Davids' Island (New York) - Uses of The Island

Uses of The Island

During at least periods before European explorers and colonists arrived, Native Americans inhabited Davids’ Island. By the mid 17th century, the New Rochelle area was inhabited by a Native American group known as the Siwanoy. Archeological evidence from Davids Island indicates that Native Americans inhabited the island from 1,000 to 1,500 AD. Native Americans began to withdraw from the coastal areas of New York in the 1600’s, as European traders and colonists began to enter the region. In 1654 Thomas Pell acquired title for the land that now includes Davids' Island and southern Westchester County from the Siwanoys.

From Colonial times to the mid-19th century, Davids’ Island was one of many small islands off the north shore of Long Island Sound used for farming and pasturing animals. Permanent Euro-american occupation of Davids’ Island began with the arrival of the original Huguenot settlers to the area in the late 1600's.

By the middle of the 19th century, summertime steamboat excursions to New Rochelle gave city dwellers from New York and Brooklyn a chance to escape the urban crowds and grime for a few hours. Davids, Neptune and Glen Islands were all regular stops for excursion steamers.

In November 1856 ink manufacturer Thaddeus Davids purchased the island from its previous owner, after which time the island took on his name. Davids had intended to move his factory to the island, but never did so. In 1862 he leased the island to Simeon Leland, a prominent hotelier, who then subleased it to U.S. Government War Department for hospital purposes. De Camp General Hospital was soon established and wooden structures were erected to house thousands of wounded prisoners from the battlefields of the American Civil War. By late 1862, De Camp was the Army’s largest general hospital, housing more than 2,100 patients. Originally, De Camp General Hospital treated only Union soldiers, but following the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863, the War Department opened it to care for hundreds of wounded Confederate soldiers. Davids Island soon held more than 2,500 Confederate prisoners. Most had recovered by October, and they were moved to prisoner-of-war camps elsewhere.

A ferry connection was established from Neptune Island, under the control of Simeon Leland. At the end of the war, Congress authorized the island's purchase for military purposes and it was conveyed to the United States in 1867. From this date, the Federal government had operated its own ferry to and from Neptune Island. In July 1878 Davids’ Island was made a principal depot of the U.S. Army General Recruiting Service, taking over this assignment from Governors Island. This marked the beginning of the installation’s longstanding mission as a recruitment and training center.

It was later converted to a coastal artillery defense post and was given the name Fort Slocum after Major General Henry W. Slocum, U.S. Volunteers. Between 1891 and 1904, artillery batteries were erected at three places on the eastern half of the island—Battery Practice near the southeastern shoreline; the state-of-the-art heavy mortar battery, Battery Haskin-Overton, near the southern end of the island; and two adjoining medium-range gun batteries, Fraser and Kinney, on the northeastern shore.

At the start of the 20th Century the island had become the East Coast assembly point for units being assigned to America’s new overseas operations. By the onset of World War I it had become one of the busiest recruiting stations in the country, processing 100,000 soldiers per year. From 1946 to 1949, Fort Slocum housed Headquarters First Air Force. It was renamed "Slocum Air Force Base" in June 1949; this only lasted for a year before being turned back into an Army post in June 1950. From 1955 to 1960, Fort Slocum housed Nike Ajax air-defense battery NY-15. The missiles were stored in underground silos on Hart Island with the radar and control base on Davids' Island. In July 1960, after only five years of operation, Nike Battery NY-15 was closed.

Fort Slocum was deactivated on November 30, 1965. During the decades that followed, the facilities of the former Army post were neglected and deteriorated severely.