Davids' Island (New York)
view of the northern end of Davids' Island
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 Davids' Island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Long Island Sound |
| Coordinates | 40°53′00″N 73°46′13″W / 40.883417°N 73.770231°WCoordinates: 40°53′00″N 73°46′13″W / 40.883417°N 73.770231°W |
| Area | 78 acres (32 ha) |
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United States
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| State | New York |
| County | Westchester County |
| City | New Rochelle |
Davids' Island is a 78-acre (320,000 m2) island off the coast of New Rochelle, New York, in Long Island Sound. Currently uninhabited, in the past it was the site of Fort Slocum. The island is home to the endangered Kemp's Ridley sea turtle, and rare birds such as osprey and least terns. Davids' Island also supports valuable wetlands, rare rocky intertidal areas, and sandy beaches. The waters surrounding the Island are home to winter flounder, Atlantic herring, and Atlantic silverside.
The name is often given as "David Hawk's" or "David Hawk", but neither is correct. The island is named after its next-to-last civilian owner before the Army acquired it; New York City ink manufacturer and Westchester County resident Thaddeus Davids. It was first leased (1861–1867), then owned (1867–1965), by the U.S. Government, and was known as "Davids' Island Military Reservation" until it was renamed "Fort Slocum" on July 1, 1896. Previously, it had been named after other owners and was called successively: Bouteillier's, Rodman's, Myer's, Treadwell's, Hewlett's, Allen's, and Morse's Island.
During the last periods before European explorers and colonists arrived, Native Americans inhabited Davids' Island. By the mid 17th century, the New Rochelle, NY area was inhabited by a Native American group known as the Siwanoy. Archeological evidence from Davids' Island indicates that Native Americans inhabited the island from 1,000 to 1,500 AD. Native Americans began to withdraw from New York's coastal areas in the 1600s, as European traders and colonists began to enter the region. In 1654, Thomas Pell acquired from the Siwanoys title for the land that now includes Davids' Island and southern Westchester County.
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