Collinsport facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Collinsport
Collinsport, located north of Frenchman Bay.
Country	United States
Geographical region	New England
State	Maine
County	Hancock County

Collinsport is a made-up town that you can find in the TV show Dark Shadows. This show was a popular "Gothic horror" soap opera from the 1960s. It's a spooky and mysterious place where many exciting stories happen!

Where is Collinsport?

In the TV show, Collinsport is a small fishing village right on the coast of Maine, a state in the United States. It's located in Hancock County, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of a real city called Bangor. Sometimes, characters in the show mention or visit Bangor or Portland, Maine.

The town is said to be north of Frenchman Bay and close to Bucksport, Maine. Bucksport is a real town known for its history and stories about witchcraft, which might have inspired the fictional Collinsport. A train used to bring people to Collinsport from Boston, like Victoria Winters who arrived on a stormy night. The town even has its own newspaper, The Collinsport Star.

Collinsport's Story

The story of Collinsport began in 1690 when a man named Isaac Collins sailed across the ocean. He landed in Frenchman Bay and soon found a good harbor nearby. There, he started building what would become the town of Collinsport.

The town grew and did well for many years, especially in the 1700s and 1800s. However, it faced tough times during the Great Depression in the 1930s. Luckily, summer visitors and artists started coming to Collinsport in the 1950s and 1960s, which helped the town survive. More recently, the local fishing boats have had a hard time because there aren't as many fish in the Grand Banks.

Important Places in Collinsport

The Collinsport Inn

The Collinsport Inn is a three-story hotel located right in the middle of downtown Collinsport. It's a favorite spot for both tourists and local people. There's also a small cafe on the ground floor where you can grab a bite to eat. The outside of the inn shown in the show was filmed at a real place called the Griswold Inn in Connecticut.

The Blue Whale

The Blue Whale is a popular tavern in Collinsport. It's a favorite hangout for many of the town's residents. People say it serves some of the best seafood around, and it's located right by the water. This place was inspired by a real restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island.

Braithwaite & Sons

Braithwaite & Sons is a very old jewelry and silversmith shop in Collinsport. They've been in business for over 100 years! They've made many special items for the wealthy Collins family over time. One of the family members, Ezra Braithwaite, worked there since before 1897.

Brewster's

Brewster's is a local department store. The Brewster family name has been part of the community for a very long time, even back to the 1840s.

Collins General Store

This store is right in the heart of the village. It's a cool, old-fashioned store with high ceilings, set back a bit from the street. It also has offices and warehouses attached.

Collinsport Hospital

Collinsport Hospital might not be as big as a hospital in a huge city like New York, but it offers great patient care and uses modern medical technology. This is thanks to generous donations from the Collins family and forward-thinking doctors.

Cranshaw House

This was a large, old-fashioned house built on the beach near Widow's Hill. It was very close to the impressive Collinwood estate, and there was even a small path connecting the two properties. A sailor named Captain Cranshaw built the house in the 1800s.

The Eagle (1795)

This was a tavern in Collinsport during the late 1700s.

The Eagle (1970 P/T)

This version of The Eagle is also a tavern in Collinsport, but it exists in a "parallel time" or alternate reality. In our regular timeline, this place is known as The Blue Whale. In this other reality, it looks exactly the same, but the name is different.

Eagle Hill Cemetery

Eagle Hill Cemetery is one of the biggest graveyards in Collinsport. For the past two centuries, most members of the important Collins family have been buried here. The most famous part of the cemetery is the Collins family mausoleum. Inside, there's a secret room where Barnabas Collins was once hidden away. You can get into this room by pulling a ring in the lion's mouth over a grave plaque. This secret room was originally used to store weapons during the Revolutionary War.

The Beach Road

The Beach Road is a small highway that goes through the village. People think it might be part of a real highway like U.S. 1 or Maine state highway 33.

Lookout Point

Lookout Point is a beach located between the Collinwood mansion and the Collinsport Cannery. It's a bit too rocky for sunbathing, but it's a nice place for a walk by the water or a shortcut to the cannery. In 1966, an unfortunate event happened here when the body of Bill Malloy, who managed the Collins' fishing fleet, was found in the water nearby.

Loomis House

The Loomis House is what the Old House (see below) is called in the alternate reality of Parallel Time. In that reality, a writer named William H. Loomis is married to Carolyn Stoddard. They were given the Old House on the Collins estate, and it became known as "Loomis House."

Rose Cottage

Rose Cottage was a house located near the Collinwood estate. In the year 1840, it was home to Flora Collins, Desmond Collins, Gerard Stiles, and Leticia Faye.

Saint Eustace Island

Saint Eustace Island is a small, often foggy island located off the North cove near Widows' Hill. On the island, there's an old castle with the ruins of an abandoned chapel. The land around the castle is hard to get through, with thick bushes, slippery slopes, and marshy areas.

The Todds' Antique Shop

Philip and Megan Todd dreamed of opening their own antique shop. In December 1969, they made their dream come true and opened their business in Collinsport. Carolyn Stoddard discovered the store and even worked there part-time for a while. However, their antique shop had an unfortunate event in February 1970, which was one of several sad events that happened to the Todds around that time.

Weatherby Farm

Weatherby Farm was a property next to the Collinwood estate to the south. In the early 1800s (around 1840), it was owned by Mordecai Grimes. The Collins family had tried to buy this land for a long time, but Mordecai never wanted to sell it because his father had left it to him. One day, his cattle broke through the fences and went onto the Collins property. A week later, all his cattle were gone. Mordecai accused Quentin Collins of causing these unexplained events.

Widow's Hill

Widow's Hill is a high cliff located just outside the village, and it's where the Collinwood estate stands. It's about 100 feet (30 m) from the edge of the cliff down to the water. On a clear day, you can see 20 miles (32 km) out to sea from the cliff. Widow's Hill got its name because women used to wait on the cliff, looking out to sea for their husbands' ships to return. Sadly, many of these ships never came back. When Jeremiah Collins decided to build Collinwood on the hill in 1796, he told the grieving women to go home.

Some people in Collinsport believed that the spirits of these widows still walked the hill 150 years later. They thought the wailing sounds from the hill were the widows crying, not just the wind. Some older residents even claimed to have seen them walking on the hill from a distance.

By 1967, some unfortunate events had occurred at the cliff. Josette Collins had an accident here while being pursued by someone, and two other governesses from Collinwood also had accidents at the bottom of the cliff. There was a legend that a third governess would one day be found there too.

Windcliff Sanitarium

Even though Windcliff Sanitarium is not in Collinsport itself, it's important to the community. It's located about 100 miles (160 km) away. Dr. Julia Hoffman, a special doctor who studies minds and blood, is in charge there. Several members of the Collins family and their friends have spent time here after going through difficult experiences.

Collinwood Mansion

Collinwood Mansion is a large, somewhat gloomy house with forty rooms, located near Widows' Hill. Joshua Collins built this house in 1795. Around 1916, the east wing of Collinwood was closed off, and much of the house was no longer used. Elizabeth Collins Stoddard managed to get the property taxes lowered because most of the house was closed. By 1967, the house was more of a burden than a benefit, but it was the only Collins-owned property without a mortgage. The road leading up to Collinwood from town is steep and winding. Some people have had accidents going down the hill in bad weather. Collinwood is said to be haunted by the spirit of Josette Collins and other members of the old Collins Family.

Several real mansions were used to represent Collinwood in the show and movies. The Carey Mansion in Newport, Rhode Island, was used for the original TV series. The Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown, New York, was used for both films. In the 1991 TV version, Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills was used, with nearby Griffith Park as the surrounding forest.

The Old House

The Old House was the original large home of the Collins family until 1796. It's located on the Collins estate near Widows' Hill. It used to be called Collinwood. Joshua Collins was the head of the last generation of the Collins family to grow up there. In 1796, a bigger family home was finished on the same property, and this new house was first known as the Great House, later becoming Collinwood. When the new house was built, the original family mansion started to be called the Old House. Over many years, this casual name became its official name.

The place used for filming the Old House was the former Spratt Mansion on the Lyndhurst estate, which was unfortunately destroyed by fire in 1969.

Images for kids

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  Collinsport, located north of Frenchman Bay.