Wellesley Island, New York

Just Room Enough Island

This tiny little island has, as the name says, just enough room for its single house.

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 tiny little scraps of land. Just Room Enough Island meets these standards just barely.

Part of the nearly 2,000-isle-strong Thousand Islands chain, Just Room Enough Island was purchased in the 1950s by the Sizeland family who were looking to create a holiday get away. They built a house on the tiny speck of land placing the walls right up to the edges of the island, creating a home that was just big enough to fit, and 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.

In order to be considered an island in the region, the 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. Just Room Enough Island meets these criteria, but really it’s more house than island.