Neptune Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

and part of the City of

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

. It is connected to the mainland by a stone causeway topped by Neptune Road. A dam at the peninsula's east end creates a small pond, and its west shore edges the Neptune Basin inlet.

History

The island was originally included in the "Commons" of the Town and, following the end of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

, it came under the ownership of Anthony Lispenard Bleecker. In 1828, it was purchased by William Turpin, who named it "Moses Island". It was during Turpin's ownership that the present road and causeway were built, connecting the island with the mainland, and a steamboat dock was built at the end of that road. In 1837, Isaac Underhill and his wife Deborah built the "Neptune House" summer resort hotel. The large white frame structure located in the center of the wooded island became so popular that the island was later named after it. Some of the early

steamboats A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

that shuttled individuals between New Rochelle and New York City from the Neptune House Dock were the "''American Eagle''", "''Croton''", "''Economy''", and "''Island City''". In 1876, the Neptune House was also the terminal of Colonel DeLancey Kane's "Tally Ho" coach running daily between New Rochelle and the Brunswick Hotel in New York City. The Underhill family owned the island through 1885, they sold it to

Adrian G Iselin Adrian Georg Iselin (January 17, 1818 – March 28, 1905) was a New York financier who invested in and developed real estate, railroads, and mining operations. For many years during his early business career he was engaged in importing with his ...

, who demolished most of the hotel. Iselin soon established the ''New Rochelle and Pelham Railroad Company'' and the ''New Rochelle Street Railway Company'', making a connection to Neptune Island and the Glen Island ferry from the New Rochelle railroad depot. Along with the private steamboats operated to the island from New York City by Mr. Starin, the two companies greatly facilitated travel to and from the island by way of the

New York and New Haven Railroad The New York and New Haven Railroad (NY&NH) was a railroad connecting New York City to New Haven, Connecticut, along the shore of Long Island Sound. It opened in 1849, and in 1872 it merged with the Hartford & New Haven Railroad to form the New ...

One section of the original hotel was left standing, and it was divided into four private houses that still remain at 1,2,3, and 4 Harbor Lane. Mr. Iselin later donated a large section of the island to the City of New Rochelle for a park.Park for New Rochelle
The New York Times, 1903 The Huguenot Yacht Club now occupies the western end of the island, and the ferry between Neptune and Glen Islands has been replaced by a large bascule bridge extending from the mainland, over the western end of Neptune Island, to Glen Island.

References

External links

* {{authority control Long Island Sound Geography of New Rochelle, New York Islands of Westchester County, New York Islands of New York (state)

History

See also

References

External links