The Potter Cottage, a quaint Cape Cod-style house, sits on a sloping plot on Grand Manan Island, offering picturesque views of Pettes Cove. Accessed via Old Airport Road, with the driveway at the back, the cottage allows for scenic vistas of the Swallow Tail Lighthouse, the Grand Manan Ferry, herring weirs, and frequent wildlife sightings.

Constructed around 1830, it is one of Grand Manan’s earliest small homes. Originally owned by Winslow Flagg and Hadassa Flagg Small, it later passed to their daughter, Pauline Small. The cottage was initially located on Fern Street, less than a kilometer from its current site.

The Potter Cottage has hosted notable summer visitors, including Alice B. Bigelow and Minnie Kellogg, wife of a member of the Kellogg cereal family. Mrs. Kellogg eventually purchased the cottage, relocating it to its present position for its exceptional view.

The move was executed by Ernie Griffin and his horses, requiring an overnight halt in the street, safeguarded by lanterns. This event was significant in the formation of the Grand Manan Historical Society. Mrs. Kellogg, a regular summer resident, supported the society’s founding in 1931 by Buchannan Charles, her driver.

The cottage was a hub for social gatherings, with Mrs. Kellogg and Mrs. Bigelow hosting teas and events in a nearby barn. These activities, typical of the 1924-1941 period, were curtailed during the war years, affecting the island’s summer culture. However, the Historical Society remained active, publishing “The Grand Manan Historian” magazine.

After Mrs. Kellogg’s time, Elizabeth McCashen and Helen Gray, an original Historical Society Board Member, became the cottage’s owners.

 

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