About six miles offshore, these nine rocky islands served Europeans as a fishing station before the first mainland settlements were made in 1623. Capt. John Smith named the group "Smiths Isles" in 1614. The codfish that shoaled there in huge numbers were a prized delicacy that supported 300 to 600 inhabitants before the Revolution. By the end of the mid-1800s, new hotels attracted a summer colony of writers and artists, chief of whom was Celia Thaxter. The islands have supported religious conferences since 1897 and marine research since 1928.