History

tract that Thomas Pell (1613-1669) purchased from the Siwanoy Indians in 1654. Pell named his
estate Pelham in honor of his tutor Pelham Burton. After Pell’s death, Pelham manor passed to his
nephew Sir John Pell who was the first of the Pells to live on the estate.

In 1685, Sir John Pell sold City Island to John Smith of Brooklyn. From 1700 to 1761, the island
changed hands several times. In 1761, Benjamin Palmer purchased the island for a syndicate
whose intention was to transform it into a commercial center that would rival Manhattan. The
island was renamed City Island in honor of this development project. The project was abandoned
during the Revolutionary War when the British occupied the island. It was revived in the 1790s,
but ultimately failed to materialize.

In 1807, most of the island came into the possession of Nicholas Haight, who, in 1818, sold 42
acres at the island’s southernmost tip to George Horton. Horton, the Supervisor of Westchester
County from the Town of Pelham, promoted the building of the five streets, including Pilot, Pell,
and Schofield, and the public highway, Main Street (now City Island Avenue). In the first half of
the nineteenth century “parts of the island changed hands many times as they were subdivided
and sold.”

Initially, City Island was a farming community. The island’s first commercial enterprise, a solar
salt works, which produced salt from evaporated seawater, was established by E.C. Cooper in the
1820s. Around 1830, Orrin Fordham, a shipbuilder from Connecticut, established an oyster
planting business on the east side of City Island. “Although it was common knowledge that oyster
larvae set on almost any clean underwater object, especially oyster shells, in summertime,” no one
in the United States prior to Fordham had deliberately planted shells in order to cultivate oysters.
His idea revolutionized the business. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, oysters became
the “chief fishery product of the United States” as well as the “most extensively eaten of all
shellfish.” Fulton Fish Market at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan became the primary
clearinghouse for oysters grown not only in the local waters off City Island, Staten Island, Raritan
Bay, etc., but for oysters from the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, and New England, which were
shipped from the market across the country and overseas.

Between 1847 and 1869, numerous settlers moved to City Island to take part in the oyster
business, which became “the chief industry employing the bulk of the male population at City
Island.” City Islanders also profited by servicing, supplying, and building ships, which supported
the island’s economy throughout most of the twentieth century. There were many small yards
serving the oyster boats throughout the nineteenth century but the first commercial shipyard,
D. Carll Shipyard, was established in 1862.

After the Civil War, the Carll yard became known for the construction and rebuilding of large
luxury yachts. Capitalizing on the Carll shipyard’s success, other commercial boatyards were
soon established, resulting in the construction of numerous luxury and racing yachts including a
number of America’s Cup winners. The federal government also commissioned vessels from the
City Island boatyards during both world wars. After World War II, the leisure-boating industry
rose to prominence.

For much of its history City Island was part of the Town of Pelham, Westchester County. It was
linked to the mainland by a toll bridge in 1873, which became a free bridge when the eastern
Bronx was annexed by New York City in 1895. Limited access to the island discouraged dense
development, and as a result the island has retained its small-town atmosphere. Numerous yacht
clubs, marinas, and popular seafood restaurants continue to play a role in the island’s economy.