History of 539 Abbott

Original Land Division

Wesley G. Martin subdivided "Great East Lake Lots" during the years of 1945 & 1946.

Austin Family Purchase

Daniel & Isabelle Austin of York, Maine purchased the land at 539 Abbott Rd on July 29, 1945.

In this photo, the original owner Daniel Austin can be seen sitting behind the counter of his families hardware store located in York, Maine.

Original Camp

Estimated Construction 1946-1950

Remnants of Stone Pier

Shortly after purchase, the Austin family constructed the original camp seen above. Approximately around 1950 the family also built a stone and concrete pier in the center of the waterfront, extending an estimated 50 feet into the lake. Story has it, the locals told Mr. Austin that he was crazy to build such a pier; as the incredible strength of the Ice would most likely destroy the pier. The following spring the Pier would become victim to the overwhelming force of the ice. Today you can still see big sections of the pier up against the shoreline; which had been moved there by the ice. The red deck on the waterfront is sitting on a massive pile of rocks which are also remnants of the stone pier.

Passing it on-

Shirley Austin inherits the property on February 10th ,1976 after the passing of her mother Isabelle.

Daniel & Isabelle Austin standing in the appliance section of their York, Maine store

Public record of the camp being transferred to one of the two daughters, Shirley Austin of Springvale, Maine.

Bisson Family Purchase

George "Pete" and Pauline Bisson who at the time owned a camp on Wansor Rd Wakefield, NH was looking for a new spot on the lake. Pete had grown up on the lake since 1948 . A few weeks later on August 19th, 1983 they purchased the land and camp from Shirley Austin.

During the closing, Shirley Austin would tell the Bisson's "you will have fun in the attic looking around".

In the attic, old family photos and 8mm film reels were found. The 8mm reels show Construction of the stone pier which included footage of the Austin Family blasting the shoreline with dynamite during construction.

Among items found in the attic was one of funny coincidence. Mr. Bisson found a vintage set of "Sylvania" playing cards. Mr.Bisson spent his entire career working for Sylvania and would retire from there.