Shooters Island is a uninhabited island at the southern end of

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, ...

, off the North Shore of

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The boundary between the states of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

runs through the island, with a small portion on the north end of the island belonging to the cities of

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine r ...

and Elizabeth in New Jersey and the rest being part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City.

Early history

In colonial times Shooters Island was used as a hunting preserve. During the Revolutionary War,

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

used the island as a drop-off point for messages, and the place became a haven for spies.

Shipyard

Jane Moseley 1873 renamed Minerva 1911-1932

Minerva ex Jane Moseley (Vessel 53) in boat basin at Shooters Island, circa 1936

The first shipyard on Shooters Island was created in 1860 by David Decker. From 1898 until 1910, the island was home to a major shipyard, the Townsend-Downey Shipbuilding Company.

Theodore E. Ferris Theodore Ernest Ferris (August 17, 1872 – May 30, 1953) was an American naval architect and engineer responsible for the "Ferris Designs" used by the US Emergency Fleet Corporation, of the United States Shipping Board, during World War I. Earl ...

, who later designed the eponymous ships used by the American government in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, was an employee of the firm. Around this time it was also home to the Standard Shipbuilding Company, which bought the island in 1915. The entire island was occupied by buildings, including a foundry, pattern shop, and offices. There were major docks and shipways that faced to the east. Contrary to a previous report, President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

did not go hunting on this industrial island. The Townsend-Downey Company built a yacht, , for Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. Its launch in February 1902 was attended by many hundreds of spectators, including Pres. Theodore Roosevelt and Prince Henry of Prussia.

Alice Roosevelt Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and socialite. She was the eldest child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his only child with his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Lo ...

, the president's daughter, christened the boat.

Thomas Alva Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventi ...

sent a cameraman who made one of the first news movies of the event. It is available online from the Library of Congress. The next day a reception was held at the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

for Mr. Downey and representatives of the German Government. The following year the fast three-masted

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

was launched at the yard. In 1905, it raced across the Atlantic and won the Kaiser's cup and set a record for the crossing under sail which stood unbroken for almost 90 years. Another famous vessel built on Shooter's Island was , built for the Carnegie Institution of Washington for use in magnetic surveys in the Pacific Ocean. The brigantine yacht was named after industrialist and philanthropist

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...

, who was a friend of Mr. Downey. It was built entirely of wood and nonmagnetic metals so as not to interfere with magnetic measurements. The island came under the control of the Tidewater Oil Company in 1903. In 1905, the eight building plant and its 33 acres were purchased by the

Colonial Trust Company Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 a ...

for $516,000. At the time, the shipyard was valued at two million dollars. The island was used for industrial and shipbuilding operations through 1922. Abandoned vessels began to accumulate around the perimeter of the island by 1930.

Bird sanctuary

Neglected during much of the later 20th century, the island has been made an official

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. Pattrice Jones, co-founder of VINE Sanctuary defines an animal sanctuary as "a safe-enough place or relationship within the cont ...

, partially to discourage the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

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 is an arch bridge spanning the Kill Van Kull and connecting Bayonne, New Jersey with Staten Island in New York City. It carries New York State Route 440 (NY 440) and New Jersey Route 440. It is the sixth-longes ...

between Staten Island and

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As ...

. The remains of the once active shipyard are still present, but diminishing every year. Shooters Island began to support nesting

wading birds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

and

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari (bird), Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders ...

in the early 1970s. At its peak in 1995, the island supported 400 nesting pairs of

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

egrets Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...

and 121 nesting pairs of double-crested

. The island is now owned by the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and is maintained by

New York City Department of Parks and Recreation The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolo ...

as a bird sanctuary.Parsons, K. and B. Wright. 1995. Aquatic Birds of New York Harbor: 1995 Management Report. Unpublished report. New York City Audubon, New York, NY.

References

External links

NYC Audubon Harbor Herons ProjectHarbor Herons Nesting Survey
recent reports on wading bird, cormorant, and gull nesting activity at and around Shooters Island
History of Shooters Island
* * * * * {{authority control Landforms of Hudson County, New Jersey Landforms of Union County, New Jersey Historic American Engineering Record in New York (state) Uninhabited islands of New Jersey Islands of New York City Borders of New Jersey Borders of New York (state) Islands of Staten Island Protected areas of Staten Island Nature reserves in New York (state) Nature reserves in New Jersey Coastal islands of New Jersey

Early history

Shipyard

Bird sanctuary

See also

References

External links