Deer Island is a peninsula in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. Since 1996, it has been part of the

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a national recreation area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsul ...

. Although still an island by name, Deer Island has been connected to the mainland since the former Shirley Gut channel, which once separated the island from the town of Winthrop, was filled in by the

1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

. Today, Deer Island is the location of the

Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant The Deer Island Waste Water Treatment Plant (also known as Deer Island Sewage Treatment Plant) is located on Deer Island, one of the Boston Harbor Islands in Boston Harbor. The plant is operated by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority ( ...

, whose egg-like sludge digesters are major harbor landmarks. Deer Island water treatment plant

The island has a permanent size of , plus an

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

of a further . Two-thirds of the island's area is taken up with the wastewater plant, which treats sewage from 43 nearby cities and towns, and is the second-largest such plant in the United States. The remainder of the island is park land surrounding the treatment plant, and offers walking, jogging, sightseeing, picnicking, and fishing.

History

Situationsplan von Boston (Massachusetts)

1600s

It was once leased to Sir Thomas Temple (1614–1674), a British proprietor and governor of Nova Scotia although this descent was debunked by

E. A. Freeman Edward Augustus Freeman (2 August 182316 March 1892) was an English historian, architectural artist, and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal politician during the late-19th-century heyday of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, William Gladstone, as ...

in the 19th century. Sir Thomas Temple was also the uncle of John Nelson (1654–1734), a New England trader and statesman, who owned neighboring

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in Boston Harbor, which at one time was also known as "Nelson's Island". Over the years, Deer Island has had several different uses. During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...

(also known as

Metacomet Metacomet (1638 – August 12, 1676), also known as Pometacom, Metacom, and by his adopted English name King Philip,internment Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

. Christian "Praying Indians" were moved from Concord,

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

and

Natick Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...

in spite of the efforts of John Eliot, the minister of Roxbury, to prevent it. Most went to Deer Island, but at least one colony was sent to Long Island. Additionally, a group of nine Praying Indian women and their six children were sent to Great Brewster Island because they did not wish to join their husbands on Deer Island. During the winter of 1675–76, between 500 and 1,100 American Indians were held on the island, and without adequate food or shelter and because of exposure to harsh winter weather, many died. Some, such as the medicine man,

Tantamous Tantamous (also known as Old Jethro or John Jethro) (c. 1580–1676) was a well-known Native American Nipmuc leader in seventeenth century Massachusetts. Tantamous was a powwow ( healer and spiritual leader) who lived near the Assabet River,Barr ...

, escaped Deer Island only to be recaptured later.

19th-20th century

In the middle of the 19th century, the island was the landing point for thousands of refugees from the Great Famine of Ireland, many sick and poverty-stricken. In 1847, a hospital was established to treat incoming immigrants, and during the following two years, about 4,800 men, women, and children were admitted. Many recovered and went on to new lives, but more than 800 died. In 1850, an

almshouse An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) was charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the medieval era. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain ...

was built to house

paupers Pauperism (Lat. ''pauper'', poor) is poverty or generally the state of being poor, or particularly the condition of being a "pauper", i.e. receiving relief administered under the English Poor Laws. From this, pauperism can also be more generally ...

. Opened in 1853, it was administered by the City of Boston. Today, a Celtic Cross is erected not far from the old site of the Almshouse, honoring the 850 who died during the Famine Era. In 1896, the almshouse facility became one of the short-term prisons for Suffolk County. The Deer Island House of Correction existed until 1991, when the prisoners were permanently transferred to the South Bay House of Correction. The Deer Island prison is mentioned in

Sylvia Plath Sylvia Plath (; October 27, 1932 – February 11, 1963) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer. She is credited with advancing the genre of confessional poetry and is best known for two of her published collections, ''The ...

's poem "Point Shirley" and her novel ''

The Bell Jar ''The Bell Jar'' is the only novel written by the American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. Originally published under the pseudonym "Victoria Lucas" in 1963, the novel is semi-autobiographical with the names of places and people changed. The book ...

''. In his book '' A Short History of Nearly Everything'',

Bill Bryson William McGuire Bryson (; born 8 December 1951) is an American–British journalist and author. Bryson has written a number of nonfiction books on topics including travel, the English language, and science. Born in the United States, he has b ...

mentions an experiment done at the naval prison on Deer Island. Following the August

1918 flu pandemic The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

, in an attempt to develop a vaccine, 62 volunteers were selected from 300 prisoners. These men were promised pardons if they survived a set of tests. None of the volunteers fell sick, but the ward doctor contracted the disease and died. The prisoners possibly became immunized due to exposure to the virus during the weeks preceding the trial, experiencing few symptoms or none at all. The doctor in charge of the experiment,

Joseph Goldberger Joseph Goldberger ( sk, Jozef Goldberger, hu, Goldberger József) (July 16, 1874 – January 17, 1929) was an American physician and epidemiologist in the United States Public Health Service (PHS). As a public health official, he was an advocate ...

, published a report on the experiment in 1921. His report mentions the volunteers coming from a naval facility on Deer Island, but nothing regarding prisoners or pardoning of sentences. Two separate entities existed on Deer Island for naval facilities and correctional facilities:

Fort Dawes Fort Dawes was a World War II Coast Artillery fort located on Deer Island in Winthrop/Boston, Massachusetts. It was part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston. History The site's military history began in 1906 as the Deer Island Military Reservati ...

and the House of Correction. Goldberger's final report mentions two experiments on Deer Island at different times (November to December 1918 and February to March 1919), as well as a third in San Francisco (November to December 1918). The first sewage-treatment plant was constructed on Deer Island in the late 19th century and expanded in the 1960s. The current plant dates from the 1990s. Deer Island has been connected to the mainland since the

New England Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The stor ...

. A lighthouse was erected just offshore from the island in 1890; it was replaced by a modern tower in 1984.

Modern recreational uses

Deer Island is a popular recreation destination. A hiking/biking trail encircles the island, which is reachable by car, bus, or sea. A public boat dock is at the southwest corner of the island. Trails also climb escarpments on the island, including the highest one near the water tower. This vantage point offers views of the city, ocean, and

Logan International Airport General Edward Lawrence Logan International Airport , also known as Boston Logan International Airport and commonly as Boston Logan, Logan Airport or simply Logan, is an international airport that is located mostly in East Boston and partially ...

and is a popular spot for

planespotting Aircraft spotting, or plane spotting is a hobby of tracking the movement of aircraft, which is often accomplished by photography. Besides monitoring aircraft, plane spotting enthusiasts (who are usually called plane spotters) also record informa ...

. The southern tip of the island offers some of the best views from land of the Boston harbor islands. Deer Island P1110348

Incidents

In June 2015, the body of an unknown toddler girl, later identified as Bella Bond, was found on the island. Due to the state of decomposition, investigators were not immediately able to determine the age, sex, or ethnicity of the body.

References

Bibliography

''Some Events of Boston and Its Neighbors''
printed for the State Street Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1917.

in ''Some Events of Boston and Its Neighbors'', Chapter 4, printed for the State Street Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1917. *Winsor, Justin, Jewett, C.F., ''The Memorial History of Boston Including Suffolk County, Massachusetts. 1630-1880'', 1880. https://web.archive.org/web/20061113122453/http://www.helloboston.com/80_LocalBook.Cfm] *United States, National Park Service, and Boston Support Office. Boston Harbor Islands: A National Park Area: General Management Plan. Boston, Mass: National Park Service, Northeast Region, Boston Support Office, 2002.

External links

Deer Island web page
with visitor information.
Flickr
Photos, Oct. 2009
{{Boston Harbor Islands Boston Harbor peninsulas and former islands Landforms of Suffolk County, Massachusetts History of Boston Peninsulas of Massachusetts Prison islands Former islands of Massachusetts