Governors Island lies in the East River, in New York City in the northeastern United States. The island was the site of U.S. military installations from the late 1700’s until 1996. The Governors Island National Monument, on the northern part of the island, includes two forts that date from the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Parkland on the southern end of the island features sites for recreation and sightseeing.
The 172-acre (70-hectare) island lies where the East River meets the entrance of Upper New York Bay. The East River is a tidal channel that connects the bay to Long Island Sound . Regular ferry service provides transportation between Governors Island and the New York City boroughs (districts) of Brooklyn and Manhattan . The Trust for Governors Island, a nonprofit corporation created by New York City, oversees the maintenance and development of island facilities. The National Park Service maintains the national monument. The island is open to the public from late May to late September.
Governors Island National Monument features a number of historic structures, including Castle Williams and Fort Jay, coastal fortifications completed in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. Elsewhere on the island, attractions include sports fields, public art, hiking and cycling trails, and lookout points for sightseers. Artist studios and the Urban Assembly New York Harbor School are also on the island.
Prior to the arrival of Europeans in the area in the 1500’s, the people later known as the Delaware , or Lenape, used the island as a fishing camp. They named the island Pagganck or Pagganack, meaning Nut Island, for its many chestnut and hickory trees. In the 1620’s, traders from the Dutch West India Company labeled the island Nooten (sometimes spelled Noten) Eylandt—Dutch for Nut Island—on their maps. The island later passed from Dutch to British control, and it acquired the name Governors Island in the early 1700’s. At the start of the American Revolution (1775-1783), Continental troops built defensive earthen fortifications on the island. The island was soon lost to the British, and it served as the headquarters of the British forces in North America for the remainder of the war. In the early days of the American republic, New York state began building coastal fortifications there. Governors Island passed from state to federal ownership in 1800. The island then served as the site of bases for the U.S. Army and, later, the U.S. Coast Guard . The island was largely closed to the public until the Coast Guard base there closed in 1996.
In 1985, more than half of the island was designated a National Historic Landmark, which lent protection to many of the island’s historic buildings. President Bill Clinton established the Governors Island National Monument in 2001. In 2003, New York City and the state of New York purchased the island from the federal government. The Hills, a section of parkland rising up to 70 feet (21 meters) on the southern end of the island, opened in 2016.
