Scenes from Smuttynose.

Haley Dock and Homestead. The murder occurred in the third house from the left.

An article in the October 1874 issue of Harper’s Magazine describes a trip to the Isles of Shoals off the coast of New Hampshire and Maine. Though it discusses the current inhabitants and the long history of the islands, the article and its illustrations center on the memory of the brutal murders of Anethe and Karen Christensen, just a year and a half earlier.

The stunning black and white illustrations from Harper’s Magazine express the stark beauty and harsh isolation of the Isles of Shoals, including scenes from Smuttynose Island where the murder occurred. The Isles of Shoal lay off the Atlantic coast, partially in New Hampshire and partially in Maine, not far from the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.




White Island lighthouse.

The night of March 6, 1873, LouisWagner rowed from Portsmouth to Smuttynose Island, guided by the beacon from the lighthouse on White Island. Knowing that the Christensen men were away fishing, Wagner was on his way to rob their house.



Ledge of rocks, Smuttynose.

Three women were sleeping in the house when Wagner arrived: Maren Hontvet, her sister Karen Christensen, and her sister-in-law Anethe Christensen. Wagner murdered Karen and Anethe with an axe he found in the house. Maren managed to escape and hid, in her nightclothes, in the rocks along the coast of the Island until dawn.


Smuttynose Island.

Wagner left the island with less than sixteen dollars. He rowed back to Portsmouth and managed to flee as far as Boston before he was captured and extradited to Maine where he was tried and executed.

Here is the full story: The Smuttynose Murders.

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Croskey, Julian. "The Isles of Shoals." Harper's New Monthly Magazine Oct. 1874: 663.