Francis W. Smith (our great grandfather, aka Pard) was brought up in the Thumpertown area of Eastham. Sara Doane lived on Stony Hill just south of her cousin's, Abalino Doane's, farm. The farm included Fort Hill and Smith Heights. Francis and Sara married around the turn of the century. A few years later, Frank bought 5 acres of Abalino's land. Soon thereafter, our great grandfather started to build cottages, and Smith Heights began to be a haven for people from mill cities like Taunton, MA.

The first two images shot in 1911 show the first few cottages from the cove. The stalwart figure next to the right hand cottage we are certain is Pard. That cottage is McKechnie. The third image is a postcard of the seven cottages around 1920. 

Gooch, McKechnie, and Williams are the 3 remaining cottages. All seven were named after the original families that stayed in the cottages over many years. 

Our dad, Howard Doane Chase, inherited McKechnie and Williams in 1943. He had bought Gooch's from Mr. Gooch's widow (Gooch had bought the cottage from Pard earlier) about the same time. During the War, they were infrequently used. Mrs. McKechnie was the last of the original renters to come. She rented from Howard until 1950. My brother Doane is famous in the family's history for kicking Mrs. McKechnie in the shin in 1948. He was three at the time.

Three families  stayed in the cottages through the late 50's to the mid 70's (including my mom, dad, Doane and myself in Gooch's) . Howard started renting the cottages in 1972 (after he retired and built the house in back). Our mom, Elaine, took over managing Smith Heights in the mid to late 80's. My wife, Joyce, helped open the cottages, and took over running the cottages in 2010. When I retired in 2013, I took up the reigns. Our family has been renting cottages at Smith Heights for over 108 years.