Robins Island is a

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 ...

Peconic Bay The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork, Suffolk County, New York, South Fork of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island (t ...

by the eastern end of

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 ...

off the coast of New Suffolk, New York. The island is privately owned and not accessible to the public and is within the jurisdiction of the Town of Southold in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...

in the United States.

History

Robins Island was part of the 1636 deed to William Alexander, Earl of Stirling by King Charles I in which Alexander received all of

and adjacent islands. Alexander gave James Farret power to act as his agent and attorney in settling Long Island. In 1637 Farret was allowed to choose for his personal use. Farret chose Shelter Island and Robins Island for his use. Farret in turn sold the islands to Stephen Goodyear, one of the founders of the New Haven Colony in 1641. In 1651, it was purchased by

Nathaniel Sylvester Nathaniel Sylvester (1610–1680) was an Anglo-Dutch sugar merchant, slave owner, and the first European settler of Shelter Island. Early life Nathaniel Sylvester was born in 1610 in England.Jennifer SchuesslerConfronting Slavery at Long Island� ...

and his partners Constant Sylvester, Thomas Middleton, and Thomas Rouse. The island was purchased by

Parker Wickham Parker Wickham (February 28, 1727–May 22, 1785) was a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist politician who was banished from the State of New York under dubious circumstances. Wickham was the oldest son of Joseph Wickham and Abigail Parker ...

in 1715. According to the Southold Town Records, Joseph Wickham was the owner of the Island in 1734. His son— Joseph Wickham (died 1749)—inherited the island and his son Parker became the owner of the island in 1779. The island and other nearby lands in Suffolk County were confiscated in 1779 during 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 ...

by act of attainder, and Wickham, a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

, was banished from the state. Under a Legislature of the State act it was declared that Parker Wickham forfeited his estate and it was sold on August 5, 1784 to Caleb Brewster and Benjamin Tallmadge who had been members of the Culper Spy Ring during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. They sold it to Ezra L'Hommedieu in the 1790s. When L'Hommedieu died, his executors sold it to Benjamin Horton and James Reeve. By 1851 Wooster and Goodale owned the island. Ira B. Tuthill and Jeremiah G. Tuthill purchased parts of the island and by 1857 Ira B. Tuthill owned the entire island. In 1873 he sold it to George E Horne, acting as an agent for James Wilson. In 1878 the island was sold back to Ira B. Tuthill under foreclosure. Tuthill sold it to Abraham Ingraham in 1881 for $22,000. Ingraham, who was from New York, used the island for hunting quail and other game. The island was purchased for $1.3 million in 1979 by two German investors, Herbert and Claus Mittermayer, who planned to sell it to private developers. Robert M. Tuthill, who was the caretaker of the island since the early 1970s, ensured that only invited guests visited the island to protect it from unintended wildfires set by local fishermen who were used to visiting the island. In 1989, Wickham's descendants attempted to regain the property, but their lawsuit was dismissed in 1992. About a month later, in April 1989, Suffolk County agreed to purchase Robins Island for $9.2 million and turn it into a nature preserve. However, the island never transitioned to public ownership because of legal disputes, as another developer had signed a contract to purchase Robins Island for $15.3 million and develop 22 luxury homes on five-acre lots. (That development deal collapsed after the county determined that an environmental study was necessary before the island could be purchased.)

Current status

Robins Island is owned by Wall Street financier Louis Bacon, who purchased it in 1993 at a bankruptcy court auction for $11 million. Bacon has made significant investments in restoring the neglected island, going so far as to import full-grown oak trees to replace ones harvested for lumber years earlier. Some non-native grasses were removed from the island and replaced, and hunters reduced an overgrown deer population. The island has the healthiest turtle population in the state, which includes the

Eastern mud turtle The eastern mud turtle (''Kinosternon subrubrum'') or common mud turtle is a common species of turtle in the family Kinosternidae. The species is endemic to the United States. There are two recognized subspecies. Description The eastern mud turt ...

. Bacon is known for hosting traditional English "driven pheasant" hunts on the island for his guests. There are three main houses on the property with additional visitors' cottages, caretaker quarters, and several barns and outbuildings on the island.

Geography

Robins Island is located between

Little Peconic Bay The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island. Peconic Bay is divided by Robins Island into the Gr ...

and

Great Peconic Bay The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island. Peconic Bay is divided by Robins Island into the Great ...

. The island can be reached by a private vessel. A road runs the length of the island. A conservation easement in 1997 makes it unlikely that any development will occur on the island; however, 2009 satellite images show seven structures and several small outbuildings on the island.

Notes

References

* {{authority control Southold, New York Long Island Sound Islands of Suffolk County, New York Islands of New York (state)