Mystic Explorer Mary L. Jobe, A Life Well Lived

Mystic resident Mary L. Jobe, later known as Mary Akeley, was an early 20th century explorer of the Canadian Rockies, founder of Camp Mystic, and writer of African explorations.  Jobe was a non-conformist who side-lined traditional feminine roles in favor of adventure.  In historical texts, she is often described as strong, regal, distinguished and self-sufficient. 

Born 1886 in Tappan, Ohio, Jobe considered Mystic to be her home and lived her later days between Mexico, New York and Mystic until her death in 1966. Up until that point, she led an accomplished and exciting life.

In 1909, Jobe received her master’s degree in history and English from Columbia University.  Later, she joined faculty in history at Hunter College and immersed herself in exploration of the Canadian Rockies.   Her research involved repeated returns for mapping and exploration of uncharted territory.  Jobe wrote in Field and Stream in 1912 of climbing the highest passes of the Canadian Rockies, traversing glacial chasms and surviving near-miss avalanches.

“Was goal, ever in time past, so well worth striving for?” Jobe writes after reaching the snowy peaks of the Canadian Rockies.  

Adding diversity to her endeavors, Jobe developed an interest in sharing her outdoor expertise with young girls.  She purchased land in 1916 on River Road, now across the river from the Mystic Seaport, and began Camp Mystic.  The camp gained national popularity as parents valued Jobe’s unusual breadth of experience.

A 1916 ad in Scribner’s Magazine described the retreat: “(Camp Mystic) provides training in Camp-craft in wild back country; Boating in the safe water of Mystic River; swimming in the clear salt-water laving the sand beaches of tree-shaded Mystic Island; Horseback riding, Dancing, Music, Dramatics and all Field athletics.”

Young girls donned uniforms of navy blue bloomers with white middies and for the sum of $375, enjoyed the summer season of activities and lodging.  Over the years, Camp Mystic became a comfortable spot for daughters of the affluent and was visited by many well-known speakers such as Roy Waldo Minor, curator of the American Museum of Natural History.

In 1920, Jobe was introduced to well-known taxidermist, African explorer and sculptor Carl Akeley, who was employed by the American Museum of Natural History.  They were married four years later and in 1926, Carl fell ill and died on their first African expedition together.  He was buried in Africa.

Jobe-Akeley continued her husband’s work on the expedition and became most well known for her subsequent research, collections and writings of Africa. 

The Great Depression slowed enrollment and in 1930, Camp Mystic was closed.  Jobe-Akeley spent her final years as a recluse in her Mystic home packed, with exotic mementos of her travels. 

After her death in 1966, her home, once Camp Mystic, became the Peace Sanctuary, a place for all to enjoy what once captured and inspired our own Mary Jobe-Akeley.