Neptune Island (Long Island Sound)

Neptune

Currier and Ives print of Neptune Island
Geography
Location New Rochelle, New York
Long Island Sound
Total islands 1
Country
United States
State New York
County Westchester
City New Rochelle

Neptune Island was an island in Long Island Sound and part of the City of New Rochelle, New York.[1] The island is connected to the mainland by stone causeway over which Neptune Road passes.[2] A dam at the east end of the peninsula creates a small pond while its west shore edges the Neptune Basin inlet.[3]

History

The island was originally included in the "Commons" of the Town and, following the end of the Revolution, it came under the ownership of Anthony Lispenard Bleecker. It was purchased by William Turpin in 1828 who named it "Moses Island".[4] It was during Turpin's ownership that the present road and causeway were built connecting it with the mainland, and a steamboat dock was built at the end of that road.[5]

In 1837 Isaac Underhill and his wife Deborah built the "Neptune House" summer resort hotel. The large white frame structure located in the center of the wooded island became so popular that the island was later named after it.[6] Some of the early steamboats that shuttled individuals between New Rochelle and New York City from the Neptune House Dock were the "American Eagle", "Croton", "Economy" and "Island City". In 1876 the Neptune House was also the terminal of Colonel DeLancey Kane's "Tally Ho" coach running daily between New Rochelle and the Brunswick Hotel in New York City.[7]

The island continued to be owned by the Underhill family through 1885 when it was sold to Adrian G Iselin, and most of the hotel was demolished. Iselin soon established the New Rochelle and Pelham Railroad Company and the New Rochelle Street Railway Company, making a connection to Neptune Island and the Glen Island ferry from the New Rochelle railroad depot. Along with the private steamboats operated to the island from New York City by Mr.Starin, the two companies greatly facilitated travel to and from the island by way of the New York and New Haven Railroad.[8]

Marina at Neptune Island

One section of the original hotel was left standing and it was cut up into four private houses that still remain at 1,2,3 and 4 Harbor Lane. Mr. Iselin later donated a large section of the island to the City for a park.[9] The Huguenot Yacht Club now occupies the western end of the island. The ferry between Neptune and Glen Islands has been replaced by a large bascule bridge extending from the mainland, over the western end of Neptune Island, to Glen Island.

References

  1. ↑ Lederer, Richard M. (1978). The Place Names of Westchester County New York. Harrison, NY: Harbor Hill Books. p. 100.
  2. ↑ Google Maps
  3. ↑ "Satellite map of the Island and its surrounding waterfront". Coogle. Retrieved June 2012.
  4. ↑ "Records of the Town of New Rochelle", Jeanne A. Forbes, The Paragraph Press 1916, pg.219
  5. ↑ The New York Supplement, West Publishing Company, page.748
  6. ↑ The New York Supplement, West Publishing Company, page.748
  7. ↑ Appletons' Dictionary of New York and Its Vicinity, D. Appleton & Co., 1879
  8. ↑ Third Annual Report of the Board of Railroad Commissioners, The State of New York, 1886
  9. ↑ Park for New Rochelle, The New York Times, 1903

Geographic location

Coordinates: 40°53′25″N 73°46′58″W / 40.8903775°N 73.7829104°W