Features
TOP 7 AMERICAN ISLANDS
The Island: Alcatraz Island
Where It’s Located: San Francisco Bay, 37°49′35″N 122°25′21″W
What It Is: Originally a land grant from the Spanish government to a William Workman, the island was originally named “Isla de los alcatraces” which roughly translates into “Island of the sea birds”, a nice euphemism for “rock covered in bird poo”.
Later purchased by American John Fremont who was subsequently screwed out of his ownership rights by Uncle Sam, Alcatraz was an irresistible site for an army base. With San Francisco’s booming gold rush economy of the mid 1800s, it made perfect sense to establish some cannons and some soldiers nearby to control access to the port. Unfortunately for generations of prisoners in the near future, advances in military weapon technology made the defenses at Alcatraz impractical and the government instead decided that the windswept, cold chunk of rock surrounded by frigid waters was perfect for detention.
Why You Should Know About It: By 1912 the cell house was built and almost to capacity, by 1934 with the nation reeling from the Great Depression and the concurrent rise in violent crime, additional facilities were erected on Alcatraz and the island became an official United States Federal prison. Thus, one of the greatest premises for a Sean Connery film was born. In all reality, though several folks did try to get off of Alcatraz, with very limited success. At press time Clint Eastwood was unavailable for comment.
Officially decommissioned in 1963, the island went through a brief period of occupation by Native American protesters (whom Uncle Sam, being true to his nature, bitch slapped and sent home) but today is mainly a tourist site. The island was put on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986.
The Island: Ellis Island
Where It’s Located: New York Harbor, 40°41′59″N 74°2′23″W
What It Is: Known as Little Oyster Island until it was purchased from Samuel Ellis, a colonial New Yorker, in 1808, Ellis Island was in the beginning little more than a sandbar that barely stayed above water at high tide. Native Americans had enjoyed the abundant oyster shoals located nearby and when the white eye came in, they built off of this reputation and gave it the most unoriginal name they could. The island first gained importance due to the fact that during the Revolutionary War the British sailed into New York Harbor unimpeded and afterwards the fledgling United States government decided that something ought to be done to prevent that from happening again. Hence, war planners deemed Ellis Island crucial to this aim and had coastal fortifications erected just prior to the war of 1812, at which point the newly constructed fort was named Fort Gibson.
Why You Should Know About It: Ellis island might have remained the stuff of war history buffs and fourth grade field trips had it not been for the long arms of the federal government reaching into the waters off of Manhattan. Prior to 1890 immigration had been a state-controlled matter, but when severe incompetence and corruption were discovered running rampant in lower Manhattan’s immigration station, Castle Garden, a new federal station was commissioned for Ellis Island. By 1892 the doors opened and welcomed a 15-year-old Irish woman, Annie Moore, as the very first immigrant to be processed at Ellis Island on January 2.
Unless your last name resembles Eaglefeather or Washerebeforeyou, and if you don’t count yourself a son/daughter of the American Revolution, you can probably trace an ancestor back to Ellis Island. For over 50 years immigrants got their names Americanized and began new lives at Ellis Island (provided you had no visible illnesses). All told, over 12 million people passed through the gates before it was shut down in 1954. Ellis Island was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.
The Island: Mackinac Island
Where It’s Located: Lake Huron, 45°51′40″N, 84°37′50″W
What It Is: Located in Lake Huron, between Michigan’s Upper and Lower peninsulas, excavations have revealed prehistoric fishing camps on Mackinac Island which establish a Native American presence at least 700 years before European exploration, around 900 AD. The Anishinaabe (Ojibwa) peoples considered the island a sacred place and regarded it as home to the Gitche Manitou, or the "Great Spirit". According to their legends, Mackinac Island was the first land to appear after the recession of the Great Flood and as such the island was a gathering place for local tribes where offerings were made to Gitche Manitou and where tribal chiefs were buried.
Why You Should Know About It: When the United States was still coming together as a newly formed union under the Constitution the French were busy on Mackinac setting up missions to spread the Lord’s word to Natives (guess Francois didn’t really understand the whole Gitche Manitou thing …) and trade furs. The British assumed control after the French and Indian War, and the ground changed hands several more times back and forth between a nascent American republic and its old master, England.
By 1815 the United States gained full control of the island and surrounding mainland areas; the fort even provided volunteers to defend the Union during the American Civil War. By the end of that conflict Mackinac Island began to be seen as a prime summer getaway destination for Great Lakes residents, and was designated as Mackinac National Park in 1875, just three years after Yellowstone was designated as the first national park. Shortly thereafter automobiles were banned from the island to keep from startling horses, a regulation that remains in place today with an exception for emergency service and construction vehicles. Mackinac Island continues to be a quaint throw back to an earlier, simpler time. It is an ecological haven for many species from the area, and serves as a cultural touchstone for all American citizens.
The Island: Catalina Island
Where It’s Located: Pacific Ocean, 33°23′N, 118°26′W
What It Is: Catalina Island is part of the Channel Islands of California archipelago, lying approximately 22 miles off the coast west of the city of Los Angeles.
Originally inhabited by the Tongva tribe of Native Americans, with the coming of Europeans to the area the island quickly became the haunt of all manner of ocean borne travelers: smugglers, religious fanatics and fur traders all made bases, missions and forts on the island at one time or another. Unfortunately, due to the lack of fresh water on the island these all proved to be temporary improvements, at most. By 1830 all the native inhabitants had been shipped across the channel to California to work on Spanish land-grant ranches, and in 1864 the Union established a garrison of soldiers on the island to prevent any further use as a privateers station.
Why You Should Know About It: A few cattle herders were about the only other inhabitants on Catalina for some time until the nearest inhabited town on the main land – then known simply as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula – experienced a population boom in the 1890s. This prompted a series of would-be land barons to invest in Catalina, eventually culminating with the establishment of the two towns present there today: Avalon and Two Harbors. Chief among these investors was chewing gum magnate William Wrigley, Jr., who had the Chicago Cubs (whom he also owned) practice there for spring training from 1921-1951. Wrigley almost single handedly built a tourism trade on the island, investing millions of dollars in infrastructure that included a casino and movie theatre, which still stand today.
The island became a hot spot for the burgeoning glitterati of the newly emerging Hollywood movie star set, and several films were shot there. One western picture filmed on the island, “The Vanishing American”, resulted in escaped bison which today roam freely in a herd of over 200. Today over a million people a year visit Catalina Island, and most of the territory outside of the population centers is controlled by the Catalina Island Conservancy, a private nonprofit organization.
The Island: Avery Island
Where It’s Located: Iberia Parish, Louisiana 29°53′N, 91°54′W
What It Is: Not an island in the traditional sense, Avery Island is actually a huge dome of rock salt created by the upwelling of ancient salt deposits that exist beneath the Mississippi River Delta region. Avery Island is one of five salt dome islands that rise above the flat Louisiana Gulf coast, and was traditionally a home for Native Americans in the region who would boil spring water from the area to extract the salt. A New Jersey man purchased the island in 1818, establishing a salt mining operation and sugar plantation that took advantage of the island's fertile soil.
Why You Should Know About It: That New Jersey man went on to have a daughter, who in turn married a man from nearby Baton Rouge. The daughter from that resulting union would go on to marry one Edmund McIlhenny, who happened to love peppers. We mean, he really loved his peppers and in 1868 established a company for the sole purpose of making hot sauce. As a result, today Avery Island is the home to the world famous Tabasco brand hot sauce. Most of the peppers that go into Tabasco are from the island, and the salt that goes into the sauce is actually mined on from the island as well.
In addition to being a spice lover’s paradise, Avery Island is also a bird lover’s Mecca, playing host to a well-known bird sanctuary called Bird City. Edmund McIlhenny’s son, Edward Avery McIlhenny, established the colony in 1895 after witnessing plume hunters slaughter egrets by the thousands in the area. When he learned that the feathers would only be used for fashionable ladies’ hats he was disgusted and gathered up eight young egrets. He raised them by hand on the Island and released them in the fall to facilitate their natural migration across the Gulf of Mexico. The birds returned next spring with others of their species, thus establishing a migration pattern that continues today.
The Island: Block Island
Where It’s Located: The Atlantic Ocean, 41°10′11″N 71°34′48″W
What It Is: First sighted by explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano (who would go on to loan his name to a New York bridge), Block Island lies 13 miles south of the coast of Rhode Island and is named after the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block.
When Europeans arrived, they found that a branch of the Narragansett people called the island their home. These Native Americans referred to Block Island as “Manisses.” The island eventually became part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the first English settlers from the (not-quite-yet) American mainland arrived in 1661. In 1672 the island became part of the colony of Rhode Island and the town government moved to rename their settlement "New Shoreham."
Why You Should Know About It: Block Island plays host to one of the United States’ oldest functional lighthouses, Southeast Light. Oddly enough, Southeast Light was built around 40 years after the first lighthouse on Block Island, North Lighthouse, was erected in 1829. It seems that the construction of “Old North” was so superb that the ocean couldn’t help but wash the old girl out to sea, and it was rebuilt in 1867.
The only town on Block Island is New Shoreham, which also serves as the focal point for the popular summer tourist trade that flourishes on the island. Common activities enjoyed on the island include bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and combing along any one of the island’s many beaches. The island has retained much of its natural charm, and in 1991 The Nature Conservancy listed Block Island as one of twelve sites in its list of "The Last Great Places" in the Western Hemisphere. To wit, roughly 20% of the Island has been set aside for conservation, and much of the northwest tip of the island is an undeveloped natural area that acts as a rest stop for birds along the Atlantic Flyway.
Transportation to Block Island can still be achieved the old fashioned way (read: boat), via seasonal and year-round ferry service from the surrounding areas of Connecticut, Rhode Island and New York. Recently a regional airline, New England Airlines, began scheduling regular flights to the Block Island State Airport.
The Island: South Padre Island
Where It’s Located: Gulf of Mexico, 26°6′43″N 97°10′11″W
What It Is: A barrier island located along the Texas Gulf coast, South Padre Island gets its name from José Nicolás Ballí (Padre Ballí), a Catholic priest and early settler in the Rio Grande Valley. The island originally played host to a supposedly cannibalistic Native American tribe, the Karankawans, but they were more or less eradicated by 1850 with the help of Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) and Christianity via the good Padre’s mainland mission associates. When the Civil War broke out, South Padre’s dunes were turned into makeshift safe deposit boxes for Confederate sympathizers who saw what the Union did in Georgia during Sherman’s “March To The Sea” and wanted to try and keep some of their valuables from being stolen or burned in a similar attack.
Why You Should Know About It: You know that saying “everything is bigger in Texas?” Well, South Padre Island lives up the hype, and in fact is the longest barrier island in the world with the largest stretch of undeveloped ocean beach in North America. Much of the island was closed off to the public for most of the early 20th century, resulting in pristine fishing waters that earned the label of “favorite little fishing spot at the end of the world” by former president Warren Harding. The United States Air Force established an air base nearby in the 1940s, and the Coast Guard conducted regular patrols off of South Padre Island looking for any possible German U-Boats.
