Edwards Island is a fictional place near Camena Coast and the main setting of Oxenfree. It is known for being the birthplace of many radio innovations, as well as the sinking of the USS Kanaloa. To get there, visitors can take a ferry from Camena's dock, sailed by Sea Captain Karen.
The island extensively uses Wave-Assisted-Locks, or WAL for short, which use radio signals to unlock doors.[102.3 1]
Informational plaques throughout the island provide information about the history of the island and its landmarks by tuning into the Guided Tour Station on 102.3.
Background[]
An ex-military base turned tourist trap, Edwards Island boasts a rich history. Briefly mentioned by Ren, the island was originally used for ranching.[1] This occurred when Portuguese explorers first found the island. The island was later given to Colonel Caleb Edwards, who leased the land to mining companies. When Edwards died, the government took over the control of the island and converted it into a military base, intended for the island to serve as a beacon of harbor defense.[102.3 2] On October 25th, 1943, the USS Kanaloa was accidentally sunk via friendly fire by the USS Walter Roy, killing its 85 crew members and 12 passengers on board.[2] However, the event was covered up, rewriting it into a casualty by the Japanese.[102.3 3]
After the base was decommissioned, a portion of the island was petitioned to be nationally preserved and now serves as a home to the fictional white-tailed towhee bird.[102.3 4] A majority of the island was bought out by Margaret Adler. The remaining section eventually became a tourist area, serving the small amount of visitors that see the island. There were plans to build a museum, but these were eventually stopped by Maggie's efforts.[3] Adler was the only permanent resident on Edwards Island until her death three days before the events in Oxenfree.[4]
In the 1950s, a tradition called "trawling" started on the island in which bored army recruits would bring dates to the island.[5] This tradition would eventually shape the annual Camena High School junior class overnight stay at the island.
Interactive Map[]
Areas[]
Main Street[]
Main Street is the only part of the island considered the "tourist trap" area of the game. It welcomes visitors with a sign of the island's name and slogan: "When the flag is flying, we are running." Right after getting off the pier, there is a Guest Information Center, a closed street, and stairs leading up to a broad-winged hawk statue honoring the USS Kanaloa, although it is widely believed to be an eagle.[6] Next to the stairs, there is a yellow car parked that is still in the same place in Oxenfree II: Lost Signals.
Climbing up the stairs leads to a few kitschy stores, an Antiques & Gifts shop, and the Parks and Facilities Office, where Allison, Ren's older sister, used to work. The street is closed to visitors early in the evening.[7] Between the Antiques & Gifts shop and the Parks Office, there is Maggie Adler's fourth letter.
Discovery Cliffs[]
From left to right: Jonas, Ren, Alex, Nona, and Clarissa going to the beach.
The path down to the beach is located at Discovery Cliffs. It is fenced off Main Street but can be accessed in-game using a dumpster to climb over the fence. Maggie Adler's eighth letter is around the bushes near the Data Command Annex's entrance, and anomaly 100.3 is inside. According to the Guided Tour Station, this place was used as the communication nerve center for outside military installations, as well as Marianne Bozek's primary office.[102.3 1]
Following the steep trail leads to Beacon Beach. Going past the Data Command Annex leads to Epiphany Fields, right at the Adler Estate's entrance gate.
Beacon Beach[]
Alex tuning her radio at one of the cave entrance's cairns.
Beacon Beach is where The Edwards Island Overnight party was held for the Camena High junior class before the events of Oxenfree.[8][9] The beach contains a massive cave where odd radio frequencies can be tuned into and heard. The stairs on the right side of the map lead up to the Adler Estate; however, the stairs do not exist in Alex's flashbacks. Down these stairs, there is the twelfth Adler letter.
In Oxenfree, it is the place where Alex and her friends had planned to meet, and where the main twist of the story occurs. Ren wanted to take Alex and Jonas there to teach them how to hear radio anomalies. Jonas and Alex entered the cave then, finding out that there was no way of exiting, and using Alex's radio to open a portal.[10] It is also where Alex (or, rather, the player) decides whether to sacrifice Clarissa.[11]
In Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, it is the place where the Parentage teens communicate with the Sunken through sand markings,[12] and where Alex's friends' spirits are trapped.
Adler Estate[]
The only true house in the area, the Adler Estate, is the home of Margaret Adler, who owns the majority of the island. The house was built after the USS Kanaloa sank so that Margaret could stay on Edwards Island to protect those who may accidentally come across the Kanaloa crew. It is the only private residence on the island and a recurring scenery in Nona's dreams.[13]
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Epiphany Fields[]
The Sentry in the past.
Epiphany Fields is the middle crossroad that connects various areas: the Harden Tower, Discovery Fields, the Adler Estate, Towhee Woods, and Fort Milner. Within its terrains, there is a bomb shelter that was built in 1946 and protected by a 'call-and-response'-system, devised by LtCdr. Matthew Fineburg.[102.3 5] Near its entry, there is a pile of rocks for anomaly 102.3.
Near the right-most cliff, there is the Sentry, a statue by Lt. Peter Hasboro. It was installed in 1979 under an anonymous petition by Maggie Adler after the daughter of Kanaloa crewman Francis Salter asked her.[14] Later on, it was said that it was there to remind all who view it of Fort Milner's original intent: to serve as a beacon of harbor defense.[102.3 6] The model for the sculpture was a man named Jake Carlisle, a personal friend of the sculptor, Lt. Hasboro.[15]
On the leftmost section of Epiphany Fields, there is an abandoned lighthouse. Beneath it, there is Maggie Adler's first letter. Between the lighthouse and the Adler Estate, there is anomaly 105.1.
Communications Tower[]
Art by Chris Purse.
- From 1941 to 1972, this communications tower served many different telecommunication functions, including point-to-point from its receivers, microwave from its dish, Ka-band for satellite-reception, and military air band for nearby aircraft. Unique in its construction, the tower houses its office in a segmented platform directly underneath its antenna and dish. Once unceremoniously called ‘Site 82’, in 1988 it was re-designated ‘Harden Tower’ for its longest-tenured radioman, Major Richard ‘Dick’ Harden, who served as the tower’s communications officer for 8 years.
- –Guided Tour Station on Harden Tower.
The only way to get to the Communications Tower is through a path from Epiphany Fields. However, it is surrounded by an electrical fence that deters people from climbing onto it and falling off. It has equipment inside to deactivate it but requires various codes to be used. At the foot of the tower, there is the third Adler letter. In one of Riley's visions in Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, a young Maggie Adler can be seen operating the radio.
Some characters remember the tower's name due to its play on words.[16][17]
Towhee Woods[]
Towhee Woods is the forest west of Epiphany Fields. After Fort Milner was decommissioned, Colonel Tim Russell formally petitioned in 1974 to have the woods federally protected. It is now a bird sanctuary, home to 120 bird species - most notably, the fictional white-tailed towhee, hence the forest name. A famous 400-year-old red alder tree resides here as well, with a bent trunk that points true north.[102.3 7] This roosting tree gives name to a café in town.[18] In Oxenfree, it is a necessary path to access the Bridge Stand.
Anomaly 103.5 can be found in the extreme top left of Towhee Woods, near the Bridge Stand exit. This anomaly exhibits a conversation between a woman and Col. Tim Russell before cutting to a newsman announcing the colonel's death. On the east side of the woods, Adler's eleventh letter lies beside a fallen log.
Bridge Stand[]
Bridge Stand has a ferry bridge that allows access to the Campgrounds.[19] To turn it on, one has to flip the circuit breaker's switch in the Power Transfer Station 167, although it is mandatory to do so under supervision.[20] The Pacific Northwest's smallest cemetery sits under the bridge, dating back to the 1800s, next to anomaly 99.9 and the eighth Adler letter.[21]
Its landscape features a waterfall. On its right side, there is anomaly 101.1, opposite to the Catbird Station. This station was built to detect any enemy attempting a strike from the air. It had a large-distance radar system to send a call if a missile strike or airborne invasion was identified. As part of the 'call-and-response'-system, if the signal were confirmed by a comms officer at another station, it would trigger automatic safety measures and the evacuation of non-personnel.[102.3 8] It makes use of the WAL system to unlock its front door, needing to tune the radio to 60.8.[22]
Campgrounds[]
As the name implies, it is an area used for camping. When Jonas and Alex cross it, there are some tents left. It is also one of the time loop areas, where Alex can advise her past self. The area has ruins of stone walls. On the top left, players can find anomaly 91.5, as well as Adler's ninth letter. On the opposite side, beyond the wood bridge, there is anomaly 97.9 next to a bench with the name "Jack" carved into it.[23]
The Campgrounds are a necessary path to access the Relay Point from this direction. In Oxenfree, it is also where Nona can be found after opening the portal in Beacon Beach's cave at the beginning of the game.
Relay Point[]
Alex and Michael by the wishing well.
Relay Point holds the first man-made structure on the island, a freshwater well built in the 1600s. Even though its informational plaque is no longer there, the radio can still be tuned to 102.3 to hear the well's history.[24] The well was almost unused, as the Franciscan friars who discovered it decided the island wouldn’t suit their ministering needs and abandoned the project in 1852. When Spanish settlers owned the island, it was utilized for a short period of time until it became a secondary resource for getting clean water. Eventually, the US Navy dug their own, more modern water pipeline. Thus, this lonely well would become a place for off-site meetings and day events.[102.3 9] This is also the place where Alex and Michael's photo takes place. On the floor beside the well, there is the tenth Adler letter. Anomaly 106.7 can also be found to the west of the wishing well near a small stoop.
Before the war, Relay Point served as the center of a makeshift underground railroad that carted coal to northern and southern piers.[102.3 10][25] The way station is also where Ren reunites the group in Oxenfree after tuning the radio in the cave.
Relay Point is also accessible from Milner Outpost, but only after Ren is saved.
Fort Milner[]
- Fort Milner was the home of the US Army Radio Communications School, which saw more than 100,000 students take its curriculum. During the years it was open, the school trained troops from the various armed services in applied oral-communication, radio and TV broadcasting, telecommunications, and what was then state-of-the-art techniques in code-breaking using an early form of computer technology. The school was moved to Fort Baxter in Southern California when the post closed in 1974, and it still resides there to this day.
- –Guided Tour Station on US Army RCS.
Named in honor of Major General Casey Williams Milner,[26] who served during the American Civil War, Fort Milner was a military base from 1941 to 1974.[102.3 2] It was constructed to serve as a beacon of harbor defense. Though the base would eventually become acclaimed as the birthplace of many radio innovations during World War II, and until its deactivation would be known more for its schooling and the tragic sinking of the USS Kanaloa in 1943.[102.3 6] Each person stationed at Ft. Milner was assigned a radio frequency identification through the WAL system.[102.3 1]
It is separated into three sections: the Outpost, the US Army Radio Communications School, and the Facilities.
Milner Outpost[]
Overview of Milner Outpost.
The outpost serves as an entry to the fort's facilities. It can be accessed through Epiphany Fields and Relay Point, the latter being blocked by a yellow metal gate. Despite its warning signs prohibiting entrance—of which some reveal that the fort was originally going to be a military museum—[27] it is now a recurring hang-out place for kids.[28]
The outpost's buildings are partly demolished, with knocked-down walls and broken windows, probably a side effect of radioactivity.[26] It features a tower in its center, which is used to open the facilities' door in Oxenfree, and a firing range on the lower left side, next to anomaly 104.7.
Facilities[]
Alex and Jonas at the bottom floor of the Facilities.
Many buildings make up the Facilities area, although there is little to no remains of it now. Most of them are connected through stairs and padlocked doors.
The structure on the left holds what appears to be the old dormitories, though it only has the bed frames. Maggie Adler's fifth letter can be found here.
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US Army RCS[]
Clarissa is found here after tuning into the cave. It is an abandoned military fort that once housed the US Army RCS, originally used to train troops in broadcasting and telecommunication.[29] There are three anomalies in this area. There are three Adler Letters in this area.
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Known workers at Fort Milner[]
- Major General Casey Williams Milner[26]
- Colonel Tim Russell[102.3 7]
- Colonel Caleb Edwards[102.3 2]
- Colonel Sheer[30]
- Lieutenant-Commander Matthew Fineburg[102.3 5]
- Lieutenant Peter Hasboro[102.3 6]
- Lieutenant James Earle Platman[102.3 3]
- Major Richard Harden
- SOC Sargeant and Comms Officer Henry Griffin[31][32]
- Comms Officer Margaret "Maggie" Dorothy Adler[33]
- Comms Officer Marianne Bozek[102.3 1]
- Comms Officer Anna Shea[32]
- The USS Kanaloa crew
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ REN: Well, it used to be a ranching thing, then it was turned into an army thing, then it became a bird thing and a museum or whatever.
- ↑ "The USS Walter Roy, a destroyer escort, sunk the USS Kanaloa with friendly fire on October 25th, 1943." –Adler Letter #4
- ↑ "I can promise this, though: the museum will never happen, and the beach and caves will be boarded up." –Adler Letter #11.
- ↑ CLARISSA: She’s dead. [...] Keeled over three days ago. It was all over the news. Local news, anyway. “Oldest living resident.”
- ↑ REN: We are here to drink and be stupid, a tradition apparently started by bored retruits in the 1950s, who would sneak dates over from the costal towns. They literally called it “trawling”.
- ↑ "The bird featured on the USS Kanaloa Memorial is not actually an eagle, as many people think, but a broad-winged hawk." –The Sunken's Steam Trading Card.
- ↑ ALEX:
Man, they close up early.
JONAS: I guess no point in staying open if nobody’s here. - ↑ Riley: The Edwards Island Overnighter.
- ↑ Jacob: It used to be a tradition at Camena High for the Juniors to spend the night on Edwards Island. [...] They stopped doing it a couple years ago. Because some kids went out… and they never made it back. People don’t know if they tried to swim sometime during the night, got tired and drowned, or… they all got caught in some undertow, or… or what, really.
- ↑ ALEX:
Oh my god. This is the way we came in.
JONAS: Alex, c’mon, that’s not possible. It’s just… wall. Where’s the crack we crawled through? - ↑ GHOST:
One last chance. You don’t have to die.
CLARISSA: You can leave, you know, through the gate you opened.
GHOST: And we keep the girl. Cla. Riss. Sa. She’ll be happier with us. - ↑ Jacob: Those markings when we walked in? They looked so familiar. Olivia. They’d written them in the sand on the beach. It’s how Olivia and them communicate.
- ↑ "The Adler Estate at the edge of Beacon Beach is the only private residence on Edwards Island. Nona will regularly see it in her dreams for the next twelve years following these events." –Adler's Pier Steam Trading Card.
- ↑ "I anonymously started the petition in 1975 to have this one made, after the daughter of Kanaloa crewman Francis Salter asked. I don't know why... a marker, maybe, for the hope I once had to help people." –Adler Letter #1.
- ↑ "The model for "The Sentry" was Jake Carlisle, a personal friend of the sculptor. Shortly after the statue's reveal ceremony, he suffered a pulmonary embolism and died." –The Sentry's Steam Trading Card.
- ↑ JONAS:
Wait wait wait, the guy’s name was Major Dick Harden?
ALEX: That would explain why I remember it… - ↑ REN:
Hey! Hey, I--I saw you guys coming up from the tower! The Dick Tower!
JONAS: I think you mean Harden Tower. - ↑ ALEX: Apparently it’s four hundred years old? There’s a cafe in town named after it…
- ↑ JONAS:
Um… why is there a cable car here? [...]
ALEX: It’s not a cable car, it’s a bridge ferry [sic] . - ↑ ALEX:
“Power Transfer Station one six seven.” [...] I found the circuit breaker.
JONAS: Wait. Like the first thing it says is, “Beware of Overload. Do Not Attempt Restart Without Supervision.” - ↑ ALEX:
Oh, check out the smallest cemetery in the Pacific Northwest. Literally, it’s from the 1800’s.
JONAS: Jesus, I thought that was a pet cemetery. I’m kinda revlieved, this island’s depressing enough. - ↑ ALEX: And the Call Sign is weird… 60.8? The dial doesn’t go that far.
- ↑ ALEX: The two Jacks carved their-- er, Jack Mitchell and Jack Ladd, they used to hang out together all the time, and they, uh, carved their name into this, uh, bench on a school trip… once…
- ↑ ALEX:
I think I remember that this well is supposed to be the first thing ever, uh, “built” or whatever on the island. Back in the 1600’s.
JONAS: It doesn’t have a sign or anything…
ALEX: It, uh, used to, I think. - ↑ JONAS:
Okay, that must be the way station. And… actually, help me understand, why would an island need anything like that anyway. Like, nobody’s going anywhere.
ALEX: Um, this was a… mining island… before the war. And the land, you know, as you can tell… it wasn’t really conducive to most different ways of transport, so they dug into the hills and laid down tracks and carted the coal by freight to the, uh, the pier for the boats. - ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 "Fort Milner was named in honor of Maj. Gen. Casey William Milner, who served during the Civil War. If pregnant, wear shoes inside, or else your baby will be born covered in hair." –Fort Milner's Steam Trading Card.
- ↑ ALEX: See that sign? They were originally gonna make this whole place into a museum… but quit halfway through.
- ↑ JONAS:
That is a very… serious sign. “Restricted.” “Keep Out.” They’re not messing around. Does the… the fine print says something about being shot?
ALEX: Eh, don’t worry about it. Kids do this all the time. The worst thing that happens is you snag yourself on a nail or something and have to get a tetanus shot. - ↑ Guided Tour Station#US Army RCS
- ↑ Maggie: Okay, if it’s anyone, please proceed to Station 3C and ask for Col. Sheer.
- ↑ "We successfully tuned in to the source of the temporal "tear," and spoke, albeit briefly, to Henry Griffin, an SOC Sergeant who died on the sub." –Adler Letter #10.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 "When people in the Comms Dept. begin transferring off, I was able to convince my higher ups - including, coincidentally, one eventual Army passenger onboard the Kanaloa, Henry Griffin - to bring Anna onboard as a replacement." –Adler Letter #7.
- ↑ "It was a job I grew increasingly uncomfortable with, but my keen interest in radio science had me pulling double duty as a comms officer. I remember one of the Kanaloa's engineers, Francis, calling me a "radio-woman." As far as he knew, it was my only job. –Adler Letter #2.
- Guided Tour Station
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 102.3: This ‘Data Command Annex’ [...] was used during the base’s early years as the communication nerve center for outside military installations. It was also the primary office of Marianne Bozek, [...] who developed [...] a type of radio frequency identification - ‘WAL’, standing for ‘Wave-Assisted Lock’ - assigned each person who was stationed at Fort Milner a call-sign, through which they could use their portable two-wave radios to unlock prescribed doors and gates.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 102.3: After 1890, the island was gifted to Colonel Caleb Edwards for his part in the American-Indian Wars, and he would lease it to several mining companies throughout the early 1900’s. [...] When Edwards died, the government saw a hole in national security at the outset of World War II and decided to take control of the island once again, founding Fort Milner in 1941.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 102.3: The USS Kanaloa was launched on January 15th, 1941, and commissioned into service at the end of that year under the command of Lieutenant James Earle Platman. On October 28th, 1943, it was sunk by the Japanese sub-chaser Tokisada some 25 miles off the coast of Washington and remains, to this day, the only submarine casualty in American waters.
- ↑ 102.3: Now, Edwards Forest is an internationally-recognized wildlife refuge and bird sanctuary, home to 120 bird species - most notably, the white-tailed towhee, a large sparrow indigenous to only this island.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 102.3: This early version of what would today be considered a ‘blast and fallout shelter’ was commissioned and built in 1946. [...] The lead blast door will only unlock through use of the ‘call-and-response’-system, a setup devised by Lieutenant-Commander Matthew Fineburg to prevent tampering. If the Catbird Station - a small watchpoint in Edwards Forest - radios in a decoded attack, the shelter door will automatically open, triggering an alarm and compulsory evacuation.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 102.3: This is the Sentry, sculpted by Lieutenant Peter Hasboro. It was installed here in 1979 to remind all who view it of Fort Milner’s original intent: to serve as a beacon of harbor defense. Though the base would eventually become acclaimed as the birthplace of many radio innovations during World War II, and until its deactivation would be known more for its schooling and the tragic sinking of the USS Kanaloa, the fort’s spirit will always be that of the watchful Sentry - steady, protective, and ever vigilant of enemies both foreign and domestic.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 102.3: When he was stationed at Fort Milner, Colonel Tim Russell would frequently wander the woods [...] After the fort closed in 1974, he led a petition to make the land federally protected, and in 1988, he succeeded. Now, Edwards Forest is an internationally-recognized wildlife refuge and bird sanctuary, home to 120 bird species—most notably, the white-tailed towhee [...] The roosting tree that stands before you is a 400-year-old Red Alder, famous since its discovery in 1655 when Franciscan friars noted that its unusually-twisted trunk is bent True North.
- ↑ 102.3: The Catbird Station was built to detect any enemy attempting a strike from the air. When operational, it was fully-outfitted with an SCR-271 antenna and an early version of OTH, which stands for ‘Over-The-Horizon’, a radar system used to detect targets at extreme distances. It was also the first check of the ‘call-and-response’ method. If a missile strike or airborne invasion was identified, a call would be sent from this station and, if the signal was found to be accurate, would trigger automatic safety measures and the evacuation of non-personnel.
- ↑ 102.3: Dredged by Franciscan friars, this freshwater well was never actually used, as the missionaries decided the island wouldn’t suit their ministering needs, and abandoned the project in 1852. It was utilized by Spanish pioneers for a while until it became a secondary resource for mining companies to get clean water. The US Navy ended up digging their own, more modern water pipeline, but servicemen and women would come here frequently for off-site meetings and day events.
- ↑ 102.3: This Relay Station served as the center of a makeshift railroad that carted coal to northern and southern piers.