Esopus Island is an uninhabited island in the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

. It is part of Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park, located in the town of Hyde Park in

Dutchess County Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later organ ...

, in the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Geography

The island is located to the east of the center of the river channel, north of the river's mouth at New York City, roughly offshore, southwest of Norrie Point in Staatsburg, and opposite the mouth of Black Creek in the town of Esopus on the west shore. It is approximately long. In an 1894 book its shape was compared to "a great stranded and petrified whale". There is a beach on the southeast side and

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body of water to near the surface. It ...

s at the north end. The island is wooded with outcrops of rock.Frances Marion Platt
"Retrace steps of famed mystic Aleister Crowley on Esopus Island"
Hudson Valley One, October 24, 2011. It is part of Margaret Lewis Norrie State Park and of the Hudson River Watertrail and has campsites, picnic areas, trails, and fishing access points, but can be reached only by boat.Kandy Harris
"Destinations: Mysterious Esopus Island"
''Upstater'', May 22, 2014.Esopus Island
''Atlas Obscura'', retrieved September 23, 2016. To the south of the island is the much smaller Bolles Island, which is private property with a residence.

History

The

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

Indians are presumed to have made use of the island, and a stone on the east shore shows signs of human working, resembling a

megalith A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. There are over 35,000 in Europe alone, located widely from Sweden to the Mediterranean sea. The ...

. There is a legend of a

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

missionary killed on the island by the Indians. In October 1777, during the Revolutionary War, a British fleet laid off Esopus Island prior to destroying

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

, then the provincial capital. In the second half of the 19th century the island was part of the estate of

Robert Livingston Pell Robert Livingston Pell (May 8, 1818 – February 11, 1880) was an American landowner and descendant of several prominent colonial families of New York. Early life Pell was born at the old Pell mansion in Pelham on May 8, 1818. He was a son of Al ...

and was known as Pell Island. Aleister Crowley spent

40 days and 40 nights ''40 Days and 40 Nights'' is a 2002 satirical erotic romantic comedy film directed by Michael Lehmann, written by Rob Perez, and starring Josh Hartnett, Shannyn Sossamon and Paulo Costanzo. The film depicts Matt Sullivan, a San Francisco web d ...

on Esopus Island (which he spelled "Oesopus") in 1918, translating the ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

'', meditating, and painting slogans on the rocks with red paint. Friends had given him money to buy a tent, a canoe, and stores for his retreat to the island, but instead of food he bought the paint, brushes, and rope for rappeling, saying that he would be "fed by ravens". Local people as well as friends brought him supplies. It was illegal to camp on the island until it was incorporated into the New York State parks system.

In popular culture

Esopus Island is featured prominently in the novel ''Piper Houdini: Nightmare on Esopus Island,'' in which Aleister Crowley returns to the island in 1926 to complete the ritual workings he began in 1918.

References

{{authority control Islands of the Hudson River Uninhabited islands of New York (state)