Iona Island (New York)

Iona Island Iona Island State Park
View of Iona Island from Bear Mountain .
location	Stony Point , New York (State) , United States
surface	2.25
Geographical location	41 ° 18 ′  N , 73 ° 59 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 18 ′ 14 "  N , 73 ° 58 ′ 38"  W
administration	New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Iona Island ( Iona Island State Park ) is an island in the Hudson River and a state park in the parish of Stony Point in the American state of New York . The "Bedrock" island covers 556 acres (2.25 km²). It is approximately 1 mi (1.6 km) south of Bear Mountain Bridge and is separated from the banks of the Hudson River by tidal flats and freshwater marshland . Iona Island is often listed along with Bear Mountain State Park because the two state parks are directly connected.

In 1974 the island and the adjacent marshes were declared a National Natural Landmark . It is part of the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve . The island serves primarily as a bird sanctuary , especially since some bald eagles hibernate there.

geography

Aerial view of Iona Island in the brown waters of the Hudson, looking northeast.

View of Iona Island from Popolopen Torne .

Iona Island is traversed by rail tracks from the River Subdivision (CSX Transportation) , but is only accessible to the public through a causeway that branches off US Route 9W in Bear Mountain State Park near Doodletown . This is maintained by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission .

The southeast part of the island used to be independent: Round Island . In the early 20th century, it was connected to the south end of Iona Island by backfilling. The hill on the west side, south of the dam, used to be an island in its own right: Courtland Island . Snake Hole Creek rises in the marshes near the center of the island and flows to the southwest, then turns to the southeast and finally to the east, then flows into the Hudson after a large semicircle. It divides the marshes into the Salisbury Meadow in the west and the Ring Meadow in the east.

history

Indians lived on the island in the summer and used the location for fishing. They called the island Wa-na-ka-wagh-kin ( Eng . "Good land"). Archaeological finds from the island are on display at the Bear Mountain Trailside Museum and Zoo . In 1683 members of the Van Cortlandt family purchased the land from the indigenous people. At that time the island was named Salisbury Island , later Weyant's Island (Weyant / Weiant). Another name was Beveridge's Island . The island was occupied by British troops during the American War of Independence .

In 1847 John Beveridge bought the island for Dr. EW Grant , his son-in-law, who renamed the island Iona Island and planted Iona grapes and fruit trees. Grant supported the Union Army during the Civil War . In 1868 his creditors holed up on the island.

The island was acquired by a group of investors and a hotel business was established. Grant's country estate served as a guest house and the investors added carousels, a Ferris wheel, dance floor, pavilion, and picnic areas. A jetty was also built to allow visitors to come on steamers from New York City and New Jersey. The construction of a railway line on the West Shore Railroad in 1882 made it easier for tourists to access it.

The landing stage on Iona Island.

In 1899 the island was acquired by the United States Navy and used as an ammunition depot. It became one of the largest ammunition depots in the United States. On November 4, 1903, an explosion killed six workers. The shock wave broke windows as far as Peekskill , three miles away. The explosion occurred when the men were clearing old ammunition from the newly arrived battleship Massachusetts .

The depot remained in use until 1947. Today around five of the original 164 buildings that are used by the park administration as storage rooms still exist today. After the Second World War and into the early 1970s, the so-called "mothball fleet" from scrapped battleships was anchored near the island at Tomkins Cove .

In 1965 the island was acquired by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission . In 1974 it was declared a National Natural Landmark . As a "wildlife sanctuary", the island is not open to the public. However, it can be observed from lookouts along Route 6 and points in Bear Mountain State Park . Boating in the marshes themselves is prohibited, but guided tours are offered in summer. However, the waterways around the marshes are exposed to the tides and are therefore publicly accessible ("navigable-in-law").

nature

Iona Island from West Mountain .

In 2000, the New York State Museum and the New York State Biodiversity Research Institute hosted a bioblitz (inventory) of biodiversity.

Bird species

North American bittern Great Falcon Great Falcon Belt fisherman Rice blackbird

Canada Goose Cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) Red throated warbler King tyrant Field sparrow (Spizella pusilla)

American bittern Mute swan Marsh Wren Northern harrier (Circus hudsonius) Osprey

Bindweed Rust-crowned wood warbler Red-tailed buzzard Red-shouldered blackbird

Singing hammer Virginia rail (Rallus limicola) Singers' vireo Wood duck

See also

• State parks in New York

Individual evidence

1. ^ Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
2. ↑ 2014 New York State Statistical Yearbook Archived copy ( memento of the original from September 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government 2014, Section O: Environmental Conservation and Recreation, Table O-9: 672. 
3. ^ Iona Island Marsh. National Natural Landmarks, National Park Service.
4. ^ Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve. NYS Department of Environmental Conservation 2016.
5. ↑ ^{a b} Iona Island. NYS Department of Environmental Conservation 2016.
6. ^ Iona Island. ( Memento of the original from September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Rockland Audubon Society 2016. 
7. ^ William Martin Beauchamp: Aboriginal Place Names of New York. New York State Museum Bulletin, Volume 108, 1907, New York State Education Department: 166. [1]
8. ^ ^{A b c} David Levine: Iona Island: A History of Bear Mountain State Park's Most Mysterious Isle in Rockland County, NY. Hudson Valley Magazine, July 2011.
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} William J. Myles: Harriman Trails. The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference 1999. ISBN 1-880775-18-2
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Elizabeth Stalter: Doodletown. Palisades Interstate Park Commission Press. Bear Mountain, New York 1996 ISBN 0-9655737-0-2
11. ^ History of the Town of Highlands. Town of Highlands 2016.
12. ^ "Explosion At United States Naval Arsenal," The Titusville Herald , Titusville, Pennsylvania, November 5, 1903.
13. ^ OGC 9: Enforcement Guidance: Public Rights of Navigation and Fishing. - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
14. ↑ Iona BioBlitz 2000 Results. ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. NYS Biodiversity Research Institute, September 2000.  

Web links

• New York State Parks