The grand Hygeia Hotel, totally destroyed by fire in 1916, is displayed on this postcard featured in today’s “One Postcard Saturdays” blog piece.

The title shown on the front side of this antique postcard, postmarked in 1913, says: “Looking South from New Harbor, Block Island, R.I.” Although the quality of this postcard is not the best, I chose it because of the historical nature. I thought it was important to show a piece of history past–a picture of this grand hotel that existed on Block Island over one hundred years ago.

The town of New Shoreham, Rhode Island, is also known as Block Island. The size of this Island, which is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, is just under ten square miles and is situated about eight miles off the Rhode Island coastline.

In my childhood years, I always admired looking out from Charlestown Beach (located on the mainland) over to Block Island–it was almost a direct view across the water. Some days, the Island was seen quite clearly from the shoreline; other days, the Island was not seen at all as it was blocked out by a blanket of foggy mist–still true today.

We learned an old “tale” based on how well we could see the Island. If the view was clear, that was actually said to be a sign of bad weather or rough seas within a couple of days. If the Island was not viewable, it was said to be a sign of good weather and good seas ahead.

For many years, I wondered what life was actually like over on Block Island and tried to persuade my family to take a ride over on the ferry in order to please my curiosity. My mom’s response was typically to indicate that there was “nothing over there”.

I was probably in my mid-thirties by the time I had finally set foot on Block Island and I have returned several times since. My opinion differs from that of what my mom had said. I feel it is a wonderful place to explore, especially walking over to the quieter sections of the Island. Timing is an important consideration for a Block Island visit. It can be very hectic and a tight squeeze riding on a packed ferry during the height of the summer season–especially on weekends. If flexibility allows, the best tip is to visit either off-season or mid-week in late summer as the visit will be much calmer.

The Hygeia Hotel and The Hygeia House

The Hygeia Hotel was constructed in 1886. It is the largest building pictured in the center section of the postcard. The Hotel was situated nearby to where the current-day New Shoreham Fire Station resides–at the intersection of Beach Avenue and Ocean Avenue.

The original structure of the hotel was the section shown in the middle of the building with the Gothic-style roofing angles. Later on, wings were added on either side of that original section.

Looking at the front side of the postcard, you can see a building toward the left in the picture. I believe this is what is known as “The Hygeia House”, which still stands today and is on the National Register of Historic Places. This building, located on Beach Avenue, was used as an annex to the hotel, prior to the 1916 fire.

According to the completed application form, dated February 7, 2000, for the National Register of Historic Places, the Hygeia House was constructed in 1885. It was originally known as Seaside House. In 1907, it was moved about 150 yards to the current location after being purchased by the owner (at the time) of the Hygeia Hotel, Dr. John C. Champlin. After being moved, the Seaside House was then renamed to the Hygeia Annex, underwent renovations and was used for overflow guests from the Hygeia Hotel.

After the hotel burned down in 1916, the Annex was renamed the New Hygeia. Over the years since the big fire, this annex building has served a variety of purposes and it did sit vacant for about three decades during the mid-to-late 1900s. After new ownership took over in 1998, this building underwent major renovations. According to the website, it appears that the Hygeia House is currently available for vacation rentals.

Postcard Publisher, Sender and Recipient

This Americhrome postcard was published by the Rhode Island News Company, Providence, R.I. On the reverse side of the postcard in the upper left side it has printed Leipzig, Berlin and New York; printed in the United States. It was postmarked September 17, 1913 from Providence, R.I.

The postcard was addressed to: Bill Hooper, 175 West Boylston St., Worcester, Mass. Bill Hooper was husband to Aunt Etta (James). Please see previous family history blog pieces to learn more about them.

The sender appears to be a sister of Bill Hooper but I cannot quite make out her name. I have other postcards sent from a Sister Sarah but the word on this postcard after “Sister” does not look like it says Sarah. I have not yet identified all of William Hooper’s siblings either–some day as time allows.

The message on the postcard reads: “Dear Brother and Sister, I hope you are having a nice time. When are you coming up to see us? It has been very cold here. We haven’t in our plants yet. Have you any flowers. Love, Sister _“

To easily locate previous blogs focused on certain names: If you are viewing the blog page on a computer screen (as opposed to a phone screen), refer to the right hand column of my blog home page and there is a drop-down menu for names and topics. If you select the arrow to see the drop down, you can scroll down to find the names of various family folks that have been included in my previous blogs. If you select a specific name from the drop down list, then just those blogs will appear on the screen making it easier to find them.

Until next time…

Reference Website Sources:

thehygeiahouse.com/history-1; The Hygeia House History; accessed 16 August 2025.

preservation.ri.gov; nesh_beach-avenue_hygeia-house.pdf; National Register of Historic Places Registration Form; dated Feb 7, 2000; accessed 16 August 2025.