First a colonial encampment, then a military outpost, and today a public recreational and cultural site, Governors Island has played many roles over the last four centuries.

From Noten Eylandt to Governors Island

The first European colonists sent across the North Atlantic by the Dutch West India Company in 1624 first settled on the island before establishing New Amsterdam on the southern tip of Manhattan. Because of the abundant nut trees that grew there, the Dutch called it Noten Eylandt, later Anglicized to Nutten Island.

After the British takeover of New Amsterdam^#, Nutten Island was designated in 1698 “for the benefit and accommodation of His Majesty’s governors.” Royal governor Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, built a country house there in 1703. In the following decades, “Governors Island” began to replace “Nutten Island” on maps and in common parlance.

The Battle of Brooklyn

The island’s strategic location at the mouth of the East River made it a natural setting for harbor defense. During George Washington’s unsuccessful attempt to defend New York City and Long Island against invading British forces in 1776, the island was manned and fortified by Continental Army troops.

A Changing Military Outpost

After the revolution, the island became part of a network of waterfront defenses that also included Ellis Island, Bedloe’s (today Liberty) Island, and Castle Clinton at the tip of Manhattan. New forts were constructed on Governors Island, including Fort Jay (also known as Fort Columbus, built 1794-1809) and Castle Williams (built 1807-1811). Both still stand today. During the Civil War, Castle Williams housed Confederate prisoners of war, while Fort Jay temporarily held Confederate officers before they were transferred to other Union prisons.

A Site for Innovation

As New York modernized, Governor’s Island changed as well. In 1880, large water mains were built under Buttermilk Channel, the narrow tidal straight separating the island from Brooklyn, to provide Brooklyn city water to the island’s inhabitants. During the 1890s, the island was expanded using materials excavated during the construction of the New York City subway system.

In 1909, Wilbur Wright departed from the island to conduct the first airplane flight over New York harbor. The ventilator building for the Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn-Battery) Tunnel has stood off the island’s northeast shore since the tunnel’s opening in 1950.

Transitioning to Civilian Life

Governors Island served as a U.S. Army base from the country’s birth until 1966, when it was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. After the Coast Guard left in 1996, the federal government created the Governors Island National Monument in 2001 and, in 2003, transferred 150 acres of the island to the people of New York. Another 22 acres remain under National Park Service management.

Today, Governors Island is open to the public on a seasonal basis, accessible by a ferry that leaves from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Brooklyn Bridge Park site marker coming soon