Harbor Defenses of New York later became known as the first system of US seacoast fortifications. In New York this was initially limited to the large Fort Jay on Governors Island, along with some small batteries on Oyster Island (later Ellis Island) and Bedloe's Island (later Liberty Island). These were simple earthworks at the time. Congress contributed to building Fort Jay in 1797, and in 1800 the state sold the fort, Governors Island, and Bedloe's Island to the federal government for one dollar. Oyster Island was similarly transferred in 1808. The federal government commenced building improved stone forts at all three locations. In June 1807,
Calumet Island Calumet Island Calumet Island is an island on the St. Lawrence River, located in the Town of Clayton in Jefferson County, New York. The island formerly featured one of the earliest examples of the large castles built in the Thousand Islands region during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, of which Boldt Castle is a surviving example. New York tobacco tycoon Charles G. Emery, a pioneering developer of the Thousand Islands region during the 1800s, purchased what was then known as Powder Horn Island in 1882. He changed the island's name to "Calumet", a French, colonial-era word often used