In order to be considered an island in this region, land must be larger than one square foot, it must remain above the water level year round, and it must sustain at least one tree. Welcome to Just Room Enough Island.

Part of the 2,000-isle-strong Thousand Islands chain in New York, this tiny land mass meets the official criteria. It was purchased in the 1950s by the Sizeland family who were looking to create a holiday getaway.

They built the walls right up to the edges of the island, giving the island its quirky name. A pair of bench chairs were placed in front of the home and there was also a tree growing on one side. And that is all the room the island had.

While the Sizelands had hoped for their quirky little getaway to be a nice respite from the hustle and bustle of city life, it soon attracted hordes of sightseers and tourists who broke their placid solitude.

When islands get really small they sometimes barely even count as islands, and so some places actually have criteria that the landforms must meet to be officially considered islands, and not just crappy little scraps of land. Just Room Enough Island meets these standards just barely, but really it’s more house than island.

“just when i thought there wasn’t room enough

for another thought in my head,

i had this great idea -“

-john ashberry

—

credit: atlas obscura