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04/12/2024 05:52 PMThe supports holding up the Little Red Shack on Grass Island collapsed, apparently overnight Thursday or early Friday morning, creating even more peril for the iconic landmark even as its owner, the town of Guilford is taking steps to save it.
Hundreds of cars drove in and out of Guilford’s boat launch parking area Friday, as area residents braved the chilly rainy weather to take what some feared might be their last look. Of particular concern was what might happen at high tide at 2:48 p.m. As of late afternoon Friday, The Little Red Shack was still clinging to shore.
Guilford First Selectman Matt Hoey, who had been monitoring the situation throughout the day along with members of the town’s engineering department, said the the loss of the support structures overnight was particularly disappointing since the town is making progress towards moving and saving the shack.
“Obviously this is disappointing. I saw this earlier this morning,” said Hoey, who lives nearby. “It happened overnight to the best of our knowledge. The winds were extremely high.”
He said the irony is that in about a week, the town has scheduled a an engineering analysis that will include taking test borings to determine the best place to relocate the shack. While there has been a sense of urgency related to relocating the shack for some time, the town had to take a variety of steps before taking action, he said, to satisfy regulatory and environmental requirements, and to make sure that the town is relocating it to an area where it will be safe. The town acquired the shack, and the land it sits on, in 1965.
“We have to be sure of a couple of things,” he said. “We have to make sure we have the most appropriate place, the place that is most protected from the elements. We had to work with DEEP (the state Department of Energy & Environment Protection) to make sure we understood what permits were required. We had to work with our own (the town’s) regulatory agencies.”
Plan Approved, Funds Needed
On March 6, Guilford Town Engineer Janice Plaziak presented the site plan and coastal site plan review for relocation of the iconic shack with the town’s Planning & Zoning Commission at its regular meeting. The plan, as presented, was unanimously approved.
The minutes of that meeting say, “Significant erosion has occurred on Grass Island due to severe storms over the past year. At high tide, the shack becomes submerged in water. Town Engineer Janice Plaziak shared that she has developed the plan with DEEP and Coastal Engineers. They considered bringing in sand, but ultimately decided on a more long-term solution due to the impacts of waves and erosion in this area.”
The plan is to move the shack back by 45 feet, adding new pilings designed to withstand storms and erosion. And earlier plan called for moving the shack back 90 feet, but during a storm in January 2024, town officials observed that the entire island was flooded “except for the rear of where the shack currently stands.”
“Since the sand will continue moving in all different directions, there is no way to determine the “best” spot. They found that is more feasible to move the shack a shorter distance and replace the foundation,“ the minutes say. ”Next steps will include boring to get an understanding of the geo-technical aspects of the area. Then, the structural engineer can design pilings for the necessary depth. There are currently 26 pilings, but it is not evident how deep they go. The proposal will include less pilings than there currently are. The pilings will likely be made of wood due to the salt-water environment.“
“A recent erosion study by FEMA shows that this area is subject to quite a lot of erosion, as its forecasted with sea-level rise in the future. The goal is to preserve this iconic monument for the town,” the minutes say.
Before proceeding the town had to make sure there were no species of concern and no endangered animals in the area.
“Commissioner R. Joyce inquired as to where the funding for this project is coming from. Town Engineer Plaziak shared that she is unsure where the funding is sourced,” the minutes say. “ The Board of Selectmen has given approval to spend $15,000 on Geo-technical as well as the design for the foundation. Once she receives the Commission’s approval, Town Engineer Plaziak will be contacting the Selectman’s office to find out what account the money will be sourced. Since the Geo-technical will determine the price, Town Planner Plaziak indicated that she does not yet have a budget for the project...There may be an effort to potentially raise funds.”
Rites of Passage
“I know there is a lot of support in the community to save this. For so many who live here, who grew up here, this represents the occurrence of certain rites of passage,” said Hoey on Friday afternoon right before high tide. As he watched the tide creep up and waves batter the bottom of the shack, he observed, “well, it’s not floating.”
As the bottom of the shack became submerged by the waters where East River meets Guilford Harbor, more than 50 cars were parked in the parking lot. People were getting out of their cars on the dreary, rainy day to take pictures and videos and reminisce about the shack.
There was also one tour bus from Evergreen Woods, a retirement community in North Branford. Gloria Hughart, Bettina Patterson, Beth Dock, and Betsy Elliman, who live at Evergreen Woods and are part of a hiking group, were there, along with the bus driver Mike Cote of Branford, and Maureen Terwilliger, Evergreen Wood’s wellness director, also known as the “director of fun.”
The group had another hike planned for that day, but when they heard that the supports on the shack collapsed, they decided to re-route and check it out. They came earlier in the day, left to get ice cream at Ashley’s, then returned at high tide, hoping for the best.
“We are getting used to seeing things like this, but this is shocking to see,” said Elliman, who used to live on Seaview Terrace. “I’ve never seen it like this.”
Dock agreed the sight was alarming, but added that it’s a process that has been happening over many years. “It’s steadily increasing,” she said. “We’ve been reading about global warming and sea level rise for some time now. But I do hope it can be resurrected.”
Cote, the bus driver, grew up in Branford and has lived in the area since 1956. Like many, he remembers the shack from when he was a little kid. “Hopefully it can be restored. But who knows if it’s going to make it. The tides are different than they were even 10 years ago. I live on the shoreline in Branford. The low tides are way lower and the high tides are way higher.”
Reincarnated Once Already
Over the years, the Little Red Shack has been memorialized a countless number of times in photos, paintings, and videos. People used to picnic there, bring their kids to play there, and propose to their sweethearts there, among other rites of passage, according to news accounts.
According to a history of Grass Island written by Guilford town historian Joel Helander, Grass Island is not really an island but rather land that juts out into Guilford Harbor. It can be accessed overland, except during some high tides, by traveling down Neck Road, and through the Circle Beach area of Madison. According to a summary of Helander’s account written by Tracy Tomaselli, Sam Hill was the original owner of the shack, as far back as the 1700s. A hatter by trade, Hill served as town clerk in 1717 and probate court judge. He died in 1752 with a reputation for “integrity, uprightness, firmness and perhaps sternness of purpose,” according to a historical account provided by the town. “To this day, his name is used in Guilford to express superiority in various directions, e.g. ‘he runs like Sam Hill.’”
“In 1914, J. Harrison Monroe, a local pharmacist, acquired it and built a little cottage for family getaways. That cottage was destroyed by fire in 1936, but the second cottage that he built is the familiar red shack you see today,” says Tomaselli’s summary of Helander’s history. “By 1982, the shack had fallen into disrepair, but a citizens group raised funds and reincarnated the cottage as an open public pavilion. Since then, there have been others who have taken an interest to ensure the important icon remains part of Guilford's landscape.”