Governors Island in New York Harbor

Source: Historical and Military Records

Governors Island, from the early days of Dutch | Street at the close of the day often sailed over to rule in New York down to the present, has always the island to watch the races or sit on the veranda been a government reservation. It is egg shaped of the hotel. Those were in the days before the and lies half a mile south of the tip of Manhattan military took over the island. It was in 1784 that Island and is reached by a small ferry, operated Governor George Clinton leased the island to a by the government. To the Indians, the island Dr. Price, who laid out the race track and built the In 1730 the island was ceded to the city was Pagganack, translated by the Dutch to Nutten, hotel. the names meaning "the land where the nut trees and seventy years later title was turned over to the Federal government, which established a miligrow." tary post. During the Civil War many Confederate prisoners were held on the island and only two were known to have escaped. It was in 1878 that the island was named headquarters of the. Department of the East by General Hancock and The Second since then has been an Army post. Corps Area Headquarters and the 16th Infantry, together with certain miscellaneous troops are now (Aug. 1940) located on Governors Island (Fort Jay).

The island was purchased from the Indians by Wouter Van Twiller, a governor of New Netherland, and his Council in 1637 and the price was $1.65. The island at that time was 100 acres in extent, but the tides of Buttermilk Channel, between the island and Brooklyn, washed away about forty acres. In 1903 the Army reclaimed part of the island and extended the area of the post to 103 acres. The present area is 173 acres and the city estimated the value of the bare island at more than $7,000,000.

The title Governors Island originated in 1698 when the victorious English designated it as part of the Denizen of His Majesty's Fort at New York for the benefit of His Majesty's Governors. The American army razed the English governor's residence in 1785 and it was replaced in 1801 by Fort Jay, named for John Jay, an early American statesman. In 1806, the fort was renamed Columbus, but in 1904 Elihu Root, then Secretary of War, restored the original name. Two other interesting structures on the island are Castle Williams, built in 1807 by Colonel Jonathan Williams, Engineers Corps, and South Battery, constructed in 1813 as part of the harbor defense of New York City.

At one time the island had a race track and was a fashionable summer resort for New Yorkers. Stock brokers and other businessmen of Wall

The island has barracks, a theater and a polo field, where contests are staged. In August, 1938, Generals House, the residence of commanding generals at Governors Island, had its history made a matter of army record a century after its foundations were laid in the last general order issued by Major Gen. Frank McCoy. The foundations of this dwelling were laid in 1838 and the building was completed in 1840. In 1887 an addition to the then square building was made and later the sloping roof was raised and supoprted by columns. Little was done except for routine maintenance until 1936, when the building was restored with WPA funds. Pilasters and moldings, doorway and window frames and sills, as well as floors and wall color schemes, were copied exactly as possible. Modern appliances and fixtures were installed. Restoration was completed in 1937.

Fort Wadsworth, Staten Island, is on the south side of The Narrows. Facing it, on the north side of the Narrows, is Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.

Fort Slocum is on David's Island, two miles south of New Rochelle.

Fort Schuyler is on Throgg's Neck, Bronx Borough.

Fort Totten, Queens Borough, is 2 miles from Whitestone.

The

Statue of Liberty on Bedloe's Island

Source: An Official of the National Monument.

The Statue of Liberty (a National Monument) on Bedloe's Island, New York Harbor, Hudson County, New Jersey, was first proposed soon after the Civil War by a group of Frenchmen led by E. de Laboulaye. They commissioned one of their number, Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, sculptor, of Alsace, (born 1834, died 1904), to do the work. The U. S, Congress (Feb. 22, 1877) authorized President Hayes to set apart a site on the island, which Bartholdi, on a visit, had suggested. A committee was formed (1874) to raise funds. In France, 180 cities, 40 general councils, many societies and thousands of people contributed $350,000. In the United States, by the aid of "The World," $300,000 was raised for the pedestal.

The head of the Statue was completed for the Paris Exposition (1878). The forearm had been sent to America and shown at the Centennial ExThence it was position, Philadelphia, (1876). transferred to Madison Square, New York City, where it remained until 1884; then returned to France to be placed on the completed Statue. The framework and base were put in place (Oct. 24, 1881) in Paris, Levi P. Morton, the American Am

bassador, driving the first rivet. The Statue was finished (1883) M. De Lesseps, President of the French Committee, officially presented the Statue to Ambassador Morton (July 4, 1884). The cornerstone of the pedestal was laid on Bedloe's Island. (Aug. 5, 1884) and the French vessel, Isere, from Rouen, France, landed the Statue in New York City (June, 1885). The work of putting the parts together was begun (May, 1886). The Statue was dedicated October 28, 1886.

The Statue weighs 450,000 pounds (225 tons); the copper alone weighs 200,000 pounds, and is 3-32 of an inch thick; 40 persons can stand in the head. The public is not admitted to the torch. The number of steps in the Statue from the top of the pedestal to the head is 168; the number of rungs in the ladder in the uplifted right arm, 54. The pedestal of the Statue is 89 feet in height and 62 feet at the base.

Liberty carries in her left arm, pressed against her side, a book representing the Law, which has on it the date, in block letters (July 4, 1776) as meaning Liberty based on Law.

DIMENSIONS OF THE STATUE

A large outline map on the upper elevator landing and skyline charts on the balcony enable the visitors to identify the landmarks and skyscrapers of New York. The Statue is visited by 400,000 visitors in a year. A charge of five cents each way in the elevator (up or down) to the feet of Statue was put in effect (1939). The estimate for maintenance in 1942 was $44,410.

Bedloe's Island is reached by a ferry from The Battery. The Island lies 2,950 yards southwest from the Battery. It was named for Isaac Bedloe,

The Harbor of New York

Source: Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, as of June 30, 1941; depths are at mean low water

New York Bay is the principal navigable entrance to New York City. It is divided into two parts, the Lower Bay and the Upper Bay, by the Narrows, a passage about five-eighths of a mile wide at its narrowest part. The entrance to the Lower Bay is between Sandy Hook on the south and Rockaway Point on the north and is about five miles wide. The Upper Bay extends from the Narrows to the Battery. The principal entrance channels to the Harbor of New York are the Ambrose Channel and the Main Ship-Bayside-Gedney Channel.

Ambrose Channel, which is the newer and more important channel, was completed to a depth of 40 feet on April 17, 1914. It has a comparatively straight course in a north-westerly and then northerly direction from deep water in the ocean through the Lower Bay. It is 10 miles in length and 2,000 feet in width. The River and Harbor Act of August 26, 1937, authorized a modification of the Federal project to provide a depth of 45 feet throughout the channel. The mean range of tide is about 4.7 feet.

Main Ship-Bayside-Gedney Channel is the route formerly used by deep-draught vessels and is now used as an auxiliary channel for vessels and barges in tow. It extends westward past Sandy Hook and then northward through the Lower Bay for a total length of 11.5 miles.

Bayside-Gedney Channel, 35 feet deep and 800 feet wide, is the entrance from the Sea to Raritan Bay via Seguine Point Channel, which is part of the New York and New Jersey Channels. Main Ship Channel has a controlling depth of 30 feet and a nominal width of 1,000 feet.

The Anchorage Channel, in the Upper Bay, has a comparatively straight course in a northerly and then northeasterly direction from deep water in the Narrows off 91st St., Brooklyn, through the Upper Bay to and opposite the lower end of Governors Island. It is about 4.5 miles in length and 2,000 feet in width and has a controlling depth of about 40 feet. The River and Harbor Act of August 26, 1937 authorized a modification of the Federal project to provide a depth of 45 feet throughout the full width of channel. The mean range of tide is about 4.7 feet.

Within the harbor there are several channels connecting the different sections. Bay Ridge, Red Hook and Buttermilk Channels lie along the Brooklyn shore of the Upper Bay and form an easterly channel that extends from the Narrows to East River and is separated from Anchorage Channel by a broad shoal off Gowanus Bay and by Governors Island. By means of these channels the extensive terminals of the Bush Terminal Co. and the New York Dock Co., as well as the municipal terminals in South Brooklyn, are directly accessible for large ships and have easy communication with the other sections of the inner harbor.

Bay Ridge Channel has a controlling depth of 40 feet, varying in width from 800 to 1,750 feet from the entrance in the Narrows to Red Hook Channel which latter has a controlling depth of 37 feet for a width of 500 feet to Buttermilk Channel.

The combined length of these channels is about 4.5 miles and the mean range of tide is about 42 feet.

Buttermilk Channel extends northeasterly from the Upper Bay southwest of Governors Island to the East River northeast of Governors Island and is about 2.5 miles in length. The easterly 500 feet of its 1000 foot width is 40 feet deep for the length of the channel. The mean range of tide is 4.5 feet.

waterfront; the removal of a shoal on the New York side between West 19th Street and West 61st Street to a depth of 40 feet; and the removal of an obstruction north of the mouth of Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the depth of the surrounding bottom.

A channel 40 feet deep for practically the full width of the river exists south of West 59th Street. The Weehawken-Edgewater channel is 27 feet deep from W. 59th St. to W. 122d St., thence 22 feet to the upper end of the channel for widths varying from 500 to 750 feet. The mean range of tide at the Battery is 4.4 feet and opposite W. 129th St.. Manhattan, 3.8 feet.

The East River is a tidal strait about 16 miles long and from 600 to 4,000 feet wide, exclusive of bays and estuaries, and extends from the Battery in New York City to Throgs Neck at the head of Long Island Sound. The river separates the Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx from the Boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn.

From the Battery to the Brooklyn Navy Yard a channel 40 feet deep and 1,000 feet wide has been completed. Thence to Hell Gate the channel of 35 feet depth is 500 to 1,000 feet wide through Hell Gate 35 feet deep and 600 feet wide; thence to Long Island Sound at Throgs Neck 35 feet deep and 700 to 1,000 feet wide. The mean range of tide in the East River is 4.4 feet at the Battery, 4 feet at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, 6.3 feet at the east entrance to Hell Gate, and 7.1 feet at Throgs Neck.

Harlem River and Spuyten Duyvil Creek together form a waterway about 8 miles in length, which extends from the East River to the Hudson River

and separates the Borough of Manhattan from the Borough of the Bronx. The East River entrance to the Harlem River is about 81⁄2 miles by water northeast of the Battery, and the Hudson River entrance to Spuyten Duyvil Creek is about 131⁄2 miles by water north of the Battery. The improved channel in Harlem River has been dredged to a width of 350 to 400 feet and a depth of 15 feet.

Bronx River is a short and narrow stream that empties into a shallow bay or estuary on the East River at Hunts Point, about 11 miles northeast of the Battery. The navigable portion of the river consists of a channel extending from its mouth to a dam at East 177th Street. This channel is about 212 miles long and from about 50 to 200 feet wide and has a depth of 10 feet and width of 100 feet in the lower section, extending from the East River up to Westchester Avenue. Work of extending this channel to E. 174th St. is in progress. Above E. 174th St. the depth varies from 1 to 4.5 feet. The mean range of tide in the Bronx River is about 7 feet in the estuary and 6 feet at the dam.

Westchester Creek is a small stream lying wholly within the limits of the City of New York. This stream extends northward from an estuary in the north shore of East River about 14 miles northeast of the Battery. The estuary is about 1 mile nel, about 2.6 miles long, is 12 feet deep and from long and from 500 to 3,000 feet wide. The chan60 to 100 feet wide. The mean range of tides is about 7 feet.

East Chester Creek is a shallow stream that empties into East Chester Bay, on the north shore of Long Island Sound, about 12 miles west of the Connecticut State line and about 21 miles northeast of the Battery. The lower two miles of the navigable portion of this stream lie wholly within the limits of the City of New York. The United States project is substantially completed and provides for a channel 8 feet deep and 150 to 70 feet wide from Long Island Sound to a point about 300 feet above the Fulton Avenue Bridge, a total length of about 4.7 miles.

The Hudson (North) River empties into Upper New York Bay at the Battery, the southernmost point of Manhattan Island. The width of the river between established pierhead lines is 3,670 feet at the Battery and gradually decreases to 2,770 feet between Castle Point, N. J., and West 14th Street, New York City, and 2,800 feet opposite West 59th Street, and increasing to 4,400 feet at the entrance to Harlem River (Spuyten Duyvil Creek). The United States project provides for a channel 45 feet deep and 2,000 feet wide from deep water in the Upper Bay to West 40th Street, Manhattan; thence 48 feet deep and the same width to West 59th Street, and for a channel 40 feet deep for the full width of the river from West 59th Street. Manhattan to the south side of Little Basin, Jersey City and thence a channel of the same depth to deep water off Ellis Island; a channel 750 feet wide and 30 feet deep along the Weehawken-Edgewater | tide is about 6.8 feet.

Flushing Bay is on the north shore of Long Island about 12 miles from the Battery. The bay is about 1 mile wide and 2 miles long. Flushing Creek which flows into the head of the bay, is a tidal stream navigable for a distance of about 1.2 miles from its mouth. Under the United States project there have been provided: a channel 12 feet deep and 200 feet wide from the East River to the mouth of the creek, thence 10 feet deep and 200 feet wide to the Northern Boulevard Bridge, thence 7 feet deep and 200 to 160 feet wide to the Long Island Railroad Bridge at Main Street, a branch channel, and a maneuvering area 12 feet deep, and an anchorage area 8 feet deep outside the municipal boat basin. The mean range of the

Newark Bay Channel to the Jersey Central Railroad Bridge, thence 30 feet deep and 300 feet wide to a point 2,000 feet north of the Lackawanna Railroad Bridge, thence 12 feet and 200 feet wide to Little Ferry; then 12 feet deep and 150 feet wide to the New York & Susquehanna & Western Railroad bridge, a total length of 16.5 miles.

DESCRIPTION OF THE HARBOR-Continued ON THE BROOKLYN SIDE Newtown Creek, a tidal arm of the East River, separates the Boroughs of Queens and Brooklyn for a distance of about 4 miles. Newtown Creek channel has a width of 130 feet and a controlling mean low water depth of 20 feet to about 150 feet north of Maspeth Avenue, thence 16 feet to the entrance to English Kills, and thence 12 feet to Metropolitan Avenue on the East Branch. English Kills, the depth is 16 feet from its mouth to Metropolitan Avenue and thence to 80 feet north of Montrose Avenue, 8 feet. Dutch Kills, a tributary entering the creek from the north about onehalf mile above Vernon Avenue Bridge, has a controlling depth of 13 feet. The total length of navigable channel in the creek is about 5 miles; and in Dutch Kills about one-half mile. The mean range of tide is 4.2 feet.

In

as

Wallabout Channel is a chanel in Walalbout Bay, on the East River adjacent to the United The channel States Navy Yard in Brooklyn. extends between the former island known Cobb Dock, on the west, which is now connected to the mainland by a stone causeway; and the mainland on the east. The channel is about 2,000 feet long and from 250 to 350 feet wide, and has a depth of about 20 feet. At the head of Wallabout Channel are two bodies of navigable water. Kent Avenue Basin and Wallabout Basin, which are 2,200 feet long and 1,300 feet long respectively.

New York and New Jersey Channels extend from deep water northeast of Sandy Hook through Lower New York Bay and Raritan Bay to Perth Amboy, and thence through Arthur Kill, Lower Newark Bay, and Kit Van Kull to deep water in Upper New York Bay. The combined length is about 37 miles. A channel 30 feet deep and 400 feet wide is completed through Raritan Bay and Arthur Kill, passing south of Shooters Island and of the same depth and a minimum width of 400 feet through Kill Van Kull.

The existing project, authorized by the River and Harbor Act, approved August 30, 1935, provides for a channel through Gedney and Bayside Channels, Lower New York Bay, Raritan Bay, Arthur Kill, Lower Newark Bay, and Kill van Kuli to Upper New York Bay, the depth to be 37 feet in rock and 35 feet in soft material throughout, except in Arthur Kill between a point 1,000 feet north of the mouth of Smith's Creek and a point 1,000 feet south of Buckwheat Island, where the depth will be 30 feet; the width to be 800 feet through Gedney and Bayside Channels, 600 feet across Lower New York and Raritan Bay and in the Arthur Kill to a point 500 feet south of Morse Creek widened to 800 feet in the vi

Gowanus Creek Channel is a tidal inlet extending northeasterly 12 miles from its connection with Bay Ridge Channel opposite 28th St., Brook-cinity of Seguine Point and Wards Point, respeclyn. A channel 26 feet deep has been constructed extending eastward about 2,900 feet from 28th St., to Percival St., Brooklyn, and 18 feet deep to Hamilton Ave., Bridge. The Channel is 300 feet wide opposite 28th St., and gradually decreases in width to 100 feet at the Hamilton Ave. Bridge. The waterway beyond that bridge is known as Gowanus Canal.

Jamaica Bay is situated on the south shore of Long Island and lies almost wholly within the limits of the City of New York. It is about 8 miles long and 4 miles wide, and covers an area approximately 32 square miles. The bay contains numerous small low-lying islands, which reduce the water surface area to about 1812 square miles. The bay is connected with the ocean by a shifting channel over a bar at Rockaway Inlet. The deep water channel through this bar is 600 feet wide and 24 feet deep. Under a joint project for improvement by the Federal Government and the City of New York, a channel 1,000 feet wide and 30 feet deep has been dredged from deep water at Barren Island up to Canarsie; thence 500 feet wide and 18 feet deep up The to 500 feet northeast of Fresh Creek Basin. mean tidal range is 4.9 feet. The United States is to provide and maintain the entrance channel, 1,500 feet wide and 30 feet deep from deep water in the ocean to the interior channel and to reimburse the city for dredging the main channel in the bay, while the city is to dredge the other channels within the bay, bulkhead the shores of the bay, and fill in behind the bulkheads.

ON THE NEW JERSEY SIDE

Newark Bay is a large estuary extending from the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack Rivers south to Staten Island, a distance of about 5 miles. It is about 112 miles wide. At Staten Island the bay is connected on the east with Kill van Kull, and on the west with Arthur Kill. The United States project provides for a channel 30 feet deep and generally 535 feet wide from the entrance, where it is widened to 1,800 feet, to a short distance above the Central Railroad of New Jersey bridge, thence gradually narrowing to 400 feet and continuing that width to the confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack River channels with a branch channel 30 feet deep and 400 feet wide to the Port Newark Terminal.

Passaic River is a tidal stream which is navigable for vessels drawing 10 feet of water as far as Eighth Street, City of Passaic, 15.4 miles above its mouth. The United States project provides for a channel in the river 30 feet deep and 300 feet wide to a point 3,000 feet above the Lincoln Highway Bridge, thence 20 feet deep and 300 feet wide to the Nairn Linoleum Works, thence 16 feet deep and 200 feet wide to the Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railroad Bridge, thence 10 feet deep and 150 feet wide to the 8th St. Bridge at Passaic.

Hackensack River is a tidal stream which merges with the Passaic River at the head of Newark Bay. The United States project provides for a channel 30 feet deep and 400 feet wide from the

tively, thence 500 to 600 feet wide and passing north of Shooters Island to the junction of the channel into Newark Bay; and thence 800 feet wide through Kill van Kull to Upper New York Bay, with 2 anchorages 38 feet deep, one in the vicinity of Sandy Hook and one south of Perth Amboy.

ON THE STATEN ISLAND SIDE

Arthur Kill separates Staten Island from New Jersey. It is about 12 miles long. This channel, together with Kill van Kull and the lower end of Newark Bay, forms the waterway between New York and New Jersey, the boundary between the two states following the centre of the waterway. Vessels 30-foot draft can be taken at mean low water into Arthur Kill, either via Lower New York Bay and Raritan Bay, or via Upper New York Bay. Kill van Kull and the lower end of Newark Bay. This waterway is part of the New York and New Jersey Channels.

Kill van Kull, a connecting waterway about 3 miles in length, lies between the northern shore of Staten Island and Bayonne, N. J., and extends from the lower end of Newark Bay to Upper New York Bay. This waterway is also part of the New York and New Jersey Channels.

Raritan Bay lies at the southern end of Staten Island and forms the western portion of Lower New York Bay. Its greatest length from north to south is about 5 miles and from east to west about 7 miles. The Raritan River empties into the bay at its western end, and the Arthur Kill extends northward from its western end. Vessels enter the bay by way of the Bayside-Gedney Channel. A channel 25 feet deep and 300 feet wide extending from the channel in Raritan Bay into the Raritan River to above the Long Branch Division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey Bridge has been dredged.

Shrewsbury River is mainly a large tidal basin consisting of 2 bays. The North Branch (Navesink River), and the South Branch unite in the vicinity of Normandie to form the so-called Main Stem. which extends generally northwest, to the outlet at the southeast end of Sandy Hook Bay. The United States project provides for a channel 12 feet deep and 300 feet wide to below the highway bridge at Highlands, thence 9 feet deep and 150 feet wide in the south branch to the City of Long Branch, and a channel 6 feet deep and 150 feet wide in the north branch from the junction at The total length of Normandie to Red Bank.

channel under improvement is about 15 miles.

Great Kills, Staten Island, N. Y. Great Kills is a harbor on the southeast shore of Staten Island. The United States project provides for a channel 10 feet deep and 150 feet wide extending from deep water in Lower New York Bay to the entrance of the harbor and thence of same depth and width along the west side of the harbor and for an anchorage area of 138 acres, 8 feet deep. Work on this project is in progress and is expected to be completed during the spring of 1942.

1

The present

The urban population of Illinois in 1940 was 5,809,650, compared to 5,635,727 in 1930. population represents a density of 141.2 to the square mile, an increase from 136.2 in 1930. The total land area of the State in the 1940 census was given as 55,946 square miles.

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