Penikese Island
Encyclopedia
Penikese Island is a 75 acres (303,514.5 m²) island off the coast of Massachusetts
, United States
, in Buzzards Bay
. It is one of the Elizabeth Islands
, which make up the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts
. Penikese is located near the west end of the Elizabeth island chain.
Penikese Island enters the historical record in 1602 AD when the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold
and some of his crew visited the island. Their visit frightened four visiting Wampanoag Indians into hiding, and the explorers stole their canoe.
Originally tree covered, at some later time the tree cover was lost, and the island was later used for pasturing sheep. To this day, it remains primarily grass covered. Owned by several successive owners, it eventually became owned by a businessman named John Anderson who used it for vacationing.
In early 1873, Louis Agassiz
, the famous Swiss-American naturalist, persuaded Anderson to give him the island as a site for and $50,000 to endow a school for natural history where students would study nature instead of books. The school opened in July 1873, initially headed by Louis Agassiz. Following his death in December, his son Alexander Agassiz
ran the school. The school was closed following a fire in 1875, but some of the former students opened in 1888 the Marine Biological Laboratory
, in nearby Woods Hole.
In 1904, following local opposition
to two previously selected sites on the mainland, the state of Massachusetts purchased the island for $25,000 to use as a leprosy hospital
to isolate and treat all Massachusetts residents with the disease. When opened, it had five patients. After being open for 16 years, it was closed in 1921 and the thirteen patients were transferred to the federal leprosy hospital in Carville, Louisiana
. At the closing of the hospital, the state burnt and then dynamited the buildings, and all that remains of it is a small cemetery.
The island remains under the ownership of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is primarily a bird sanctuary. There is no permanent population on the island. A residential school for special-needs juvenile boys located on the island, opened in 1973, so at any time there will be school staff and some students on the island. There may also be visitors and researchers, as the island is publicly owned and is still used at times for biological research. Beginning in 1990, the island was used as a test site for efforts to reintroduce the endangered American Burying Beetle, which appears to have succeeded as by 1997 the population had persisted for at least five generations since the last release.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, in Buzzards Bay
Buzzards Bay (bay)
Buzzards Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean adjacent to the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It is approximately 28 miles long by 8 miles wide. It is a popular destination for fishing, boating, and tourism. Since 1914, Buzzards Bay has been connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal...
. It is one of the Elizabeth Islands
Elizabeth Islands
The Elizabeth Islands are a chain of small islands extending southwest from the southern coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts in the United States. They are located at the outer edge of Buzzards Bay, north of Martha's Vineyard from which they are separated by Vineyard Sound, and constitute the town of...
, which make up the town of Gosnold, Massachusetts
Gosnold, Massachusetts
Gosnold is a town that encompasses the Elizabeth Islands in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town population was 75, making it the least populous town in Massachusetts...
. Penikese is located near the west end of the Elizabeth island chain.
Penikese Island enters the historical record in 1602 AD when the English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold
Bartholomew Gosnold
Bartholomew Gosnold was an English lawyer, explorer, and privateer, instrumental in founding the Virginia Company of London, and Jamestown, Virginia, United States...
and some of his crew visited the island. Their visit frightened four visiting Wampanoag Indians into hiding, and the explorers stole their canoe.
Originally tree covered, at some later time the tree cover was lost, and the island was later used for pasturing sheep. To this day, it remains primarily grass covered. Owned by several successive owners, it eventually became owned by a businessman named John Anderson who used it for vacationing.
In early 1873, Louis Agassiz
Louis Agassiz
Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz was a Swiss paleontologist, glaciologist, geologist and a prominent innovator in the study of the Earth's natural history. He grew up in Switzerland and became a professor of natural history at University of Neuchâtel...
, the famous Swiss-American naturalist, persuaded Anderson to give him the island as a site for and $50,000 to endow a school for natural history where students would study nature instead of books. The school opened in July 1873, initially headed by Louis Agassiz. Following his death in December, his son Alexander Agassiz
Alexander Emanuel Agassiz
Alexander Emmanuel Rodolphe Agassiz , son of Louis Agassiz and stepson of Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, was an American scientist and engineer.-Biography:...
ran the school. The school was closed following a fire in 1875, but some of the former students opened in 1888 the Marine Biological Laboratory
Marine Biological Laboratory
The Marine Biological Laboratory is an international center for research and education in biology, biomedicine and ecology. Founded in 1888, the MBL is the oldest independent marine laboratory in the Americas, taking advantage of a coastal setting in the Cape Cod village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts...
, in nearby Woods Hole.
In 1904, following local opposition
NIMBY
NIMBY or Nimby is an acronym for the phrase "not in my back yard". The term is used pejoratively to describe opposition by residents to a proposal for a new development close to them. Opposing residents themselves are sometimes called Nimbies...
to two previously selected sites on the mainland, the state of Massachusetts purchased the island for $25,000 to use as a leprosy hospital
Leper colony
A leper colony, leprosarium, or lazar house is a place to quarantine leprous people.-History:Leper colonies or houses became widespread in the Middle Ages, particularly in Europe and India, and often run by monastic orders...
to isolate and treat all Massachusetts residents with the disease. When opened, it had five patients. After being open for 16 years, it was closed in 1921 and the thirteen patients were transferred to the federal leprosy hospital in Carville, Louisiana
Carville, Louisiana
Carville is a neighborhood of St. Gabriel in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States that is 16 miles south of Baton Rouge on the Mississippi River. Carville is the hometown of political personality James Carville and was named after his grandfather, the postmaster. It is also the location of...
. At the closing of the hospital, the state burnt and then dynamited the buildings, and all that remains of it is a small cemetery.
The island remains under the ownership of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is primarily a bird sanctuary. There is no permanent population on the island. A residential school for special-needs juvenile boys located on the island, opened in 1973, so at any time there will be school staff and some students on the island. There may also be visitors and researchers, as the island is publicly owned and is still used at times for biological research. Beginning in 1990, the island was used as a test site for efforts to reintroduce the endangered American Burying Beetle, which appears to have succeeded as by 1997 the population had persisted for at least five generations since the last release.