Guilford's Famed Red Shack Damaged, Officials Search For Solutions

GUILFORD, CT — The iconic red shack that sits on Grass Island in Guilford was damaged during a storm that moved through the area last week, and town officials are now working to come up with solutions to save the structure.

Town Engineer Janice Plaziak told Patch the shack fell off its supports overnight last Thursday into Friday.

"We had some high winds as well as some high seas. Some combination of those two seemed to compromise the supports and it collapsed onto the ground," Plaziak said.

Plaziak inspected the site last Friday with town staff and the assistant town engineer, and had meetings Monday and Tuesday with engineers, excavators, and construction companies to determine next steps for the shack, which has become a beloved landmark in Guilford, especially for photographers and painters.

The town had already undertaken plans to move the shack back 60 feet before last week's storm.

First Selectman Matt Hoey said the engineering firm Guilford hired for the project was supposed to be at the site this week for boring tests for new pilings.

"Unfortunately, mother nature beat us to the punch," Hoey said. "We are in assessment mode right now, hoping to come up with a plan before the week is out, to either secure it in place or move it temporarily, and/or figure out what we're going to do long term."

Officials are working to determine if the shack can be anchored in place and how, if there's a threat of the structure floating away, or if it can be temporarily moved back to higher ground.

"Would it even withstand being moved? That's one of the assessments being made," Hoey said.

Plaziak noted the site presents a few challenges.

"You have to bring equipment and supplies over by barge, and you're limited to when you can work with the tides. We're working with all those different obstacles to try and come up with a plan," she said.

The history of the shack dates back to 1914 when a local druggist named J. Harrison Monroe decided to build a summer cottage on the west shore of Grass Island, according to a website dedicated to preserving the landmark.

The cottage was destroyed in a fire in 1936, and the cottage was rebuilt in 1940. However, to save the structure from hurricane damage, the shack was moved inland in 1950 where it has stayed ever since.

In the mid 1960s, the shack was sold to the town of Guilford and left under the control of the Parks and Recreation Department.

Over the years, small fixes were made to the shack, but it fell into disrepair.

In 2015, a fundraising effort to restore the shack and rebuild it started, and construction was completed in 2016.