Starting this week, I’m beginning a new feature on this blog. Every Tuesday or Wednesday, when possible, I’ll post a picture from my archive of Block Island photos. Most of these pictures are taken from the deck of my house on Block Island, or from a nearby location. And the great majority of these photos are sunset photos, because that’s the specialty on the deck of my house: A view over the water, the freshest air anywhere, a glass of fine wine or a made-from-scratch margarita, and the World’s Best Sunsets.

Why is this feature called “Views near Golden Grove“? Because the part of the island where my house is located is known by that name. And why would a treeless sweep of glacial till be called “Golden Grove”? Because the brig Golden Grove, on its way from Halifax to Ireland, was shipwrecked just off the coast here in the winter one year late in the 18th century. And why, the astute reader, might persist, would a ship bound from Halifax to Ireland be sailing (much less grounded) anywhere near Block Island?

Good question.

In any case, the crew were all saved, and some of them made the island their home. The cargo of pork and lard occasioned many a trip out to what was left of the Golden Grove that winter to augment the island diet. And the place name stuck.

To start things off, here is the sunset near Golden Grove on October 3, 2009, three days ago.

Block Island sunset October 3, 2009