The Shelburne Page

Shelburne was founded by Loyalists in 1783 while fleeing the American Revolution. The Historic district includes museums, heritage homes and stores. At the end of World War II a German U-Boat surrendered outside of the Shelburne harbour and was taken into the harbour.

More recently a movie, "The Scarlet Letter 'A'" was made there. It starred Demi Moore and Robert Duval.

Local Buildings Being Remodelled for the Movie

The bottom floor of the first building was stripped off to leave an open area. The rest was remodelled. Where new wood was used the areas were then painted to match the old wooden structures. When the movie was ready to be shot the paved roads and surrounding areas were covered with sand.

Shelburne was chosen for the filming of the movie because of it's similarity to Boston in the olden days. The second picture shows plastic chimneys that were placed on the buildings. Once put in place they looked very real, even if you were standing right there. The area that was remodelled was about six blocks long and a block and a half wide.

The third picture shows more of the chimneys, one building that was finished and another in the making. Some buildings that were in place were covered by larger ones. When the movie was finished the outer shell was removed and the original was still there. At one spot there is a memorial that was covered by a building. Visitors could go inside of the building and see the outdoor momento.

New Temporary Structures

The first picture is of the building that was built around an outdoor memorial. As you enter the front door you see the memorial, with sidewalks surrounding it. The building has since been removed and the memorial is as it was before.

The second picture shows part of the fence and the gate into Old Boston. The sign on the post says, "Danger, Keep Out". The third picture is of the cell building, where prisoners were kept.

And Other Things (Not a place to be caught hanging around)

The structure in the first picture above is of the platform where announcements were made. Especially when people were ready to be hung.

The next picture is of the hanging area itself. The platform and memorial building can be seen in the background.

The final picture is of the spiked pole fence that was built to keep the Indians out. It was aged by the time the movie was ready to be shot.

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