Shipyard
From about 1900 until 1910 it was a major shipyard, the Townsend-Downey Shipbuilding Company. The entire island was occupied by buildings, foundry, pattern shop, offices etc. There were major docks and shipways that faced to the east. Contrary to a previous report, President Theodore Roosevelt did not go hunting on this industrial island.
The Townsend-Downey Company built a yacht, The Meteor III for Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. It was launched at Shuter's Island in February 1902 and was accompanied by many hundreds of spectators. Thomas Alva Edison sent a cameraman who made one of the first news movies in US history of the event. It is available online from the Smithsonian. Along with this event in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt welcomed Prince Henry of Prussia to Shuter's Island, as shown in footage in the Library of Congress. Alice Roosevelt christened the boat and her father Teddy was there as well. The next day a reception was held at the White house for Mr. Downey and representatives of the German Government.
The following year saw the launching of one of the fastest and most famous sailing vessels in history, the three-masted schooner Atlantic. In 1905 it raced across the Atlantic and won the Kaiser's cup and set the record for the crossing under sail, which stood unbroken for almost 90 years. Another famous vessel built on Shuter's Island was the Carnegie, named after Andrew Carnegie who was a friend of Mr. Downey. It was built for scientific research and constructed of wood with no iron or steel that would cause magnetic anomalies. All fastenings and metal parts were of bronze, which is not magnetic.
The island later came under the control of the Tidewater Oil Company
Read more about this topic: Shooters Island