The Champernowne hotel, thought to be the most opulent of the hotels on the mainland at the time, was built by Horace Mitchell in 1890.  At its largest, the hotel had 98 rooms and 34 bathrooms.  During WW2 all of the hotels in the area, including the Champernowne were taken over by the US military and used to house soldiers.  Theodore Roosevelt was a guest here in 1904 according to a guest register.  There were two expansions of the hotel in its lifetime.  The last included three spires.  Kittery’s Horace Mitchell, proprietor of the hotel hosted the Japanese delegates here during the Portsmouth Peace Conference of 1905.  The hotel was purchased by John Mead Howells in the 1920s.  He had it torn down to expand his property and make room for a summer home for his son.   

 

Shown here is the view from Fort McClary looking over at the point. Notice the granite blocks in the front, which are still seen in the same place today.