Davids Island (New York)
Geography | |
---|---|
Location | Long Island Sound |
Coordinates | 40°53′00″N 73°46′13″W / 40.883417°N 73.770231°W |
Area | 78 acres (32 ha) |
Administration | |
United States | |
State | New York |
County | Westchester County |
City | New Rochelle |
Davids Island is a 78-acre (320,000 m2) island off the coast of New Rochelle, New York, in Long Island Sound. Currently uninhabited, it was previously the site of Fort Slocum. The island is home to the endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle, and birds such as osprey and least terns.[1] Davids Island also supports valuable wetlands, rare rocky intertidal areas, and sandy beaches. The waters surrounding the island are home to winter flounder, Atlantic herring, and Atlantic silverside.[2]
Etymology
The name is often given as "David Hawk's" or "David Hawk" Island, but neither is correct. The island is named after its next-to-last civilian owner before the Army acquired it: New York City ink manufacturer and Westchester County resident Thaddeus Davids. It was first leased (1861–1867), then owned (1867–1965), by the U.S. government, and was known as "Davids Island Military Reservation" until it was renamed "Fort Slocum" on July 1, 1896. Previously, it had been named after other owners and was called successively Bouteillier's, Rodman's, Myer's, Treadwell's, Hewlett's, Allen's, and Morse's Island.[citation needed]
Historical uses
During the last periods before European explorers and colonists arrived,
From colonial times to the mid-19th century, Davids Island was one of many small islands off the north shore of Long Island Sound used for farming and pasturing animals. Permanent Euro-American occupation of Davids Island began with the arrival of
By the middle of the 19th century, summertime steamboat excursions to New Rochelle gave city dwellers from New York City and Brooklyn a chance to escape the urban crowds and grime for a few hours. Davids, Neptune, and Glen Islands were all regular stops for excursion steamers.[5]
In November 1856, ink manufacturer Thaddeus Davids purchased the island, after which time the island took his name. Davids had intended to move his factory to the island but never did so. In 1862, he leased the island to Simeon Leland, a prominent hotelier, who then subleased it to the
A ferry connection was established from Neptune Island, under the control of Simeon Leland. At the end of the war, Congress authorized the island's purchase for military purposes, and it was conveyed to the United States in 1867. From this date, the federal government operated its own ferry to and from Neptune Island.[6] In July 1878 Davids Island was made a principal depot of the U.S. Army General Recruiting Service, taking over this assignment from Governors Island. This marked the beginning of the installation's longstanding mission as a recruitment and training center.
It was later converted to a
At the start of the 20th century, the island had become the
In April 1951, the U.S. Army Chaplain School was relocated to Fort Slocum,[12][13] and became the main tenant on the base until 1962. Four Army ferry boats were used to connect the base to the mainland. The two larger boats, FB-901 and FB-902 carried passengers, cars, and tractor trailer trucks from the mainland to the island. The two smaller boats carried passengers only, and no vehicles. The two smaller boats were also used for occasional excursions, including taking troops and their families to the 1964 N.Y. World Fair in Queens.
In the mid-1960s, Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara conducted a highly publicized study to identify Army, Navy and Air Force bases that could be closed or consolidated to try to save money. Fort Slocum was a victim of that study. Fort Slocum was deactivated on November 30, 1965. During the decades that followed, the facilities of the former Army post were neglected and deteriorated severely.
Redevelopment
In 1967, the city of New Rochelle purchased Davids Island, initially using it for the site of a summer camp for New Rochelle youth. During the summers of 1967 and 1968, David's Island was the site for two conferences sponsored by Up With People. In 1968, Consolidated Edison (Con Ed) purchased the island for three million dollars, with a view to building a nuclear power plant there. Con Ed dropped these plans in 1973 and resold the island to New Rochelle in 1976, for $1.[14] In 1977, following ten years of neglect, New Rochelle designated the island, with its remnants of Fort Slocum, as an urban renewal area.
Xanadu Properties Associates proposed to redevelop Davids Island in 1981. Their plans included the construction of a bridge, breakwater for an 800-boat marina, and 2,000 luxury condominium units. However, because of the grand scale of Xanadu's plans, the proposed development was highly controversial among the public. In 1987, a conservation group called Save Davids Island for the Citizens, comprising neighboring property owners and concerned Westchester County residents, formed to oppose Xanadu. Further opposition came from state officials concerned about the potential lack of general public access to shoreline areas. In 1992, the city of New Rochelle opted not to extend Xanadu's status as the designated developer for Davids Island and instead sought new proposals. In response, developer Donald Trump briefly pursued the opportunity to redevelop the island, but the plans were cancelled while still preliminary.[citation needed]
The ruins of Fort Slocum continued to occupy Davids Island into the beginning of the 21st century and were among the factors complicating redevelopment of the island. Beginning in 2004, however, Congress appropriated funds to remove the ruins through a Defense Department program that assists communities in reusing former defense facilities. During the summer of 2008, the city of New Rochelle demolished all remaining structures on the island, including the iconic water tower on the northern end of the island, with plans to turn the island into a park.
Gallery
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Western view of island
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View of island from Glen Island
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View of Davids Island, 1900
See also
- Hart Island, Bronx
- List of Civil War POW Prisons and Camps
References
- ^ "Citizens Campaign for the Environment". Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ "1_narrows". Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ Bell, Blake E. "Historic Pelham". Archaeological Survey Underway on Davids Island Reportedly Uncovers Evidence of Native American Occupation.
- ^ "Digital Archives". The Army's Century on Davids Island. Westchester County Historical Society. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
- )
- ^ Army Appropriation Bill, 1921: Hearings Before Subcommittee No. 1 of the Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives, Sixty-sixth Congress, U.S. Government, page.322
- ^ Coastal Defense Study Group
- ^ "Fort Slocum". Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ "Joe McCusker's Air Force Base List". Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ "Nike Battery NY-15, Fort Slocum, NY". Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ "Hart Island Nike Base History". Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ^ Redden, Kevin (April 10, 2021). "Army Chaplain School At Fort Slocum". YouTube - Army Chaplain School at Ft. Slocum. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021.
- ^ Redden, Kevin. "N.Y. Times Article". N.Y. Times Archive.
- ^ History of Westchester County, Scharf, Vol I., pp. 450-453
External links
- Citizens Campaign for the Environment page about Davids Island Archived August 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- Saving Davids Island: An Activist History
- Michael Cavanaugh's Fort Slocum page
- Historic Pelham blog entry, including entire text of a September 11, 1862, The New York Times article about the soldiers hospital on Davids Island
- "A Blast from the Past", Archived January 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine by Tito Rosario, Ft. Slocum Brat 1962 to 1965