Boston banker Samuel Jennison built the Pocahontas Hotel in 1885. Four Stories tall with a 200 guest capacity, it was located on 187 acres of land that had once been the Seaward farm. To enhance the property, Jennison improved the roads, constructed a 245-foot dock with a boardwalk, put in a water system with two windmills and established a summer cottage community, with the hotel as the social center. The hotel closed after the season in 1904 and never reopened. Most people attributed the hotel’s early demise to the proximity of the fort and the disturbances caused by the concussions from the ten-inch rifles at Battery Henry Bohlen. However, competition with other area hotels was also a contributing factor. Eventually Charles Brooks tore down the hotel in 1920. The lumber was sold and furniture auctioned off. Several homes in the area were constructed using this “recycled” lumber or furnished with furniture and fixtures from the hotel.
Of the seven cottages built, only the foundation to one remains. Today, the large pavilion rests on that stone foundation. All other structures have disappeared. Partly to blame is the military. With the construction of Battery 205, the landscape was altered to the needs of defensive works. The parking lot at Horn Point was created as a “dummy” or fake gun emplacement as Battery 205 was being built. Much of the terrain was bulldozed and moved around. Horn Point itself was possibly the site of one of the 90mm or 37mm guns stationed at Fort Foster. Hundreds of visitors each summer compete for one of the best picnicking spots in the park not realizing that a large hotel once stood in the very same area.
Of the seven cottages built, only the foundation to one remains. Today, the large pavilion rests on that stone foundation. All other structures have disappeared. Partly to blame is the military. With the construction of Battery 205, the landscape was altered to the needs of defensive works. The parking lot at Horn Point was created as a “dummy” or fake gun emplacement as Battery 205 was being built. Much of the terrain was bulldozed and moved around. Horn Point itself was possibly the site of one of the 90mm or 37mm guns stationed at Fort Foster. Hundreds of visitors each summer compete for one of the best picnicking spots in the park not realizing that a large hotel once stood in the very same area.