Swinburne Island is the smaller of two artificial island

Artificial island

An artificial island or man-made island is an island or archipelago that has been constructed by people rather than formed by natural means...

s located in the Lower New York Bay

Lower New York Bay

Lower New York Bay is that section of New York Bay south of the Narrows, the relatively narrow strait between the shores of Staten Island and Brooklyn. The southern end of the bay opens directly to the Atlantic Ocean between two spits of land, Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and Rockaway, Queens, on Long...

 east of South Beach, Staten Island

South Beach, Staten Island

South Beach is the name of a neighborhood located on the East Shore of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City, USA. It is situated immediately to the south of the Staten Island side of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge...

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History

The island was created in 1860. Along with Hoffman Island

Hoffman Island

Hoffman Island is one of two small artificial islands in the Lower New York Bay, off South Beach, Staten Island. A smaller island, known as Swinburne Island, lies immediately to the south....

, it was used to quarantine

Quarantine

Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....

 immigrants to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 in the early 20th century who were found to be carrying contagious diseases upon arrival at Ellis Island

Ellis Island

Ellis Island in New York Harbor was the gateway for millions of immigrants to the United States. It was the nation's busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954. The island was greatly expanded with landfill between 1892 and 1934. Before that, the much smaller original island was the...

. The island was used for the last cholera

Cholera

Cholera is an infection of the small intestine that is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea and vomiting. Transmission occurs primarily by drinking or eating water or food that has been contaminated by the diarrhea of an infected person or the feces...

 outbreak in the United States in 1910-1911. Swinburne was the second built, about a mile south of the earlier island and has a crematorium. The island was originally called Dix Island, but was renamed in honor of Dr. John Swinburne (1820–1899), a military surgeon during the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

. At the start of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the United States Merchant Marine

United States Merchant Marine

The United States Merchant Marine refers to the fleet of U.S. civilian-owned merchant vessels, operated by either the government or the private sector, that engage in commerce or transportation of goods and services in and out of the navigable waters of the United States. The Merchant Marine is...

 used both islands as a training station (which opened in 1938); the Quonset hut

Quonset hut

A Quonset hut is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel having a semicircular cross section. The design was based on the Nissen hut developed by the British during World War I...

s built during this period still stand. The island is now managed by the National Park Service

National Park Service

The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

 as part of the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway National Recreation Area

Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...

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External links

• "...to the New York Islands" at Forgotten NY
• NYC Audubon Harbor Herons Project
  • Harbor Herons Nesting Survey -recent reports on wading bird, cormorant, and gull nesting activity at Swinburne Island
• Picture of abandoned building on Swinburne Island - June 2006
• A Satellite Photo of the two islands