Gallops Island, also known as Gallups Island, is an island in 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 peninsula, ...

. It is situated between

Georges Island Georges Island, or George's Island, may refer to: Geography *Georges Island (Massachusetts), offshore from the city of Boston, Massachusetts *Georges Island (Nova Scotia), offshore from the community of Halifax in the Halifax Regional Municipali ...

and

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 ...

, and is just over from downtown Boston. 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 , and is composed of one large drumlin, reaching an elevation of above sea level. The island has a rocky beach and offers long vistas from the top of its grassy bluffs. Gallops Island is closed until

asbestos remediation In construction, asbestos abatement is a set of procedures designed to control the release of asbestos fibers from asbestos-containing materials. Asbestos abatement is utilized during general construction in areas containing asbestos materials, ...

is completed. The island is named after

John Gallop John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, one of Boston Harbor's first

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, who lived on the island. Since then the island has been occupied by a

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

and inn and a

quarantine station A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

. During the Civil War the island was occupied by a military camp housing 3,000 Union soldiers, and during World War II it was occupied by a radio school and a school for bakers and cooks. During World War I, Gallops Island was used as an infirmary for thousands of American soldiers who contracted " Spanish influenza" and pneumonia. Many died every day, to be replaced by new arrivals. The island contains a collection of ornamental trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants that date back to its earlier uses, with additional trees being planted by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. Photographs from the 1940s show that a tree lined street extended the length of the island. Although the buildings have been demolished, the pathways and foundations still exist and are lined with privet hedges and surrounded by fruit, shade and coniferous trees, including

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

s, mock-orange,

snowberry ''Symphoricarpos'', commonly known as the snowberry, waxberry, or ghostberry, is a small genus of about 15 species of deciduous shrubs in the honeysuckle family, Caprifoliaceae. With the exception of the Chinese coralberry, '' S. sinensis'', whi ...

, and

forsythia ''Forsythia'' , is a genus of flowering plants in the olive family Oleaceae. There are about 11 species, mostly native to eastern Asia, but one native to southeastern Europe. ''Forsythia'' – also one of the plant's common names – is ...

. Also present are self-sown sumac, poplar, poison ivy, and

bayberry ''Myrica'' is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America, and missing only from Aust ...

. The vegetation has been badly damaged in recent years by the island's population of

rabbits Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit specie ...

. Gallops Island was closed in 2000 due to the presence of

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

-containing building debris from former military uses. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation has determined that the island will be closed to the public until visitors can be welcomed back safely. As of August 2010, it was predicting a re-opening no earlier than 2015, presuming remediation funding could be obtained.

References

Boston Harbor islands Civilian Conservation Corps in Massachusetts Islands of Suffolk County, Massachusetts {{Boston-geo-stub