City Island is a mile-long

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 ...

in the

Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...

between

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

and

Wormleysburg, Pennsylvania Wormleysburg is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,070 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle Metropolitan Statistical Area. Wormleysburg is served by West Shore School Di ...

in the United States. It is used mainly for leisure and sports activities. Its previous names have included Turkey Island, Maclay's Island, Forster's Island and Hargast Island. The island can be reached from either side of the Susquehanna River by Market Street Bridge or, from the Harrisburg side and by pedestrians and cyclists only, by Walnut Street Bridge.

History

The island contains archaeological remains of the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock, also known as the Conestoga, Minquas, and Andaste, were an Iroquoian Peoples, Iroquoian people who lived in the lower Susquehanna River watershed in what is now Pennsylvania. Their name means “people of the muddy river.” T ...

s and the

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

tribes, who at one time established seasonal settlements here. During the initial development of Harrisburg, the island was only able to be reached by boat or fording in low waters, until 1817 when the Camelback Bridge, site of the present-day Market Street Bridge, was completed. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Camp Necessity was formed on City Island in 1863 for Union troops to stage additional defense as

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

troops threatened invasion of the area during the Gettysburg Campaign. Then in 1865, Camp Keystone was formed on the island, as

Camp Curtin Camp Curtin was a major Union Army training camp in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, during the American Civil War. It was located north of Pennsylvania's state capitol building on 80 acres of what had previously been land used by the Dauphin County ...

was overflowing with returning troops. IslandPark1910

Though originally used for

truck farming A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to so ...

, amateur games of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

were played here as early as the 1880s. In 1903, the Harrisburg Athletics professional baseball team and

Harrisburg Giants The Harrisburg Giants were a U.S. professional Negro league baseball team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. History Originally formed in April 1890 by Colonel William "C.W." Strothers as an amateur team, they became s ...

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

arrived at Island Park on City Island.

Satchel Paige Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige (July 7, 1906 – June 8, 1982) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction in ...

played games at Island Park through the Negro leagues, which were held on the island through 1957. The original Harrisburg Senators played in the Eastern League starting in 1924. Playing its home games at Island Field, the team won the league championship in the 1927, 1928, and 1931 seasons.

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

famously played a game at Island Park in 1928 when the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

came to Harrisburg to scrimmage against the original Senators. The Senators played a few more seasons before flood waters destroyed Island Field in 1936, effectively ending Eastern League participation for fifty-one years. In 1940, Harrisburg gained an Interstate League team affiliation with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

. However, the team remained in the city only until 1943, when it moved to nearby

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and renamed the York Pirates. With the onset of the

City Beautiful Movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...

in the 1900s, the City Island Filtration Plant was constructed. The plant drew water from the river, filtered it into concrete reservoirs (which now define the edge of the

Skyline Sports Complex Skyline Sports Complex is a sports complex/stadium on City Island, along the Susquehanna River, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The original structure was built in 1987 and is adjacent to FNB Field. The complex/stadium hosts numerous events annu ...

), and pumped it by tunnel laid under the river to the Old Waterworks at Front and North Streets, which then pumped the water to the reservoirs up in Reservoir Park. The Flood of 1972 resulting from

Hurricane Agnes Hurricane Agnes was the List of costliest Atlantic hurricanes, costliest hurricane to hit the United States at the time, causing an estimated $2.1 billion in damage. The hurricane's death toll was 128. The effects of Agnes were widespread, ...

destroyed the Filtration Plant, leaving the DeHart Dam to supply water to the city. By the 1980s, concerts were held in the old field leftover from athletic events, such as

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

(July 12, 1989) and

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

(June 22, 1983 and June 23, 1984). However, part of the field which was used for concerts would become the new Riverside Stadium (now

FNB Field FNB Field is a baseball park in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on City Island (Pennsylvania), City Island in the Susquehanna River. It is the home field of the Harrisburg Senators, the Double-A (baseball), Double-A Eastern League (1938–present), Eas ...

) in 1987.

Layout and attractions

The Market Street Bridge spans across the southern area of the island, under which are the parking areas. Most of the attractions are on the northern area of the island, where roads wind around the island. The island is the site of

, the home of the

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team who play in the Eastern League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The team is based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and play their home games at FNB Field on Cit ...

minor baseball team, and the former home of

Penn FC Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of th ...

, a professional soccer team. It also features the

, which is the home of the Central Penn Piranha, a semi-professional football team which belongs to the North American Football League. The complex is open year-round to the public, and provides a multi-purpose sports field, sand volleyball courts, and a fitness center. The island also provides family-based amusements such as the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

City Island Railroad
/ref> City Island Railroad (complete with a

Crown Metal Products Crown Metal Products was a manufacturer of railroad rolling stock based in Wyano, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Ken Williams in 1946 and initially sold pot cleaners and then electric fence wires and other products. In 1959, the compan ...

steam locomotive),

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

, ''

Pride of the Susquehanna ''Pride of the Susquehanna'' is a diesel-powered paddle-wheel riverboat owned and operated by the Harrisburg Area Riverboat Society non-profit, moored at City Island, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on the Susquehanna River during its annual operationa ...

'' paddle-wheel riverboat, horse-drawn carriage rides,

miniature golf Miniature golf (also known as minigolf, putt-putt, crazy golf, and by #Nomenclature, several other names) is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest ...

, a replica of John Harris Sr.'s fur-trading post, a riverside village-style playground, three boat

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

s, and a concrete beach.

Events

The island is home to many events, including Harrisburg's Independence Day Celebration, Kipona Festival, Cultural Fest, Harrisburg Marathon,

Armed Forces Day An Armed Forces Day, alongside its Military branch, branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the Military, armed forces, o ...

, Penguin Plunge and others.

Canceled projects

City Island was the proposed location of: * A

CorridorOne Capital Red Rose Corridor, formerly known as Corridor One (corporately styled CORRIDOR''one''), was a proposal for commuter rail service in South Central Pennsylvania, United States, between Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg and Lancaster, P ...

regional rail Regional rail is a public transport, public rail transport service that operates between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops than inter-city rail, and unlike commuter rail, operate beyond the limits of urban areas, connectin ...

station (removed from the project in 2006). * The National Sports Hall of Fame (canceled in 2009).

References

{{authority control Parks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Neighborhoods in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Geography of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Landforms of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania River islands of Pennsylvania Islands of the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania Islands of Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania