Has any borough, neighborhood, or stretch of land in New York City been renamed as many times as Roosevelt Island has over its 400-year history?
Called Minnahanock by the Canarsie Indians, tribal leaders sold the he two-mile long island to Dutch governor Wouter van Twiller in 1637. Now part of New Amsterdam, it was renamed Varcken (Hog) Island for the pigs the Dutch raised there.
[The island formerly known as Welfare, in a 1940s postcard.]
In 1666, with the English now in control, the island fell into the hands of Captain John Manning and was renamed Manning’s Island. Twenty years later Manning’s son-in-law, Robert Blackwell, inherited the island. He decided it was now Blackwell’s Island.
The city of New York bought the island in 1828 for $32,500, building hospitals, poorhouses, and prisons on what was formerly farmland. The Blackwell name officially endured until 1921, when it got another moniker: Welfare Island.
Finally, in 1973, with plans to turn the island into a mostly residential neighborhood, the city renamed it Roosevelt Island. Lets hope this one lasts!
Tags: Blackwell's Island, Canarsie Indians, Captain John Manning, Hog Island, Manning's Island, Minnahanock, Roosevelt Island, Varcken Island, Welfare Island, Wouter van Twiller
Ephemeral New York 
September 28, 2009 at 12:31 pm |
greeat picture. a little bit of manhattan’s old industrial/working class east side there on the right.
October 2, 2009 at 8:13 pm |
I remember around 1976 or so a few of my friends and I rode our bikes over to the island from Queens. Although you were not allowed to ride a bike across to there at the time, we just rode quickly past the guard, who yelled at us. Once over to the island, it was a desolate and scary place. It was night time, and there was little there. There were roads, and many abandoned hospitals and building, all of which looked straight out of a horror movie. We rode around for a while, but I think we were too scared to actually go into any of the buildings, or even get too close. I wish I had some pics of the way it looked that night!
October 3, 2009 at 3:29 am |
I wish you did too! Would be neat to see now.
October 4, 2009 at 4:04 am |
How poignant a succession of conquerors tried to dedicate a piece of Native American land to themselves, only to have the name changed at an accelerating pace…The Canarsie Indians would have been wise to understand no piece of earth is ever owned. In the end, the earths owns us.
October 6, 2009 at 5:22 am |
Just because I’m really contrary, I’d love to see the City re-name the island again. To Minnahanock.
April 15, 2010 at 4:50 am |
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