Gardiners Island
Encyclopedia
Gardiners Island is a small island
in the town of East Hampton
, New York
, in eastern Suffolk County
; it is located in Gardiners Bay
between the two peninsula
s at the eastern end of Long Island
. It is 6 miles (10 km) long, 3 miles (5 km) wide and has 27 miles (43 km) of coastline. It has been owned by the Gardiner family for nearly 400 years, and it is the only American
real estate still intact as part of an original royal grant from the English
Crown
. Although occasionally reported as the largest privately owned island in America or the world, it is not.
The island is 3318 acres (13 km²) approximately 5 square miles (12.9 km²), in size. It includes more than 1,000 acres (4 km²) of old growth forest
and another 1,000 acres (4 km²) of meadows. Many of the buildings date back to the 17th century. In 1989, the island was said to be worth $125 million.
The island has the largest stand of white oak
in the American Northeast. Other trees include swamp maple, wild cherry and birch
. The island is home to New York state's largest colony of osprey
s, and is one of the few locations in the world where they build their nests on the ground, as there are no natural predators to the osprey on the island.
Its structures include the oldest surviving wood-frame structure in New York state, a carpenter's shed built there in 1639, as well as a private airstrip on the south side of the island.
, the island was settled by Lion Gardiner
as a proprietary colony
, the first English colonial settlement
in what later became New York
state. The island was originally in its own jurisdiction, not part of Connecticut
or Rhode Island
, long before there was a state of New York. It has been privately owned by Gardiner's descendants for over three hundred and fifty years and is the only real estate in the United States still held by a royal grant from the English
Crown
.
Lion Gardiner reportedly purchased the island locally in 1639 from the Montaukett
Indians for "a large black dog, some powder and shot, and a few Dutch
blankets." The Indians called the island Manchonake, while Gardiner initially called it Isle of Wight, because it reminded him of the Isle of Wight
in England
. The Montauketts gave Gardiner title at least in part because of his support for them in the Pequot War
.
The original royal patent
of 1639 gave Gardiner the "right to possess the land forever", with the island being declared a proprietary colony
. Lion Gardiner was given the title of Lord of the Manor
and thus was able to govern the island.
On April 22, 1636, the King had ordered the Plymouth Colony
, which had laid claim to the island but had not settled it, to yield its claim to William Alexander
, future Earl of Stirling
. Alexander sold much of Long Island to the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, but that land remained unsettled.
On October 5, 1665, after it had been settled that the English, rather than the Dutch, would rule Long Island, and that it would not be part of Connecticut, Richard Nicolls
, the first Governor of the Province of New York
, issued a new patent to Lion Gardiner's son David Gardiner.
In 1688, when Governor Thomas Dongan
granted a patent formally establishing the East Hampton
government, there was an attempt to annex the Island to East Hampton. However, the Gardiners resisted and Dongan reaffirmed its special status. The island's special status was to continue until after the American Revolution
, when it was formally annexed to East Hampton.
Gardiner established a plantation
on the island for growing corn
, wheat
, fruit, and tobacco
, as well for raising livestock
.
William Kidd
buried treasure on the island in June, 1699, having stopped there while sailing to Boston to answer charges of piracy
. With the permission of the island's proprietor, Mrs. Gardiner, he buried $30,000 in treasure in a ravine between Bostwick's Point and the Manor House. For her trouble he gave her a length of gold cloth
(a piece of which is now at the East Hampton library) captured from a Moorish ship off Madagascar
, and a sack of sugar. Kidd warned that if the treasure was not there when he returned, he would kill the Gardiners, which was an idle threat. Kidd was to be tried in Boston, and Gardiner was ordered by Governor Bellomont
to deliver the treasure as evidence. The booty included gold dust, bars of silver, Spanish dollar
s, rubies, diamonds, candlesticks, and porringer
s. Gardiner kept one of the diamonds which he later gave to his daughter. A plaque on the island marks the spot where the treasure was buried, but it is on private property.
. However a fleet of thirteen British ships sailed into Cherry Harbor and began a process of foraging the island and its manor house at will and were to turn it into a private hunting preserve. Among the British guests were Henry Clinton
and John André
. At one point Major André and Gardiner's son Nathaniel Gardiner, who was a surgeon for the New Hampshire Continental Infantry, exchanged toasts on the island. Gardiner would later be the American surgeon who attended to André when he was executed after being caught spying with Benedict Arnold
.
Following the revolution, the island was formally brought under East Hampton town jurisdiction.
Robert Gardiner, the 16th proprietor of the island, inherited three Gardiner fortunes from his father, his uncle and his Aunt Sarah.
a British fleet of seven ships of the line and several smaller frigates anchored in Cherry Harbor and conducted raids on American shipping through Long Island Sound
. Crews would come ashore for provisions which were purchased at market prices. During one of the British excursions, Americans captured some of the crew. The British came to arrest then Lord of the Manor John Lyon Gardiner. Gardiner, who was a delicate man, adopted the "green room defense" where he stayed in a bed with green curtains surrounded by medicine to make him look feeble. The British, not wanting a sick man on board, let him be.
The British were to bury several personnel on the island. Some of the British fleet that burned Washington
assembled in the harbor in 1814.
Gardiner's supply boats were manned by slaves during the war and this made it easier for them to pass through British lines. Many of the Gardiner slaves were to live in the Freetown
, just north of East Hampton village
.
who was to become President John Tyler
's First Lady
was born on the island in 1820.
From 1854 to 1894, the island was the site of the Gardiners Island Lighthouse.
Gardiners Point Island is an island in Block Island Sound that was the former location of the Gardiner Island Lighthouse as well as Fort Tyler.
For many years the island was connected via a shoal to Gardiners Island and as such it is under the jurisdiction of East Hampton (town), New York. In 1851 the federal government purchased 14 acres (57,000 m2) on the peninsula from the Gardiners for $400[1] with the lighthouse first being lit in 1855 after a construction expenditure of $7,000.
The lighthouse was in 28-foot (8.5 m) square, 1½ story brick building and had a sixth order Fresnel Lens, fixed white light 33 feet (10 m) above sea level.
A March 1888 Nor'easter caused a break in the peninsula permanently turning the point into an island. Between 1890 and 1893 the island was shrinking at the rate of 10⅔ feet per year. On March 7, 1894 the lighthouse was abandoned and shortly afterwards fell into the ocean.[2]
A lighted buoy was then moored 1/4 miles northeast of the lighthouse.
During the Spanish-American War the War Department appropriated $500,000 to build the Fort Tyler battery on the island (named for former President John Tyler who had married Julia Gardiner Tyler who had been born on Gardiners Island).
The shifting sands caused problems for the fort as well and it was abandoned in the late 1920s. In 1921 its guns included Battery Edmund Smith, 2 - 8" Disappearing, 2 - 5" (or possibly 8") Pedestal[3][4]
In 1938 the island was declared a National Bird Refuge by Franklin Roosevelt and transferred to the Agriculture Department.[5]
During World War II the fort was used for target practice and was reduced to its present state where it is popularly called "The Ruins."
The state of New York briefly considered turning it into a park but it is deemed a navigational hazard because of the possibilities of unexploded ordnance. It is privately owned now.
Gardiner accused Alexandra of wanting to sell and develop the island. She accused him of not paying his share of the estimated $2 million per year upkeep and taxes of the island. Gardiner said he would not oppose ownership by the government or a private conservancy group. The case went to court in 1980 and Gardiner was initially barred from visiting the island, but in 1992, courts ruled that he could visit the island (although the Goelets and Gardiner were not on the island at the same time).
Gardiner, who claimed the title "16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner's Island" and lived in East Hampton
, married in 1961 but had no children, leaving him with no direct heir. However, if you trace the genealogy, it is found that a potential heir to the island is Nicholas James Youmans, who resides in the Mulford family bloodline. In 1989, Mr. Gardiner attempted to adopt a middle-aged Mississippi businessman, George Gardiner Green, Jr., as his "son." Green was a descendent of Lion Gardiner. Upon Gardiner's death in 2004, total ownership passed to Alexandra. Shortly before Gardiner's death he said:
The Goelets offered to place a conservation easement
on the island in exchange for a promise from the town of East Hampton not to rezone the land, change its assessment or attempt to acquire it by condemnation. The Goelets and East Hampton agreed upon the easement through 2025.
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the town of East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, in eastern Suffolk County
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
; it is located in Gardiners Bay
Gardiners Bay
Gardiners Bay is a small arm of the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 10 mi long and 8 mi wide in the U.S. state of New York between the two flukelike peninsulas at the eastern end of Long Island...
between the two peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
s at the eastern end of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. It is 6 miles (10 km) long, 3 miles (5 km) wide and has 27 miles (43 km) of coastline. It has been owned by the Gardiner family for nearly 400 years, and it is the only American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
real estate still intact as part of an original royal grant from the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
. Although occasionally reported as the largest privately owned island in America or the world, it is not.
Geography
Old growth forest
An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...
and another 1,000 acres (4 km²) of meadows. Many of the buildings date back to the 17th century. In 1989, the island was said to be worth $125 million.
The island has the largest stand of white oak
White oak
Quercus alba, the white oak, is one of the pre-eminent hardwoods of eastern North America. It is a long-lived oak of the Fagaceae family, native to eastern North America and found from southern Quebec west to eastern Minnesota and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. Specimens have been...
in the American Northeast. Other trees include swamp maple, wild cherry and birch
Birch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
. The island is home to New York state's largest colony of osprey
Osprey
The Osprey , sometimes known as the sea hawk or fish eagle, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. It is a large raptor, reaching more than in length and across the wings...
s, and is one of the few locations in the world where they build their nests on the ground, as there are no natural predators to the osprey on the island.
Its structures include the oldest surviving wood-frame structure in New York state, a carpenter's shed built there in 1639, as well as a private airstrip on the south side of the island.
First English settlement in New York
In 1639, on the basis of a grant by King Charles ICharles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, the island was settled by Lion Gardiner
Lion Gardiner
Lion Gardiner , an early English settler and soldier in the New World, founded the first English settlement in what became the state of New York on Long Island. His legacy includes Gardiners Island, which is held by his descendants.-Early life:...
as a proprietary colony
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....
, the first English colonial settlement
English colonial empire
The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....
in what later became New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state. The island was originally in its own jurisdiction, not part of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
or Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, long before there was a state of New York. It has been privately owned by Gardiner's descendants for over three hundred and fifty years and is the only real estate in the United States still held by a royal grant from the English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
Crown
The Crown
The Crown is a corporation sole that in the Commonwealth realms and any provincial or state sub-divisions thereof represents the legal embodiment of governance, whether executive, legislative, or judicial...
.
Lion Gardiner reportedly purchased the island locally in 1639 from the Montaukett
Montaukett
The Montaukett is an Algonquian-speaking Native American group native to the eastern end of Long Island, New York and one of the thirteen historical indigenous centers...
Indians for "a large black dog, some powder and shot, and a few Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
blankets." The Indians called the island Manchonake, while Gardiner initially called it Isle of Wight, because it reminded him of the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Montauketts gave Gardiner title at least in part because of his support for them in the Pequot War
Pequot War
The Pequot War was an armed conflict between 1634–1638 between the Pequot tribe against an alliance of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, and Saybrook colonies who were aided by their Native American allies . Hundreds were killed; hundreds more were captured and sold into slavery to the West Indies. ...
.
The original royal patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
of 1639 gave Gardiner the "right to possess the land forever", with the island being declared a proprietary colony
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....
. Lion Gardiner was given the title of Lord of the Manor
Lord of the Manor
The Lordship of a Manor is recognised today in England and Wales as a form of property and one of three elements of a manor that may exist separately or be combined and may be held in moieties...
and thus was able to govern the island.
On April 22, 1636, the King had ordered the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
, which had laid claim to the island but had not settled it, to yield its claim to William Alexander
William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling was a Scotsman who was an early developer of Scottish colonisation of Port Royal, Nova Scotia and Long Island, New York...
, future Earl of Stirling
Earl of Stirling
Earl of Stirling was a title in the Peerage of Scotland created on 14 June 1633, along with the titles Viscount Canada and Lord Alexander of Tullibody, for William Alexander, 1st Viscount Stirling. He had already been created Viscount of Stirling and Lord Alexander of Tullibody on 4 September 1630...
. Alexander sold much of Long Island to the New Haven and Connecticut colonies, but that land remained unsettled.
On October 5, 1665, after it had been settled that the English, rather than the Dutch, would rule Long Island, and that it would not be part of Connecticut, Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls
Richard Nicolls was the first English colonial governor of New York province....
, the first Governor of the Province of New York
Province of New York
The Province of New York was an English and later British crown territory that originally included all of the present U.S. states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Vermont, along with inland portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine, as well as eastern Pennsylvania...
, issued a new patent to Lion Gardiner's son David Gardiner.
In 1688, when Governor Thomas Dongan
Thomas Dongan, 2nd Earl of Limerick
Thomas Donegan, 2nd Earl of Limerick was a member of Irish Parliament, Royalist military officer during the English Civil War, and governor of the Province of New York...
granted a patent formally establishing the East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
government, there was an attempt to annex the Island to East Hampton. However, the Gardiners resisted and Dongan reaffirmed its special status. The island's special status was to continue until after the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, when it was formally annexed to East Hampton.
Gardiner established a plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
on the island for growing corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, fruit, and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
, as well for raising livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
.
Captain Kidd
The privateerPrivateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
William Kidd
William Kidd
William "Captain" Kidd was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer...
buried treasure on the island in June, 1699, having stopped there while sailing to Boston to answer charges of piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
. With the permission of the island's proprietor, Mrs. Gardiner, he buried $30,000 in treasure in a ravine between Bostwick's Point and the Manor House. For her trouble he gave her a length of gold cloth
Cloth of gold
Cloth of gold is a fabric woven with a gold-wrapped or spun weft - referred to as "a spirally spun gold strip". In most cases, the core yarn is silk wrapped with a band or strip of high content gold filé...
(a piece of which is now at the East Hampton library) captured from a Moorish ship off Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, and a sack of sugar. Kidd warned that if the treasure was not there when he returned, he would kill the Gardiners, which was an idle threat. Kidd was to be tried in Boston, and Gardiner was ordered by Governor Bellomont
Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont
Richard Coote, 1st Earl of Bellomont , known as The Lord Coote between 1683 and 1689, was a member of the English Parliament and a colonial governor...
to deliver the treasure as evidence. The booty included gold dust, bars of silver, Spanish dollar
Spanish dollar
The Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...
s, rubies, diamonds, candlesticks, and porringer
Porringer
A porringer is a small dish from which Europeans and colonial Americans ate their gruel or porridge, or other soft foods.Porringers were shallow bowls, between 4" to 6" in diameter, and 1½" to 3" deep; the form originates in the medieval period in Europe and they were made in wood, ceramic, pewter...
s. Gardiner kept one of the diamonds which he later gave to his daughter. A plaque on the island marks the spot where the treasure was buried, but it is on private property.
American Revolution
The Gardiners sided with the colonists during the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. However a fleet of thirteen British ships sailed into Cherry Harbor and began a process of foraging the island and its manor house at will and were to turn it into a private hunting preserve. Among the British guests were Henry Clinton
Henry Clinton (American War of Independence)
General Sir Henry Clinton KB was a British army officer and politician, best known for his service as a general during the American War of Independence. First arriving in Boston in May 1775, from 1778 to 1782 he was the British Commander-in-Chief in North America...
and John André
John André
John André was a British army officer hanged as a spy during the American War of Independence. This was due to an incident in which he attempted to assist Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York to the British.-Early life:André was born on May 2, 1750 in London to...
. At one point Major André and Gardiner's son Nathaniel Gardiner, who was a surgeon for the New Hampshire Continental Infantry, exchanged toasts on the island. Gardiner would later be the American surgeon who attended to André when he was executed after being caught spying with Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
.
Following the revolution, the island was formally brought under East Hampton town jurisdiction.
1947 to Today
The current manor house was built some time after 1947 by Sarah Diodati Gardiner, who was descended from Lion Gardiner the First in three ways. The previous manor house was built by David Gardiner in 1774 and was burned to the ground in 1947, it was thought after a guest fell asleep while smoking. Valuable antiques were destroyed in this fire, while the caretaker saved his own life by jumping from a window. Sarah Gardiner erected a new 28-room manor house in the Georgian style. She died in 1953, still unmarried, at the age of ninety. She was a multimillionaire and left the island estate to her nephew, Robert David Lion Gardiner and his sister, Alexandra Gardiner Creel. They took possession of the island at the expiration of Sperry Rand's lease in 1963.Robert Gardiner, the 16th proprietor of the island, inherited three Gardiner fortunes from his father, his uncle and his Aunt Sarah.
War of 1812
During the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
a British fleet of seven ships of the line and several smaller frigates anchored in Cherry Harbor and conducted raids on American shipping through Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
. Crews would come ashore for provisions which were purchased at market prices. During one of the British excursions, Americans captured some of the crew. The British came to arrest then Lord of the Manor John Lyon Gardiner. Gardiner, who was a delicate man, adopted the "green room defense" where he stayed in a bed with green curtains surrounded by medicine to make him look feeble. The British, not wanting a sick man on board, let him be.
The British were to bury several personnel on the island. Some of the British fleet that burned Washington
Burning of Washington
The Burning of Washington was an armed conflict during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following...
assembled in the harbor in 1814.
Gardiner's supply boats were manned by slaves during the war and this made it easier for them to pass through British lines. Many of the Gardiner slaves were to live in the Freetown
Freetown (East Hampton)
Freetown is an area in East Hampton , New York originally inhabited by freed slaves and Native Americans.East Hampton in the early 19th century was lightly populated and one of the biggest slave holders were descendents of Lion Gardiner who owned Gardiner's Island...
, just north of East Hampton village
East Hampton (village), New York
The Village of East Hampton is a village in Town of East Hampton, New York. It is located in Suffolk County, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island...
.
Birthplace of First Lady Julia Gardiner Tyler
Julia GardinerJulia Gardiner Tyler
Julia Gardiner Tyler , second wife of John Tyler, was First Lady of the United States from June 26, 1844, to March 4, 1845.-Early life:...
who was to become President John Tyler
John Tyler
John Tyler was the tenth President of the United States . A native of Virginia, Tyler served as a state legislator, governor, U.S. representative, and U.S. senator before being elected Vice President . He was the first to succeed to the office of President following the death of a predecessor...
's First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
was born on the island in 1820.
Gardiners Point Lighthouse and Fort Tyler
Gardiners Point Island is an island in Block Island Sound that was the former location of the Gardiner Island Lighthouse as well as Fort Tyler.
For many years the island was connected via a shoal to Gardiners Island and as such it is under the jurisdiction of East Hampton (town), New York. In 1851 the federal government purchased 14 acres (57,000 m2) on the peninsula from the Gardiners for $400[1] with the lighthouse first being lit in 1855 after a construction expenditure of $7,000.
The lighthouse was in 28-foot (8.5 m) square, 1½ story brick building and had a sixth order Fresnel Lens, fixed white light 33 feet (10 m) above sea level.
A March 1888 Nor'easter caused a break in the peninsula permanently turning the point into an island. Between 1890 and 1893 the island was shrinking at the rate of 10⅔ feet per year. On March 7, 1894 the lighthouse was abandoned and shortly afterwards fell into the ocean.[2]
A lighted buoy was then moored 1/4 miles northeast of the lighthouse.
During the Spanish-American War the War Department appropriated $500,000 to build the Fort Tyler battery on the island (named for former President John Tyler who had married Julia Gardiner Tyler who had been born on Gardiners Island).
The shifting sands caused problems for the fort as well and it was abandoned in the late 1920s. In 1921 its guns included Battery Edmund Smith, 2 - 8" Disappearing, 2 - 5" (or possibly 8") Pedestal[3][4]
In 1938 the island was declared a National Bird Refuge by Franklin Roosevelt and transferred to the Agriculture Department.[5]
During World War II the fort was used for target practice and was reduced to its present state where it is popularly called "The Ruins."
The state of New York briefly considered turning it into a park but it is deemed a navigational hazard because of the possibilities of unexploded ordnance. It is privately owned now.
Challenges to Private Ownership
Owing to the high cost of upkeep, in 1937, the island was put up for sale but was bought at the last minute by a relative, Sarah Diodati Gardiner, for $400,000. Upon her death in 1953, the island passed in trust to her nephew, Robert David Lion Gardiner, and his sister, Alexandra Gardiner Creel. Their aunt had also set aside a trust fund for upkeep of the island, but it was exhausted by the 1970s. When Creel died, her rights passed to her daughter, Alexandra Creel Goelet. The two were to have a highly publicized dispute over ownership and direction of the island.Gardiner accused Alexandra of wanting to sell and develop the island. She accused him of not paying his share of the estimated $2 million per year upkeep and taxes of the island. Gardiner said he would not oppose ownership by the government or a private conservancy group. The case went to court in 1980 and Gardiner was initially barred from visiting the island, but in 1992, courts ruled that he could visit the island (although the Goelets and Gardiner were not on the island at the same time).
Gardiner, who claimed the title "16th Lord of the Manor of Gardiner's Island" and lived in East Hampton
East Hampton (town), New York
The Town of East Hampton is located in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, at the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island. It is the easternmost town in the state of New York...
, married in 1961 but had no children, leaving him with no direct heir. However, if you trace the genealogy, it is found that a potential heir to the island is Nicholas James Youmans, who resides in the Mulford family bloodline. In 1989, Mr. Gardiner attempted to adopt a middle-aged Mississippi businessman, George Gardiner Green, Jr., as his "son." Green was a descendent of Lion Gardiner. Upon Gardiner's death in 2004, total ownership passed to Alexandra. Shortly before Gardiner's death he said:
We have always married into wealth. We've covered all our bets. We were on both sides of the Revolution, and both sides of the Civil War. The Gardiner family always came out on top.
The Goelets offered to place a conservation easement
Conservation easement
In the United States, a conservation easement is an encumbrance — sometimes including a transfer of usage rights — which creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a landowner and a government agency or a qualified land...
on the island in exchange for a promise from the town of East Hampton not to rezone the land, change its assessment or attempt to acquire it by condemnation. The Goelets and East Hampton agreed upon the easement through 2025.
See also
- Block IslandBlock IslandBlock Island is part of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and is located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately south of the coast of Rhode Island, east of Montauk Point on Long Island, and is separated from the Rhode Island mainland by Block Island Sound. The United States Census Bureau defines Block...
- Carpenter's Shed on Gardiners IslandCarpenter's Shed on Gardiners IslandA carpenter's shed built in 1639, on Gardiners Island in New York is allegedly the oldest surviving wooden structure built in New York and was purportedly built when Lion Gardiner first settled on the island....
- Fishers IslandFishers IslandFishers Island, approximately 9 miles long and 1 mile wide, is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 2 miles off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound...
- Gardiners Island WindmillGardiners Island WindmillGardiners Island Windmill is a historic windmill on Gardiners Island in East Hampton, New York.The windmill was built in 1795 and added to the National Historic Register in 1978.-External links:...
- Gardiners Point IslandGardiners Point IslandGardiners Point Island is an island in Block Island Sound that was the former location of the Gardiner Island Lighthouse as well as Fort Tyler....