41 Cranberry Road, Great Cranberry Island, Cranberry Isles, Hancock County, ME

This house was passed down through the Spurling family starting with Charles Eliot and Emma Spurling.  “These Spurlings were related to Benjamin Spurling (1752-1836), who was one of the first settlers on Cranberry Island.

'The family house was rented out in the early 1920s when the first Rusticators arrived and needed lodging. The Spurlings would then stay in 'The Store'. They ran a large store next to their house, having opened it in the late 1800s. It was stocked with all the necessities and was complete with dry goods, clothing and a ship chandlery. Charles E. Spurling would buy supplies in Portland or Boston and ship them back aboard his schooner, Prottier, then carry them up the hill in a horse-drawn wagon. Their son Charles Samuel later ran the store but he died at age thirty one, leaving his wife, Edna Mae to take over. 

"After Barbara Brooks inherited the house, she and her husband spent summers on the island. Now their son Carl and his wife carry on the tradition.”

This biography is an excerpt from the booklet "House Histories," which was edited and compiled by Wini Smart in 2010. To learn more about the store that the Spurlings ran, look at our profile of The Store, 45 Cranberry Road. This information was most recently updated in 2010, so it is possible that changes in ownership or house status have occurred. If you have questions, feel free to reach out to the archives for more information.