Shooters Island
Encyclopedia
Newark Bay
Newark Bay is a tidal bay at the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers in northeastern New Jersey. It is home to the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal, the largest container shipping facility in Port of New York and New Jersey, 3rd largest and one of busiest in the United States...
, along the north shore of Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
. The boundary between the states of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
runs through the island, with a small portion on the north end of the island belonging to the cities of Bayonne
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
and Elizabeth
Elizabeth, New Jersey
Elizabeth is a city in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 124,969, retaining its ranking as New Jersey's fourth largest city with an increase of 4,401 residents from its 2000 Census population of 120,568...
in New Jersey and the rest being part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Early history
In colonial times Shooter’s Island was used as a hunting preserve. During the Revolutionary War, George WashingtonGeorge Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
used the island as a drop-off point
Dead drop
A dead drop or dead letter box is a method of espionage tradecraft used to pass items between two individuals by using a secret location and thus does not require them to meet directly. Using a dead drop permits a Case Officer and his Agent to exchange objects and information while maintaining...
for messages, and the place became a haven for spies.
Shipyard
From about 1900 until 1910 it was a major shipyard, the Townsend-Downey Shipbuilding Company. The entire island was occupied by buildings, foundry, pattern shop, offices etc. There were major docks and shipways that faced to the east. Contrary to a previous report, President Theodore RooseveltTheodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
did not go hunting on this industrial island.
The Townsend-Downey Company built a yacht, The Meteor III for Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. It was launched at Shooters Island in February 1902 and was accompanied by many hundreds of spectators. Thomas Alva Edison sent a cameraman who made one of the first news movies
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
in US history of the event. It is available online from the Smithsonian. Along with this event in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed Prince Henry of Prussia to Shooters Island, as shown in footage in the Library of Congress. Alice Roosevelt
Alice Roosevelt Longworth
Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth was the oldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. She was the only child of Roosevelt and his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee....
christened the boat and her father Teddy was there as well. The next day a reception was held at the White house for Mr. Downey and representatives of the German Government.
The following year saw the launching of one of the fastest and most famous sailing vessels in history, the three-masted schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
Atlantic. In 1905 it raced across the Atlantic and won the Kaiser's cup and set the record for the crossing under sail, which stood unbroken for almost 90 years. Another famous vessel built on Shooters Island was the Carnegie
Carnegie (ship)
The Carnegie was a brigantine yacht, equipped as a research vessel, constructed almost entirely from wood and other non-magnetic materials to allow sensitive magnetic measurements to be taken for the Carnegie Institution's Department of Terrestrial Magnetism. She carried out a series of cruises...
, named after Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
who was a friend of Mr. Downey. It was built for scientific research and constructed of wood with no iron or steel that would cause magnetic anomalies. All fastenings and metal parts were of bronze, which is not magnetic.
The island later came under the control of the Tidewater Oil Company
Bird sanctuary
Unmaintained during much of the later 20th century, the island has been made an official bird sanctuary, partially to discourage the United States Army Corps of EngineersUnited States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
who wanted to blow up the island to ease navigation by vessels coming down from Port Newark. It has begun to disintegrate into Newark Bay. The island and decayed remnants of old piers are visible to users of the Bayonne Bridge
Bayonne Bridge
The Bayonne Bridge is the fourth longest steel arch bridge in the world, and was the longest in the world at the time of its completion. It connects Bayonne, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York, spanning the Kill Van Kull. Despite popular belief, it is not a national landmark.The bridge was...
between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne, New Jersey
Bayonne is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is a peninsula that is situated between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east...
. The remains of the once active shipyard are still present, but diminishing every year.
Shooters Island began to support nesting wading birds, cormorants and gulls in the early 1970s. At its peak in 1995, the island supported 400 nesting pairs of herons, egrets, ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
and 121 nesting pairs of double-crested cormorants. The island is now owned by the City of New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and is maintained by New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation
The City of New York Department of Parks & Recreation is the department of government of the City of New York responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecological diversity of the city's natural areas, and furnishing recreational opportunities for city's...
as a bird sanctuary.
External links
- NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Project
- Harbor Herons Nesting Survey, recent reports on wading bird, cormorant, and gull nesting activity at and around Shooters Island