Liberty Island states. The oyster beds would remain a major source of food for nearly three centuries. Landfilling, started by the 1870s, particularly by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey, eventually obliterated the beds, engulfed one island and brought the shoreline much closer to the others. After the surrender of Fort Amsterdam by the Dutch to the British in 1664, the English governor Richard Nicolls granted the island to Captain Robert Needham. It was sold to Isaac Bedloe on December 23, 1667. The island was retained by his estate until 1732 when it was sold for five shillings
1956 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania 1956 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania The 1956 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania was held on November 6, 1956. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator James H. Duff sought re-election to another term, but was defeated by the Democratic nominee, Joseph S. Clark, Jr. The 1956 Senate election in Pennsylvania featured two prominent and well-known candidates: a former Philadelphia mayor in the challenger, Clark, and the ambitious former Governor Duff who had considered running for higher office. Clark, in his run for mayor, upset the Republican Party machine in Philadelphia and contributed to a political realignment in the city that