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Governors Island

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"Governors Island National Historic Landmark District" redirects here. For the national monument, see
Governors Island National Monument. For other uses, see Governors Island (disambiguation).

Governors Island

Paggank

Noten Eylandt

Nutten Island

Governors Island from One World Observatory 2017.jpg

Governors Island viewed from One World Trade Center

Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap

Location in New York City

Etymology

"Paggank" and "Noten Eylandt" from nut trees

"Governors Island" from New York colonial governors

Geography

Location New York Harbor

Coordinates 40°41′29″N 74°0′58″W

Area 172 acres (70 ha)

Highest elevation 70 ft (21 m)

Highest point Outlook Hill

Administration
United States

State New York

City New York City

Borough Manhattan

Demographics

Population 0[1] (2010)

Additional information

Time zone

Eastern (UTC−5)

• Summer (DST)

EDT (UTC−4)

ZIP code 10004

Official website The Trust for Governors Island website

The Governors Island National Monument website

Governors Island

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

U.S. National Monument

NYC Landmark #1946

Location New York City, New York, U.S.

Coordinates 40°41′29″N 74°0′58″WCoordinates: 40°41′29″N 74°0′58″W

Area 172 acres (70 ha)

Architectural style Colonial Revival, Greek Revival

Visitation 800,000 (2018)

NRHP reference # 85002435

NYCL # 1946

Significant dates

Added to NRHP February 4, 1985[3]

Designated NHL February 4, 1985[4]

Designated NMON January 19, 2001[5]

Designated NYCL June 18, 1996[2]

Governors Island is a 172-acre (70 ha) island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of
Manhattan. It is located approximately 800 yards (732 m) south of Manhattan Island, and is separated
from Brooklyn to the east by the 400-yard-wide (370 m) Buttermilk Channel. The National Park Service
administers a small portion of the north of the island as the Governors Island National Monument,
including two former military fortifications named Fort Jay and Castle Williams. The Trust for Governors
Island operates the remaining 150 acres (61 ha), including 52 historic buildings, as a public park. About
103 acres (42 ha) of the land area is fill, added in the early 1900s to the south of the original island.

The native Lenape originally referred to Governors Island as Paggank ("nut island"). The name was
translated into the Dutch Noten Eylandt, then Anglicized into Nutten Island, before being renamed
Governor's Island by the late 18th century. The island's use as a military installation dates to 1776,
during the American Revolutionary War, when Continental Army troops raised defensive works on the
island. From 1783 to 1966, the island was a United States Army post, serving mainly as a training ground
for troops, though it also served as a strategic defense point during wartime. The island then served as a
major United States Coast Guard installation until 1996. Following its decommissioning as a military
base, there were several plans for redeveloping Governors Island; it was sold to the public for a nominal
sum in 2003, and opened for public use in 2005.

Governors Island has become a popular seasonal destination open to the public between May and
September, attracting more than 800,000 visitors per year as of 2018. In addition to the 43-acre (17 ha)
public park, Governors Island includes free arts and cultural events, as well as recreational activities. The
island can only be accessed by ferries from Brooklyn and Manhattan.

Contents
1 Etymology

2 History

2.1 Colonial period

2.2 American Revolution

2.3 Late 18th through 19th centuries

2.3.1 Late 18th century to War of 1812

2.3.2 Mid-19th century and Civil War

2.4 Army operation in the 20th century

2.4.1 Expansion and World War I

2.4.2 Mid-20th century

2.4.3 Infrastructure

2.4.4 Decommissioning

2.5 Coast Guard operation

2.6 Redevelopment

2.6.1 Early proposals

2.6.2 Early redevelopment efforts and construction

3 Geography

4 Notable structures

4.1 Fortifications

4.2 Open landscapes

4.2.1 Northern portion

4.2.2 Southern portion

4.3 Other structures

4.3.1 Residential
4.3.2 Religious

4.3.3 Office and storage

4.3.4 Service structures

4.4 Monuments

5 Operations

5.1 Management

5.1.1 National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy

5.1.2 Trust for Governors Island

5.1.3 Friends of Governors Island

5.2 Working dogs

6 Activities

6.1 Recurring activities

6.2 Events

7 Public access

7.1 History

7.2 Current services

8 Notable people

9 See also

10 References

10.1 Notes

10.2 Sources

11 External links

Etymology
The native Lenape referred to the island as Paggank,[6][7] Pagganck,[8] or Pagganack.[9][10]:9 All of
these names literally translated to "Nut Island", likely in reference to the many chestnut, hickory, and
oak trees on the island.[6][9][10]:9 The Dutch explorer Adriaen Block called it Noten Eylandt, a
translation,[6][7] and this was Anglicized into Nutten Island, a name that continued to be used until the
late 18th century.[8] The name "Governor's Island", with an apostrophe, stems from the British colonial
era, when the colonial assembly reserved the island for the exclusive use of New York's royal
governors.[11] The current name without an apostrophe was made official in 1784.[8]

History

Colonial period

Aerial view of the original island

Governors Island was initially much smaller than it is today. It originally contained multiple inlets along
its shoreline, as well as groves of hardwood trees, from which the island's native name is derived.[12]
There is insufficient evidence as to whether Governors Island contained any permanent Lenape
settlements, or was used mainly for hunting and gathering.[9] In 1524, Giovanni da Verrazzano was the
first European to observe what was then called Paggank, becoming the first European in record to do
so.[13] Exactly one hundred years later, in May 1624, Noten Eylandt was the landing place of the first
settlers in New Netherland. They had arrived from the Dutch Republic with the ship New Netherland
under the command of Cornelius Jacobsen May, who disembarked on the island with thirty families in
order to take possession of the New Netherland territory.[14] For this reason, the New York State
Senate and Assembly recognize Governors Island as the birthplace of the state of New York, and also
certify the island as the place on which the planting of the "legal-political guaranty of tolerance onto the
North American continent" took place.[15]

In 1633, the fifth director of New Netherland, Wouter van Twiller, arrived with a 104-man regiment on
Noten Eylandt, and later commandeered the island for his personal use.[9] He secured his farm by
drawing up a deed on June 16, 1637, which was signed by two Lenape leaders, Cacapeteyno and
Pewihas, on behalf of their community at Keshaechquereren, situated in present-day New
Jersey.[16][13] Van Twiller cultivated a farm on the island, even building a windmill on the land, until he
returned to the Netherlands in 1642.[9] The windmill was demolished possibly by 1648, when colonial
governor Peter Stuyvesant burned it down after seeing it in inoperable condition.[17] Following this,
Noten Eylandt is said to have been used as a recreation ground by the Dutch between 1652 and
1664.[11] There is little other documentation on the use of the island during the Dutch colonial period,
other than the fact that it has remained in public ownership since van Twiller left New Netherland.[12]
New Netherland was conditionally ceded to the English in 1664, and the English renamed the settlement
New York in June 1665.[18][12] By 1674, the British had total control of the island.[19][13] At this point,
the eastern shore of the island was separated from Brooklyn by a shallow channel that could be easily
traversed at low tide. This became known as Buttermilk Channel, since women would use the channel to
travel to Manhattan island and sell buttermilk.[11] By 1680, Nutten Island contained a single house and
pasture to be used by colonial governors.[11]

The British started calling Nutten Island "Governor's Island" (with an apostrophe) in 1698 and reserved
the island for the exclusive use of colonial governors.[20][11][21] Four years later, when Edward Hyde,
Lord of Cornbury took office as New York colonial governor, he built a mansion on Governor's Island,
though evidence of this mansion no longer exists.[12][11] Later, governor William Cosby used the island
as a preserve to breed and hunt pheasants.[12][22] Other governors leased out the island for profit,[20]
and for a short period around 1710, Governor's Island was designated as a quarantine station for
refugees.[21] Otherwise, Governor's Island mostly remained untouched until the American
Revolutionary War started in 1775.[12][23]