Jamaica Bay

Daniel M. Hendrick

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2006
• ISBN:
  9781439618028
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

For more than two centuries after the Dutch settled its meandering shores, Jamaica Bay was little more than a watery expanse broken by small islands and a handful of mills. Rapid growth after the Civil War transformed the bay into a microcosm of a developing nation, as meadows gave way to houses and factories, and giant steamers and locomotives appeared. Plans to create the world's largest deepwater port here were never realized, yet Jamaica Bay did emerge as a hub for aviation; the first successful transatlantic flight departed over the bayfollowed by millions of flights that have taken off from John F. Kennedy International Airport ever since. Through historic photographs, Jamaica Bay illustrates the bay's transformation into a shellfishing haven, a recreational playground with hotels and casinos, and now the focus of a longterm environmental rehabilitation.

Two

INDUSTRIALIZATION AND PLAYGROUND

The European settlers who displaced the Canarsie and Rockaway tribes from Jamaica Bay’s shores would have had little trouble recognizing it more than two centuries later. There was as a larger population, to be sure, but farming was still the main occupation, no bridges yet spanned the bay, and the islands and meadows remained where they had been for years.

Rapid modernization and industrialization in the mid-19th century changed that. Fish-oil and fertilizer factories appeared on Barren Island, initiating the bay’s role as a place for disposing of the unwanted. A commercial fishing industry opened for business, with Canarsie as its hub. Stables disappeared from Mill Island, replaced by landfill to extend Flatbush Avenue. Developers eyed Jamaica Bay’s northern and eastern shores for housing.

Railroads ushered in the most sweeping changes. The Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach Railroad fueled the growth of Canarsie, and to a lesser extent Bergen Beach, into resorts. Ferry service connected the two ports with the Rockaway Peninsula to meet vacationers’ increasing demand. A trestle later spanned the bay from Remsen’s Landing to Hammels. Stops along the way became destinations in their own right, with hotels, fishing clubs, and cottages clinging to the grassy hummocks.

In many ways, the years between the Civil War and World War I on Jamaica Bay were golden. Before the pressures of a burgeoning population had set in, the best weakfish on the East Coast could be had just moments away from nightclubs and casinos.

With the exception of Barren Island, Bergen Island, and Canarsie, Dripps’s 1852 map shows no property owners directly on the bay. The white areas in Flatlands denote farms, while the patch in “Jamaica South,” at the top of the map, is unowned salt meadow mowed to feed livestock. The thick marshes were largely responsible for keeping development at bay for so long. (Courtesy Queens Historical Society.)

James Remsen’s Seaside Hotel emerged as one of the best-known accommodations on the Rockaway Peninsula in the late 1850s. The three-story hotel had room for 300 guests with a restaurant on the main pier. It was destroyed in a fire on September 13, 1892, exactly one week before a much larger fire would engulf the entire neighborhood. (Courtesy W. W. Munsell and Company.)

Shellfish harvesting in Jamaica Bay began to take on a commercial character in the 1860s, after the planting of seed oysters became a common practice. Oysters were harvested from September until December, with many sold in Manhattan markets, like this one seen in 1870. (Courtesy Library of Congress.)

The smokestacks at rear were the hallmarks of Barren Island, where as many as 26 companies operated between 1859 and 1934. At its height, the island’s population numbered 1,500, enough to sustain a church and school. The main products were fertilizers from dead horses, and fish oil, which was used to mix paints and tan leather. (Courtesy Queens Borough Public Library, Long Island Division, Illustrations Collection.)

Barren Island’s topography contributed to its early development. At low tide, men and livestock could reach it from the mainland, while larger vessels could approach the south side. This 1877 map records the location of several structures, including the r...