Governors Island is a 172 acres (70 ha) island in Upper New York Harbor, approximately
one-half mile (1 km) from the southern tip of Manhattan Island and separated
from Brooklyn by Buttermilk Channel. It is part of the borough of Manhattan in
New York City. The island was expanded by approximately 82 acres (33 ha) of
landfill on its southern side when the Lexington Avenue subway was excavated in
the early 1900s.
First named by
the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block (who Block Island, RI is named after), it was
called Noten Eylant (and later
in pidgin language Nutten Island)
from 1611 to 1784. The island's current name—made official eight years after
the 1776 Declaration of Independence stems from British colonial times when the
colonial assembly reserved the island for the exclusive use of New York's royal
governors.
Defensive works
were raised on the island in 1776 by Continental Army troops during the
American Revolutionary War, and fired upon British ships before falling into
enemy hands. From 1783 to 1966, the island was a United States Army post. From
1966 to 1996 the island served as a major United States Coast Guard
installation.
Fort Jay, started
as a square four bastioned fort of earthworks and timber started in 1794 by the
state of New York on the site of the earlier earthworks. The sandstone gate
house topped with a sculpture of an eagle dates to that time and is the oldest
structure on the island. From 1806 to 1809, Fort Jay, by then renamed Fort
Columbus was reconstructed in more substantial brick and granite (giving the
fort its current five pointed star appearance) to better protect the fort's
north face facing Manhattan and to better direct cannon fire on to the East and
Hudson Rivers.
The second
fortification started in 1807 and completed in November 1811, was Castle
Williams. Located on a rocky shoal at the northwest corner of the island, it
was a circular fortification featuring a pioneering new design that could
project a 220 degree circular arc of cannon fire from a three levels of
casemates (bomb-proof rooms holding two cannons each) from 103 cannons on its
three levels and roof.
During the
American Civil War, , Castle Williams held Confederate prisoners of war and Fort
Jay held captured Confederate officers and spies. After the war, Castle
Williams was used as a military prison.
On January 19,
2001, Fort Jay and Castle Williams, two of the island's three historical
fortifications were proclaimed a National Monument. On January 31, 2003, 150
acres of the island was transferred to the State of New York for a nominal fee
of $1. The remaining (22 acres or 9 ha) was transferred to the United States
Department of the Interior as the Governors Island National Monument,
administered by the National Park Service.
The national
historic landmark district, approximately 92 acres (37 ha) of the northern half
of the island, is open to the public for several months in the summer and early
fall. Additionally the circumferential drive around the island is also open to
the public.
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