Sheffield Island (Connecticut)
| Sheffield Island | ||
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| Waters | Long Island Sound | |
| Geographical location | 41 ° 2 '56 " N , 73 ° 25' 9" W | |
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| surface | 21 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
Sheffield Island is an uninhabited island in Long Island Sound off the coast of the US state Connecticut .
geography
Sheffield is part of the Norwalk Islands, a chain of around 25 small and tiny islands that lie in front of the port of Norwalk (Connecticut) . Some of them are privately owned and inhabited, but most are owned by Norwalk and Westport Townships or, like Sheffield, are part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, a system of nature reserves along the Connecticut coast.
Sheffield is the second largest island in the group, covers around 21 hectares and is about 1.5 km from Norwalk harbor entrance. On the south-western tip there is a lighthouse from 1868, which is no longer in operation today, as well as a private summer house that is only used temporarily.
To protect the nesting birds, most of the island is under protection for most of the year. During the summer only the area around the lighthouse may be entered. A small passenger ferry takes visitors from Norwalk Harbor to the island in the summer months. In winter there are boat tours around the island to watch seals and waterfowl.
fauna
Many species of birds nest on Sheffield Island, including:
- Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus )
- Great blue heron ( Ardea herodias )
- Large yellow thigh ( Tringa melanoleuca )
- Great Egret ( Egretta thula )
- Dark Duck ( Anas rubripes )
- Brown ibis ( Plegadis falcinellus ).
Mammals found on the island are raccoons and musk rats .
history
Founded in 1649, Norwalk was a port city as early as the end of the 17th century with the most important economic sectors oyster farming and pottery production.
In 1804, Captain Robert Sheffield of Norwalk acquired "White Island", the original name of the island, and the name Sheffield Island was soon established. To secure the dangerous harbor entrance, a lighthouse with a hut was built in 1827 for the first lighthouse keeper Gershom Smith, the son-in-law of Robert Sheffield. He was soon building a stone house, growing vegetables for his own use on the island and keeping cows.
In 1868, the older tower was replaced by the current house made of solid granite blocks with an octagonal lighthouse on top. He is 15 m high. The architectural style is similar to that of many other lighthouses along the US east coast. The building is now on the National Register of Historic Places . In 1902 the beacon was deactivated and replaced by the Greens Ledge Lighthouse on an artificially raised island further west, which is still in operation.
In 1912, Alfred Mestre, an architect from New York City , bought Sheffield Island and built a luxurious villa there with an extensive park, pool and jetty. He sold the island in the 1930s to Robert L. Corby, director of Fleischmann's Yeast, a baker's yeast factory that still exists today . Corby converted the property into a private club with a golf and tennis court and polo field . The next owner from 1946 was James Henry Rand Jr. (1886–1968) of the Remington Rand office machinery factory , but he could not enjoy his property for long because a fire destroyed the buildings shortly afterwards.
In 1981 the island was placed under the US Fish and Wildlife Service . The lighthouse remained privately owned until 1986 when it was sold to the Norwalk Seaport Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and caring for marine fauna. It has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989 .
Others
Sheffield Island, like many unusual places on the US east coast, also reportedly has a ghost. During the guided tours around the island, it is said that from time to time you can hear mysterious music, even though nobody is there. It is said to come from the piano-playing ghost of the late Captain Robert Sheffield.
Individual evidence
- ↑ US Coast Guard website
- ↑ Paul Rezendes: The Lighthouse Companion for Connecticut and Rhode Island, Windsor CT, 2003, pp. 34-35
- ^ Information board of the Norwalk Seaport Association on Sheffield Island