Shooters Island

USA / New York / Bloomfield /
Shooters Island (40.643° N 74.16° W) is a small uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, along the north shore of Staten Island. The boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small portion on the north end of the island belonging to the state of New Jersey and the rest being part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City.

The island was essentially made by infill from early dredging of Newark Bay in the 19th century. It served as a bird sanctuary and hunting preserve, and was visited by Theodore Roosevelt, who hunted there. It was also once home to the Shooter’s Island Petroleum Refining and Storage Company, the Townsend-Downey Shipbuilding Company, and the Standard Shipbuilding Company. After World War I the island became a dump for derelict vessels; the surrounding waters became too polluted for even birds to wade. The island was ignored until the 1960s when a local politician proposed to obliterate Shooter’s Island to make ship navigation easier. Unmaintained during much of the later 20th century, the island has begun to disintegrate into Newark Bay. The island, as well as decayed remnants of old piers, are visible from the motorists passing on the Bayonne Bridge between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey.

For a complete list of ships built here please see:
www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/4emergenc...
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooters_Island
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   40°38'36"N   74°9'34"W

Comments

  • Shooters Island was a major industrial site, home to major shipbuilders and oil refineries, most of which were abandoned by 1950.
This article was last modified 4 years ago