One hundred years ago South Hope had an exciting, but devastating fire - as proclaimed by the Courier-Gazette - THE FISKE HOUSE BURNED. It was October 18, 1907 shortly after midnight, when the landlord's wife, Mrs. Cyrus Packard, heard the crackling of fire coming from the hotel's woodshed. The Camden Herald stated the dozen hotel residents were unharmed and actually had time to save a portion of the furniture, but the hotel, dance hall, large stable and ice house were all consumed by fire. South Hope had no fire department at that time; therefore, the village had to await a hand-tub and twenty volunteers from West Rockport. With the volunteer's assistance, residents of the village were able to save the nearby home of Marcellus F. Taylor and his general store just beyond.

The hotel's cellar hole and the foundation pins for its veranda are still visible today near Route 17 in the village of South Hope. The Rockland Opinion, a newspaper published by Opinion Publishing Company, reported in its November 1, 1907 issue that the hotel's owner, Selinda Henderson, and her brother, Cyrus Packard, intended to replace the hotel. The plans called for a much larger building than the two and a half story hotel that had been destroyed. The new hotel would be set back further from the road and would provide a "fine view of Fish pond, used for boating, and on the whole the new building and location will make a very picturesque scene."

The Fiske House derived its name from its first proprietor, Decatur E. Fiske, who purchased the property in 1882. He was born in South Hope in 1855 and trained as a blacksmith; he became a hotel manager by the mid 1880's. He is purported to have been the original manager of Bay Point Hotel, Rockland, Maine in 1889 (this waterfront hotel was later renamed the Samoset), but within a year he had relocated to Pittsfield, Maine purchasing the lease of the Lancey House. By 1892, he had again moved on. Mr. Fiske finished his hotel manager career as owner/operator of the Fiske Hotel in Damariscotta.

Selinda Henderson purchased South Hope's Fiske House in 1897. Selinda's husband, Aaron, was a butcher and a hunting/fishing guide; he died October 20, 1903. It is presumed Selinda's younger brother Cyrus Packard and wife, Rose, moved into the Fiske House sometime after Aaron's death, to assist in the management of the hotel. Selinda and Cyrus were close; they grew up together on their parent's farm in Union.

Selinda was the cook for Fiske House. Her culinary expertise was widely known. A sampling of notes written during 1907 in The Courier-Gazette provide the following: February 12th, "Although it snowed all day Sunday there were 41 to dinner at the Fiske House, including 35 Rockland people"; July 13th, "Allen Henderson of Boston arrived Monday to spend his usual summer vacation at the Fiske house. The Automobile Club met at the Fiske house Sunday and the following dinner was served: Chicken and tomato soup, boiled halibut, egg sauce; cucumbers; roast chicken and lamb, brown gravy; green peas, spinach, mashed potatoes; rhubarb, apple, lemon and custard pie; vanilla ice cream and strawberries; tea and coffee." July 16th, "Hotel Fiske did a rushing business Sunday. Amongst those who took dinner there was Governor Cobb and party."

Indeed, 1907 had been a good year; the Courier-Gazette ran the following news item on Sept 7th, "From August 25 to September 1, inclusive there were 123 transients at Fiske Hotel. This does not include the regular boarders. It has been a very busy place at the hotel all summer and will probably continue until late in the fall as people like to enjoy the cool air and beautiful foliage of late fall."

South Hope has not seen another hotel; the replacement hotel was never constructed. Marcellus Taylor's house succumbed to fire in 1967, but his general store is still in operation; having changed hands numerous times, it is now known as Pushaw's. Across the street is the volunteer fire department built in the 1970's. In the 1980's, the village was often in the news due to the defunct Union Chemical Plant and the battle to protect Fish Pond from water rights granted 100 years earlier to the Camden and Rockland Water Company. In early 2008, All Directions Transport, Inc., the parent company of Schooner Bay Limo and Taxi, Inc. of Rockland, erected a 2,400 square foot metal vehicle storage facility across from where the old Fiske House had been - the village continues to evolve.