SH Archive 1873 NYC Artificial Islands: Hoffman and Swinburne

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KorbenDallas
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2020-02-21 05:49:28
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artificial islands-NYC.jpg
Both artificial islands were allegedly created in 1873. Hoffman and Swinburne islands are currently managed by the National Park Service as part of the Staten Island Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area.

Hoffman Island​
Hoffman Island is an 11-acre (4.5 ha) artificial island in the Lower New York Bay, off the South Beach of Staten Island, New York City. Created in 1873 upon the Orchard Shoal by the addition of landfill, the island is named for former New York City mayor (1866–1868) and New York Governor (1869–1871) John Thompson Hoffman.

hoffman.jpg
Hoffman Island - Wikipedia

Swinburne Island​
Swinburne Island is a 4-acre (1.6 ha) artificial island in the Lower New York Bay, off the South Beach of Staten Island, New York City. It was used for quarantine of immigrants. Swinburne Island is the smaller of two islands near South Beach, the other being Hoffman Island.

Swinburne.jpg
Swinburne Island - Wikipedia

Compare to: Fort Sumter Island​
Fort Sumter is a sea fort in Charleston, South Carolina. Construction began in 1829, and the structure was still unfinished in 1861, when the Civil War began. Seventy thousand tons of granite were transported from New England to build up a sand bar in the entrance to Charleston Harbor.

It was built on an artificial island made of large blocks of stone: Building Fort Sumter was a long process


Oh, and check this thing out... Ellis island is about 8 miles away from Hoffman and Swinburne.

Ellis Island, NY & NJ​
The present-day Ellis Island was created by retreating glaciers at the end of the Wisconsin glaciation about 15,000 years ago. While most of the island is in Jersey City, New Jersey, a small section is an exclave of New York City.
  • The island has a land area of 27.5 acres (11.1 ha), much of which is from land reclamation. ​
  • The 2.74-acre (1.11 ha) natural island and contiguous areas comprise 3.3 acres (1.3 ha) within New York, and are located on the northern portion of the present-day island. ​
  • The artificial land is part of New Jersey.​
  • The island has been owned and administered by the federal government of the United States since 1808 and operated by the National Park Service since 1965.​
    • KD: So, how much of it is artificial, and when was it built?​
  • Take a look at the Main Building.​
The reason I added Ellis island to our Hoffman and Swinburne ones is this image below. They included it, so did I. Looks like they got Hoffman and Swinburne backwards though.

ny-islands.jpg

KD: Well, I could not find anything pertaining to the construction of Hoffman and Swinburne islands. May be you can (docs,photographs, etc...). What do you think, could they create two artifical islands of this size within 1 year back in 1873?

P.S. Should have probably included these two as well. Them 19th century NY people were busy building islands, or so it seems. I doubt there is anything natural in this New York Bay.
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Username: Huaqero
Date: 2020-02-21 13:38:17
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Not only these...

After Jon Levi's video on the Bronx I scanned the area a bit.
Mill Rock has a weird shape and, of course, an even weirder story behind it:
"The island was originally two smaller islands..." and later there happened "the largest planned explosion before testing began for the atomic bomb" and "...remnants were used to fill the space between Great and Little Mill Rocks, producing Mill Rock."

At least here we have a construction mechanism funny story, insanely(!) detailed in wiki (needs its own thread)...

Mill Rock

screenshot-www.google.com-2020-02-21-15-23-32-636.jpeg



But, even a small pile of rocks in NY can lead you to more insane stories, as I (remember I had) posted on a comment on 'U Thant' or 'Belmont' island, while adding to my Artificial Islets thread (where I include Hoffman & Swinburne).
(Unfortunately, it was one of those posts lost during the '9-10 Jan downtime' and I forgot to come back, that's why I failed to find it in 'search', lol...)

In brief, you just ask yourself "Does this little rock have a name, is there any info about it?"
and you get a ... boat-load landfill of silly information rocks and debris thrown over you:
  • That little rock is linked to the construction of the Steinway Tunnel under the East River, (finished in ... 1915, was probably dug-out and needs its own thread, too), and was "created with the produced excess landfill"
  • they planned to expand and build a "Belmont Centre" on it
  • was once declared "Soviet Jewry Freedom Island"
  • was "adopted by a group called the Peace Meditation at the United Nations"
  • they wanted to create a ... time capsule (you guessed, it!) obelisk on it
  • a film maker proclaimed it a ... sovereign nation, etc
Everything about Belmont Island and the nearby Roosevelt Island is A-m-u-s-i-n-g and I-N-S-A-N-E !
And we are talking about just ... these reefs! :

screenshot-www.google.com-2020-02-21-15-22-25-189.jpeg
 
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Username: JWW427
Date: 2020-02-21 16:56:07
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This is the work of the Star Civilization. No doubt.
Why would anyone go to the trouble of making almost perfect geometrical shapes instead of just a round pile?
These islands are everywhere.

denmark island.jpeg

Fort Louvois

fort Louvois.jpeg


Fort Warren Island in Boston is very suspect....


fort warren island.jpeg

Governors Island and Fort Jay New York


governors island ny.jpeg
 
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Username: Huaqero
Date: 2020-02-21 17:42:40
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I guess these are the remaining tips of flooded giant infrastructure. If they are satellites of central starforts, where do these networks end? Are they all interconnected? Which other land structures are unrecognisable, non-flooded, parts of their network?
Those who named them 'artificial' knew that they are artificial, they just had to invent a new story because the old one ... drowned. If only we could drain the greater areas for a while, to see what else is there...
 
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Username: jd755
Date: 2020-02-21 17:58:15
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From here Disease Quarantine - Vaccinated Steerage Passengers | GG Archives
A very interesting and compelling insight into disease problems of the late 1800's but to stay on point here's some island info. he original source being
White, Frank Linstow, "Barriers Against Invisible Foes" in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly, Vol XXXIII, No. 6, June 1892

It is perhaps not very generally known that both Hoffman and Swinburne Islands are not entirely natural formations, but mainly artificial constructions. They are both built on West. Bank, a long strip of sandbar lying just east of the channel that runs southeast of Staten Island.

The sand is enclosed by cribwork protected by heavy riprap, and by a concrete wall surrounding each island, inside of the cribwork, and extending from below low-water mark to a foot above the surface of the islands.

The foundation of Swinburne Island was laid in 1866, that of Hoffman Island some two years later, the first being completed in 1870, the second in 1873. The improvements made within the last three years have, however, brought the cost of the whole up to pretty near $3,000,000.

Then from here Incidents in the Life of Dr. John Swinburne. 1885. Chapters 6-7.

Prior to the appointment of Dr. Swinburne, the quarantine facilities had been located on the mainland, to which the people were violently opposed, going to such extremes as to destroy the buildings used. When the health-officer proposed the erection of the two artificial islands in the bay for quarantine, the celebrated New-York engineer, Craven, declared the scheme utopian, impracticable, and simply impossible of carrying out. He was consulting engineer to the health-officer, and was the projector of the Croton Waterworks, and chief engineer of the works up to the time of his death. When the work was well under way, and no longer a question of doubt, Mr. Craven declared it was the grandest piece of engineering skill of the age. The upper island was named Hoffman's Island by the commissioners, in honor of the governor under whose administration it was constructed; and, by act of the Legislature, the lower island was named Swinburne Island Hospital. These artificial islands, constructed in accordance with the recommendation of Dr. Swinburne, were the first of that nature ever undertaken.

The islands, as shown in the illustration, are Swinburne Island, with Hoffman island farther up the bay, and Staten Island in the background. The two islands are of the same size and construction, with the exception of the buildings. Swinburne Island is located on the lower bay, about two and a half miles south of Fort-Thompkins Lighthouse at the Narrows, and about two and a third miles from the Elm-Tree Lighthouse on Staten Island. The foundation is hexagon in form, two of the sides being two hundred and sixty feet in length, the other four one hundred and sixty-one feet. The exterior of the crib-work is thirty feet in width at the base, twenty feet at the top, and twenty feet in height, and is constructed of large timbers firmly fastened together and filled with small stones, the whole surrounded by a riprap of heavy stones. The superficial area of the structure is about two acres, while the area at the base of the riprap is over three acres; the extreme length at the top being five hundred and four feet, and two hundred and twenty-eight feet in width. To construct the island, nine thousand cubic feet of timber were required, and seventeen thousand cubic yards of stone in the riprap, five yards of stone to fill the crib, and fifty-six thousand four hundred yards of sand to fill the space enclosed by the crib-work.

On Swinburne Island there are eight hospitals, each eighty-nine feet long, twenty-four feet vide, and twelve feet three inches from floor to ceiling, and all connected by a covered corridor. To supply the island with fresh water, there are twenty-two cisterns, capable of holding forty-four thousand gallons of water; the whole of the buildings, being lighted with gas manufactured on the island from gasolene.

The contract bid for the carrying-out of this experiment, never before tried in any harbor, was $310,618, and no more than that amount was paid.

In Chapter 733, "Laws of the State of New York, 1872," it was enacted, "And the lower of the West Bank Islands, built under the direction of Dr. Swinburne, shall hereafter be known and designated as Swinburne Hospital Island."
 
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Username: Starmonkey
Date: 2020-02-21 18:23:32
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MAN. We were just swimming in funds in the 1800s! Wars everywhere... Building projects everywhere... Goods being shipped hither and yon...
What happened to the work ethic around here?! Oh yeah, the welfare system.
Sorry to de-de-derail.
 
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Username: Rarity
Date: 2020-02-22 12:02:49
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A pretty wild chain of events led to these islands: Staten Island Quarantine War - Wikipedia

A mob of 1,000+ stormed the quarantine grounds and burned the buildings on September 1st, 1858, the response of the angry citizens of Staten Island who had been rallying against the quarantine grounds over the decades for bringing disease into their community, destroying property value, and on suspect that the officials had financial reasons for keeping it there and were profiting by promoting panic over diseases, such as the Health Officer for the Port of New York City allegedly being paid somewhere between $100,000-$150,000 while the President of the United States was paid $25,000. In response to the attacks, the Mayor threatened to "make the Islanders squeal" and punish them by rebuilding permanent buildings there under the guise of putting up "shanties," and Staten Island was under military occupation by order of the state Governor until January 1859. While some of the mob were put on trial, they claimed it had been done it for self-protection and the judge agreed because the attacks had been sparked by the local Board of Health's proclamation that the quarantine was a "pest and a nuisance of the most odious character, bringing death and desolation" and had recommended "the citizens of this county to protect themselves by abating this abominable nuisance without delay."

"Attack on the Quarantine establishment [Staten Island, N.Y.] on September 1, 1858"
1582366604271.png

According to the Quarantine Wars wiki page they abandoned the quarantine grounds and used ships and other islands and in 1863 the Legislature made a special enactment to permanently remove the quarantine grounds to some place below the Narrows. They were trying to set it up at Sanguine's Point in 1866 and the Staten Islanders were ready to go to war again after the Metropolitan Board of Health had seized land on Staten Island for quarantine purposes.

1582370526309.png

In June 1866 a team of engineers went out to West Bank to see if it was feasible to construct buildings there. In December 1866 they were preparing to lay "bulkhead foundations" there, winter storms delayed the work and the first "crib" was put in place in January 1867 and by April 1867 they had all but three "cribs" in place.
1582364263428.png
A June 1868 article describes the island being constructed at West Bank. It comprised nearly two acres and had been designed to withstand the fiercest storms. They had made 1,300 feet of a 25 foot high sexagonal wall, commenced 8 feet below low water and went 11 feet above high water, the space within the wall was to be filled in with sand "excavated by huge automatic machinery from the neighboring depths" sometime before September of 1869. Outside of the walls was a 13 foot wide riprap of heavy stones that went up to the high water point, and the wall above the riprap was reinforced with 5 inch thick solid oak. The cribs that formed the wall were huge wooden frames filled with solid stone 30 feet in diameter at the bottom and 20 feet at the top. It took over 25,000 cubic yards of timber and stone to build the wall, 3,625 cubic yards of stone for the riprap, and would take 43,976 cubic yards of filling. At its widest part, the distance across the island was 240 feet. At the time of this June 1868 article between 50-60 men were employed to work on it. Francis Swift had the contract to build the island and all the buildings on it for $310,618. Morris & Cummings were in charge of filling it in, Osborne & Fish were to get $63,000 to erect the buildings, Daniel Murphy built the wall, and the entire thing was the plan of an architect named Rich.

The old quarantine grounds were sold for $220,000 in August 1868, in 1870 they were discussing trying to repurchase the old land.

Both islands were constructed by 1873 and were discussed in the yearly quarantine report, which I believe says it took 7 years and "the expenditure of a very large sum of money" to construct them. The upper island was named Hoffman Island and the formerly named West Bank island was named Dix Island (now Swinburne), Dix was deemed "imperfect" due to improper filling of the cribs with sand which led to undermining of the foundation and costly repairs. Hoffman seems to have been better made in general as it had creosoted planks and an inner beton wall, it was also fully loaded with steam-heated buildings, gas for lighting, bathing and washing appliances, and cooking apparatus. The permanency of the islands was questioned due to what the writer had witnessed during his time there, but I guess both are still around today.

There was a feud between Dr. Swinburne and a Dr. Vanderpoel over the name of Dix/Swinburne Island, the latter had taken over as Health Officer and got the name changed to Dix in 1873, it was then renamed to Swinburne by the Legislature, and Vanderpoel and the Quarantine Commission kept refering to it as Dix Island in their reports out of spite.
 
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Username: Heleen
Date: 2020-02-23 07:52:06
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Very onteresting discussions on this topic. I am just thinking if there were any significant placing on lay lines of these artificial islands? Or if an arial view would display a bigger picture or pattern?
 
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Username: whitewave
Date: 2020-02-23 16:14:16
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If these islands were built to quarantine contagious patients, I wonder why they're not being used today to quarantine coronavirus patients. Why bring them in to a populated area and risk further contamination when you've already got 2 whole islands built for that very thing?
 
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Username: Heleen
Date: 2020-02-23 16:30:39
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They (the powers that be) really do not care about humanity at all. It is part of the Agenda to spread fear and to make money (big pharma). So why would they use those facilities?
 
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Username: Huaqero
Date: 2020-02-23 19:53:59
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'Quarantines' and 'contagious deseases' was the way to keep curious troublemakers away, until they removed every evidence of the Old World. The same goes with the 'islands of the dead', like Pontikonisi in Corfu, as I mentioned in my Artificial Islands thread. "Booo, stay awaaaay! "
 
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Username: Huaqero
Date: 2020-02-23 21:42:28
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None about the elements of the removal, I am discussing how they looked interested in keeping people away from such structures. 'Fires that suddenly started on a Saturday afternoon' do not work here, so we have quarantines, disease warnings, explosions, churches built on top, silly stories around them,... all these in 'islands' that seem linked to starfort networks. If there is a reason for keeping people away then there are also elements to be hidden away, but who knows what these were?
 
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Username: jd755
Date: 2020-02-23 22:21:00
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Could you point me in the direction of the starfort link in the case of these two islands?
 
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Username: jd755
Date: 2020-06-12 12:02:33
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This page may contain info on these two islands.Source
 
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