Liberty Island jurisdictional status of Liberty Island. An unusual clause in the 1664 colonial land grant that outlined New Jersey's borders reads: "westward of Long Island, and Manhitas Island and bounded on the east part by the main sea, and part by Hudson's river" rather than at the river's midpoint, as was common in other colonial charters. When the Province of New Jersey was separated from the Province of New York in 1674 it was argued that Staten Island belonged to the former. Then governor Edmund Andros directed that all islands in the bay that could be circumnavigated within 24 hours were
Island Park, New York New York and Long Beach Railroad, as it was known, crossed Reynolds Channel. Between 1851 and 1870, Peter C. Barnum gained ownership of the southeastern lands of Long Island which were then part of Queens County. In 1874 his widow, Sara Ann, purchased Hog Island and sold it to the county for $13,000. The property became the site of the county's poor farm (Miele's Camp) and also a smallpox hospital. It was at this time that Hog Island was renamed Barnum Island in her honor. In 1910, Frank Lawson, a developer, and William Austin had a vision: to develop Island