Charles Island is a 14-acre (57,000 m²)

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

located roughly 0.5 mile (1 km) off the coast of

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

, in

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

centered at . Charles Island is accessible from shore via a

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

(locally referred to as a sandbar), which is exposed at low tide. According to early local histories, the Sachem Ansantawae resided there during the summer months. European discovery of the island occurred in 1614 when

Adriaen Block Adriaen Courtsen Block (c. 1567 – 27 April 1627) was a Dutch private trader, privateer, and ship's captain who is best known for exploring the coastal and river valley areas between present-day New Jersey and Massachusetts during four voyages ...

sailed through and mapped

. The island appears on his hand-drawn map found in The Netherlands National Archives.

Access

Though an island during high

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

, during low tide it is accessible by foot using a rocky

that stretches from the beach to the island. Visitors are cautioned about the strong undertow and twice-daily flooding of the sandbar as a result of the tides. Currently (2005) the crossing window is at least two hours. However, Milford locals note that earlier in the 20th century the window was much greater, but

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

has reduced the size and width of the island and sandbar. Access to Charles Island via the sandbar is closed from dates including May 1 to August 31 to protect the bird population per sign posted and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Kayakers paddling on the side of the island not facing the Connecticut shore can be surprised by the wind and rougher waves, according to a spokesman for the Milford Fire Department. At about 2 a.m. on September 6, 2009, a 22-year-old kayaker went missing after his boat capsized. Another man with him swam to safety, but after more than a month, the victim's body had not been found.

History

Originally known as Poquehaug, after the area was settled by the English in 1639 the island was referred to as Milford Island. After Charles Deal bought the island in 1657 it became known as Charles Island. Deal made a failed attempt to raise tobacco on the island – one of the first such efforts in Connecticut. The WPA History of Milford indicates that Captain

William Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in N ...

visited Milford in 1699 when he was en route to Boston (where he was subsequently arrested for piracy and murder). Before Kidd's arrival in Boston, he off-loaded and buried treasure on

Gardiners Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, New York (state), New York, in Eastern Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiners Bay, Gardiner's Bay between the two penins ...

off the eastern tip of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. The treasure was retrieved after his arrest but questions remain as to whether all the treasure was in that cache and whether he may have buried more of it along Long Island Sound. In 1835, the first permanent residence was constructed on the island by John Harris. After his death the island was owned by several different owners and in 1852 it was purchased by Elizur Pritchard of

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

who turned the large house into a summer resort known originally as Charles Island House and later as Ansantawae House. After the Civil War the resort closed and the island was leased to the George Miles Company as a base for their fish fertilizer operations. In 1884, the island was briefly considered as a location for the first clubhouse of American Yacht Club. After the Miles Company left the island it was relatively unused until the 1927 when the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

arranged for the construction of facilities for religious retreats on the island, which began in July, 1929. The Aquinas Retreat consisted of a chapel, small cabins for the retreatants, a central dining hall and religious shrines located along paths throughout the island. The retreat closed in the late 1930s and the island went up for sale in 1938. Some of the remnants of the retreat buildings remain on the island.

Modern era

The State of Connecticut now owns the island and it is part of

Silver Sands State Park Silver Sands State Park is a public recreation area located on Long Island Sound in the city of Milford, Connecticut, Milford, Connecticut. The state park consists of of beach, dunes, restored salt marsh, open areas and woods as well as the b ...

. It is designated a Natural Area Preserve for the local bird population of

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

s and

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 ...

White-tail deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known Common name, commonly as the whitetail and the Virginia deer, is a medium-sized species of deer native to North America, North, Central America, Central and South America. It is the ...

were common, but the estimated 16 deer on the island were hunted by the Department of Environment Protection (now the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection) in February 2011 to protect the nesting birds. The waters around the island have

bluefish The bluefish (''Pomatomus saltatrix'') is the only extant species of the family Pomatomidae. It is a marine pelagic fish found around the world in temperate and subtropical waters, except for the northern Pacific Ocean. Bluefish are known as ta ...

, snapper blues, sand sharks, and

horseshoe crab Horseshoe crabs are arthropods of the family Limulidae and the only surviving xiphosurans. Despite their name, they are not true crabs or even crustaceans; they are chelicerates, more closely related to arachnids like spiders, ticks, and scor ...

s. The waters west of the island have been a site for

oyster farming Oyster farming is an aquaculture (or mariculture) practice in which oysters are bred and raised mainly for their pearls, shells and inner organ tissue, which is eaten. Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Rome, ancient Romans as early as the ...

since 2013, in an area of approximately .

References

External links

* New England Site.com.
The Curse of Charles Island, Charles Island History
.
Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
{{authority control Coastal islands of Connecticut Milford, Connecticut Landforms of New Haven County, Connecticut Long Island Sound Tidal islands of the United States

Access

History

Modern era

Further reading

References

External links