completely shuts down for half the year. Come the first Monday in November, the ferries stop running, the water system is drained, the public buildings are shuttered, and Frye becomes a ghost town. It remains that way until late April, when the first of the 1,400 residents (2,600 on high season weekends) begin trickling across the Gut, the deep, five hundred yard-wide channel that separates Frye from Raymond Neck.

Read the full article here: [Source]

I recommend reading the full article, especially for the comments that residents of the island have added to the story. Great stuff!