View source for Liberty Island

{{Short description|Island in New York Harbor in the US}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox historic site
| name = Liberty Island
| image = Liberty Island photo Don Ramey Logan.jpg
| image_size = 275px
| caption = Liberty Island in December 2014 with [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] in the background
| location = [[Upper New York Bay]]
| coordinates = {{Wikidatacoord|Q319821|region:US-NY_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = New York City#New York#USA New Jersey Hudson County#USA
| map_caption = Location in [[Upper New York Bay]]
| built =
| architect =
| architecture =
| area = {{cvt|14.717|acre|m2}}
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| governing_body = [[National Park Service]]
| designation1 = NMON
| designation1_date = {{plainlist|
* October 15, 1924
* September 7, 1937<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Proclamation 1950: Enlarging the Statue of Liberty National Monument New York |title=Code of Federal Regulations: Title 3—The President 1936–1938 Compilation |publisher=National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration |date=1968 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UxsuAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA120 |pages=120–121}}</ref>}}
| designation1_free1name = Designated by
| designation1_free1value = {{plainlist|
* [[Calvin Coolidge]]
* [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]]}}
| designation2 = NRHP
| designation2_offname = [[Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island]]
| designation2_date = October 15, 1966
| designation2_number = 66000058
| designation3 = New Jersey Register of Historic Places
| designation3_offname = [[Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty Island]]
| designation3_date = May 27, 1971
| designation3_number = 1535<ref name=NJRHP>{{cite web |title=New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Hudson County |url=http://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists.htm |publisher=[[New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection]] – Historic Preservation Office |access-date=August 2, 2014 |archive-date=October 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141009221342/http://www.nj.gov/dep/hpo/1identify/nrsr_lists.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| designation4 = NYC Landmark
| designation4_date = September 14, 1976
| designation4_type = Individual
}}
'''Liberty Island''' is a federally owned island in [[Upper New York Bay]] in the northeastern United States. Its most notable feature is the [[Statue of Liberty]] (''Liberty Enlightening the World''), a large statue by [[Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi]] that was dedicated in 1886. The island also contains the [[Statue of Liberty Museum]], which opened in 2019, and exhibits the statue's original torch, which was carried by ''Liberty'' from 1886 to 1984.

Long known as '''Bedloe's Island''', it was renamed by an act of the [[United States Congress]] in 1956. Part of the [[New York (state)|State of New York]], the island is an [[exclave]] of the [[New York City borough]] of [[Manhattan]], surrounded by the waters of [[Jersey City, New Jersey]]. There were a number of disputes regarding the jurisdictional status of the island during the 20th century.

Liberty Island became part of the [[Statue of Liberty National Monument]] in 1937 through Presidential Proclamation 2250, signed by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]].<ref name="Early History of Ellis Island">{{cite web |title=Early History of Bedloe's Island |work=Statue of Liberty Historical Handbook |publisher=National Park Service |url=http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hh/11/hh11m.htm |access-date=August 19, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100628162434/http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/hh/11/hh11m.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2010}}</ref> In 1966, it was listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as part of the [[Statue of Liberty National Monument|Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island, and Liberty Island]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sutherland |first1=Cara A. |title=The Statue of Liberty |date=2003 |publisher=Barnes & Noble Books |location=New York |isbn=0760738904 |url=https://books.google.com/books?isbn=0760738904 |access-date=June 18, 2016}}</ref>

== Geography and access ==
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the island has a land area of {{convert|14.717|acre|ha}}, and is the property of the federal government. Liberty Island is located in the [[Upper New York Bay]] within the waters of [[Jersey City, New Jersey]]. It is [[List of smaller islands in New York City#Manhattan|one of the islands that are part]] of the [[Boroughs of New York City|borough]] of [[Manhattan]] in New York.<ref>{{cite book |publisher=Hagstrom Map Company, Inc |isbn=978-0-88097-763-0 |title=Hudson County New Jersey Street Map |year=2008}}</ref><ref name="supreme.justia.com">{{cite court |litigants=New Jersey v. New York |vol=523 |reporter=U.S. |opinion=767 |pinpoint=page 779 |date=May 26, 1998 |url=http://supreme.justia.com/us/523/767/index.html |access-date=December 13, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131208055419/http://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/523/767/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="National Park Service"/> The historical developments which led to this construction made Liberty Island an [[exclave]] of one state, New York, in another, New Jersey. Liberty Island is {{Convert|2000|ft|m}} east of [[Liberty State Park]] in Jersey City and is {{convert|1.6|mi|km}} southwest of [[The Battery (Manhattan)|the Battery]] in Lower Manhattan.

=== State sovereignty disputes ===
[[File:BlackTom.jpg|thumb|The geography along the New Jersey banks of [[Upper New York Bay]] before landfilling. Liberty (Bedloe's) Island's location near [[New Jersey]] led to the state's attempts to assert jurisdiction.|alt=|left]]

====State dispute====
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"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/nj01.asp |title=The Duke of York's Release to John Lord Berkeley, And Sir George Carteret, 24 June 1664 |work=[[Avalon Project|The Avalon Project]] Documents in Law, History and Diplomacy |date=December 18, 1998 |publisher=[[Yale Law School]] [[Lillian Goldman Law Library]] |access-date=July 29, 2012 |archive-date=September 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110906103925/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/nj01.asp |url-status=live }}</ref> rather than at the river's midpoint, as was common in other colonial charters.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rieff |first=Henry |title=Intrepretations of New York-New Jersey Agreements 1834 and 1921 |journal=Newark Law Review |volume=1 |issue=2 |url=http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/journals/docs/journal.nwk.1.29.pdf |access-date=February 9, 2010 |archive-date=May 6, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060506003540/http://njlegallib.rutgers.edu/journals/docs/journal.nwk.1.29.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1824, the City of New York attempted to assert a jurisdictional monopoly over the growing ferry service in New York Harbor in ''[[Gibbons v. Ogden]]''. It was deemed by the court that interstate transport would be regulated by the federal government. This did not resolve the border issue. In 1830, [[New Jersey]] planned to bring suit,<ref name="nyt-1998-05-27">{{cite news |last=Greenhouse |first=Linda |title=The Ellis Island Verdict: The Ruling; High Court Gives New Jersey Most of Ellis Island |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=May 27, 1998 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/27/nyregion/ellis-island-verdict-ruling-high-court-gives-new-jersey-most-ellis-island.html |access-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-date=January 13, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113042835/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/27/nyregion/ellis-island-verdict-ruling-high-court-gives-new-jersey-most-ellis-island.html |url-status=live }}</ref> but the matter was resolved with a compact between the states ratified by [[United States Congress|Congress]] in 1834, which set the boundary line between them as the midpoint of the shared waterway.<ref name="National Park Service">{{cite web |title=Statue of Liberty National Monument – Frequently Asked Questions |url=https://www.nps.gov/stli/faqs.htm |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=February 1, 2010 |archive-date=August 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807205159/https://www.nps.gov/stli/faqs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="compact">[[s:Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 4.djvu/755|United States Statutes at Large: Volume 4]]</ref> This would place Bedloe's (Liberty) Island and Ellis Island in New Jersey; however, the compact included an exception specifying that they remain the territory of New York.<ref name="compact" /> This was later confirmed by the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] in a 1908 case which also expounded on the compact.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://supreme.justia.com/us/209/473/case.html |title=Central R. Co. Of New Jersey V. Jersey City, 209 U.S. 473 (1908) |access-date=July 29, 2012 |archive-date=February 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212122745/http://supreme.justia.com/us/209/473/case.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Manhattan & Liberty Island, New York.jpg|thumb|Liberty Island, with [[Ellis Island]], downtown [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] (left), and Manhattan (right) in background]]

In 1986, a suit brought by New Jersey residents challenging the [[New York state government]]'s jurisdiction over Liberty Island was dismissed.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/30/nyregion/bridge-decisions-by-a-jersey-judge-get-some-second-guessing.html |title=Bridge: Decisions by a Jersey Judge Get Some Second-Guessing |last=Truscott |first=Alan |date=June 30, 1986 |work=The New York Times |access-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704090111/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/06/30/nyregion/bridge-decisions-by-a-jersey-judge-get-some-second-guessing.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The same year, [[U.S. Representative]] [[Frank J. Guarini]] and [[Gerald McCann]], then [[mayor of Jersey City]], sued the [[government of New York City]], contending that New Jersey should have dominion over Liberty Island because it is on the New Jersey side of the state line.<ref>{{cite news |title=New Jerseyans' Claim To Liberty Island Rejected |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE3DE1E3FF935A35753C1A961948260 |agency=[[Associated Press]] |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 6, 1987 |access-date=January 27, 2010 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704090018/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/06/nyregion/new-jerseyans-claim-to-liberty-i-rejected.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the court chose not to hear the case,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-05-mn-22509-story.html |title=Statue of Liberty a Legal New Yorker, Supreme Court Says |date=October 5, 1987 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |agency=Associated Press |access-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104185833/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-05-mn-22509-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the existing legal status remained unchanged. Portions of the island that are above water are part of New York, while [[riparian rights]] to all of the submerged land surrounding the statue belong to New Jersey. The southwestern section, {{convert|4.17|acre|ha}},<ref name="NHJSPLS">{{cite web |title=Is Lady Liberty a Jersey Girl? |website=New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors |date=February 4, 2014 |url=http://www.njspls.org/?130 |access-date=September 6, 2014 |archive-date=April 21, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170421232806/http://www.njspls.org/?130 |url-status=live }}</ref> of the island was created by land reclamation.<ref name="NHJSPLS"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Fill of the Jersey City Quadrangle: Historic Fill Map HFM-53 |website=New Jersey State Department of Environmental Protection |date=2004 |url=http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/geodata/historicfill/jersey.pdf |access-date=August 31, 2014 |archive-date=September 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906133806/http://www.state.nj.us/dep/njgs/geodata/historicfill/jersey.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1998, the [[United States Supreme Court]] decided the state jurisdiction of the nearby [[Ellis Island]] in ''[[New Jersey v. New York]]''. Being mostly constructed of artificial infill, New Jersey argued and the court agreed that the 1834 compact covered only the natural parts of the island, and not the portions added by infill. Thus it was agreed that the parts of the island made of filled land belonged to New Jersey while the original natural part belonged to New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/maps.htm |title=National Park Service Map Showing Portions of the Island Belonging to New York and New Jersey |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223020823/http://www.nps.gov/elis/planyourvisit/maps.htm |archive-date=February 23, 2010}}</ref> This proved impractical to administer and New Jersey and New York subsequently agreed to share jurisdiction of the entire island.<ref name="nyt-1998-05-27" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Court Rules Ellis Island Is Mostly in New Jersey |last1=Brogan |first1=Pamela |date=May 27, 1998 |work=Courier-Post |last2=Gannett News Service |location=Camden, NJ |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32518085/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/32518184/ 4] |via=newspapers.com {{open access}}}}</ref> This special situation only applies to Ellis Island and part of [[Shooters Island]].<ref name="supreme.justia.com" />

===={{Anchor|Federal land|Federal claim}}Federal ownership====
[[File:Liberty Island NPS August 2012.jpg|thumb|right|National Park Service building on Liberty Island]]
Liberty Island has been owned by the federal government since 1801, first as a military installation and now as a national landmark. [[Statue of Liberty National Monument]], Ellis Island and Liberty Island, listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] since 1966, encompasses land in both states,<ref name="whereliberty" /> control of which is superseded by the United States. The undisputed state boundary between New Jersey and New York is in the center of the [[Hudson River]] and the [[Upper New York Bay]], with Liberty Island situated well on the New Jersey side of the water line with Liberty Island itself an [[Enclave and exclave|exclave]] of the State of New York and a part of New York City, allowing the state and city of New York to retain sovereignty of Liberty Island, [[Service of process|serve process]] there and collect sales tax from Liberty Island souvenir shops.<ref name="supreme.justia.com" />

In response to a FAQ about whether the Statue of Liberty is in New York or New Jersey, the [[National Park Service]], which oversees Liberty Island, cites the 1834 compact.<ref name="whereliberty">{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/stli/ |title=Statue of Liberty National Monument |date=December 13, 2007 |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |access-date=July 24, 2008 |archive-date=October 4, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101004002030/http://www.nps.gov/stli/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Question 127 on a naturalization examination piloted in 2006 asks "Where is the Statue of Liberty?" The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services gives "New York Harbor" and "Liberty Island" as preferred answers, but notes that "New Jersey", "New York", "New York City", and "on the Hudson" are acceptable.<ref>
{{cite web |url=http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=dcf5e1df53b2f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205224934/http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=dcf5e1df53b2f010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 5, 2006 |title=Questions and Answers for New Pilot Naturalization Exam |access-date=December 1, 2006 |date=November 30, 2006 |publisher=U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services}}</ref>

Both New York City and [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] have assigned the island lot numbers. Utility services, including electricity, water, and sewage, to Liberty and Ellis Islands are provided from the New Jersey side, while mail is delivered from the Battery in New York.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hudsonlights.com/liberty.htm |title=Statue of Liberty Lighthouse |website=Hudson River Lights |access-date=July 29, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120717020552/http://www.hudsonlights.com/liberty.htm |archive-date=July 17, 2012}}</ref>

The statue was featured on [[Vehicle registration plates of New York|New York license plates]] from 1986 through 2000<ref name="NYTimes 1986-01-24">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/24/nyregion/new-york-to-start-issuing-new-license-plates-july-1.html |title=State to Start Issuing New License Plates July 1 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 24, 1986 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304151020/https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/24/nyregion/new-york-to-start-issuing-new-license-plates-july-1.html |archive-date=March 4, 2014}}</ref><ref name="NYTimes 2000-01-11">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/11/nyregion/state-license-plates-to-get-new-look.html |title=State License Plates to Get New Look |newspaper=The New York Times |agency=Associated Press |date=January 11, 2000 |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=March 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304151437/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/01/11/nyregion/state-license-plates-to-get-new-look.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and on a special [[Vehicle registration plates of New Jersey|New Jersey license plate]] celebrating Liberty State Park in Jersey City. The statue is also seen on the New York [[50 State Quarters|state quarter]]. The [[National monument (United States)|national monument]] was the symbol of the [[Central Railroad of New Jersey]] (which operated along the present-day [[Raritan Valley Line]]), whose [[Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal|railroad terminal]] is nearby.

===Public access===
Two ferry slips are located at the southwestern side of Liberty Island. No charge is made for entrance to the Statue of Liberty National Monument, but there is a cost for the ferry service,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/fees.htm |title=Fees & Passes |date=May 20, 2019 |website=Statue Of Liberty National Monument (U.S. National Park Service) |access-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-date=October 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191004115929/https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/fees.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> as private boats may not dock at the island. A concession was granted in 2007 to [[Statue Cruises]] to operate the transportation and ticketing facilities, replacing [[Circle Line Downtown|Circle Line]], which had operated the service since 1953.<ref name="Ramirez 2007-06-292">{{cite web |last=Ramirez |first=Anthony |title=Circle Line Loses Pact for Ferries to Liberty Island |website=The New York Times |date=June 29, 2007 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/nyregion/29ferry.html |access-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-date=June 16, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616152059/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/nyregion/29ferry.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The ferries depart from [[Liberty State Park]] in [[Jersey City, New Jersey|Jersey City]] and [[The Battery (Manhattan)|the Battery]] in [[Lower Manhattan]].<ref name="ferry map2">{{cite web |publisher=National Park Service |title=NPS: Liberty and Ellis Island Ferry Map |work=Ferry Map |url=https://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/ferry-system-map.htm |access-date=October 20, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140629071103/http://www.nps.gov/stli/planyourvisit/ferry-system-map.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Liberty Island Aliens.jpg|thumb|Coin-operated binoculars on Liberty Island. The island offers panoramic views of New York Harbor.]]

=== Great Oyster Island ===
At the time of European colonization of the [[Hudson River]] [[estuary]] in the mid-17th century, much of the west side of [[Upper New York Bay]] contained large tidal flats which hosted vast [[Oyster|oyster beds]], a major source of food for the [[Lenape]] native people who lived there at the time. Several islands were not completely submerged at high tide. Three of them (later known as Bedloe's/Love/Liberty, [[Ellis Island|Ellis]], and [[Black Tom (island)|Black Tom]]) were given the name Oyster Islands (''oester eilanden'') by the Dutch settlers of [[New Netherland]], the first European colony in the [[Mid-Atlantic states]]. The oyster beds would remain a major source of food for nearly three centuries.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kurlansky |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Kurlansky |title=The Big Oyster |publisher=Random House Trade paperbacks |year=2006 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-345-47639-5 |title-link=The Big Oyster}}</ref> [[Land reclamation]], 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.<ref name="ENR">{{cite journal |title=Providing Better Terminal Facilities for New York |journal=Engineering News Record |date=July 31, 1880 |page=258 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b8hBAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA258 |access-date=April 26, 2017}}</ref>

===Bedloe's Island===
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 to New York merchants Adolphe Philipse and Henry Lane. During their ownership, the island was temporarily commandeered by the city of New York to establish a [[smallpox]] [[quarantine station]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Spell It with a "W" It Should Not Be Bedloo's Island but "Bedlow's" |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 14, 1886 |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/08/14/103970595.pdf |access-date=April 8, 2011 |archive-date=January 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220121030704/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/08/14/103970595.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Harvey |first=Cornelius Burnham |title=Genealogical History Of Hudson And Bergen Counties New Jersey Early Settlers of Bergen County |year=1900 |url=http://www.getnj.com/hudberg/hudberg6.shtml |access-date=December 13, 2012 |archive-date=October 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013080125/http://www.getnj.com/hudberg/hudberg6.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=History of the Statue of Liberty and Bedlow's Island |location=New York |publisher=Regimental Press |url=http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/liberty/solnews/History%20of%20the%20Statue%20of%20Liberty%20ca.1910/HOTSOL%20c1910.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080204050906/http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/liberty/solnews/History%20of%20the%20Statue%20of%20Liberty%20ca.1910/HOTSOL%20c1910.htm |archive-date=February 4, 2008}}</ref><ref name="Lazaretto">{{cite web |url=http://www.ushistory.org/laz/history/index.htm |title=Lazaretto Quarantine Station, Tinicum Township, Delaware County, PA: History |access-date=February 1, 2010 |publisher=[[ushistory.org]] |archive-date=October 15, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015193328/http://www.ushistory.org/laz/history/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1746, [[Archibald Kennedy, 11th Earl of Cassilis|Archibald Kennedy]] (later 11th Earl of Cassilis) purchased the island and a summer residence was established,<ref name="National Park Service web site">{{cite web |title=Liberty Island Chronology |url=https://home.nps.gov/stli/learn/historyculture/liberty-island-a-chronology.htm |access-date=January 25, 2013 |archive-date=March 27, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327234618/http://www.nps.gov/stli/historyculture/liberty-island-a-chronology.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> along with construction of a lighthouse. Seven years later, the island is described in an advertisement (in which "Bedlow's" had become "Bedloe's", along with an alternate name of "Love Island") as being available for rental: {{quote|To be Let. Bedloe's Island, alias Love Island, together with the dwelling-house and lighthouse being finely situated for a tavern, where all kinds of garden stuff, poultry, etc., may be easily raised for the shipping outward bound, and from where any quantity of pickled oysters may be transported; it abounds with English rabbits."<ref name="Historic Buildings">{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/stream/historicbuildings00singiala/historicbuildings00singiala_djvu.txt |format=txt |title=Historic Buildings as Seen and Described by Famous Writers |access-date=2010-02-01}}</ref>}}

In 1756, Kennedy allowed the island to again be used as a smallpox quarantine station, and on February 18, 1758, the Corporation of the City of New York bought the island for £1,000 for use as a [[pest house]].

When the British troops occupied New York Harbor in the lead-up to the [[American Revolutionary War]], the island was to be used for housing for [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Tory]] refugees, with {{HMS|Eagle|1774|6}} docked next to it, but on April 2, 1776, the buildings constructed on the island for their use were burned to the ground.<ref name="Historic Buildings" />

=== Fort Wood ===
[[File:FortWood.jpg|thumb|Fort Wood's star-shaped walls became the base of the Statue of Liberty.]]
On February 15, 1800, the [[New York State Legislature]] ceded the island to the federal government, for the construction of a defensive fort to be built there (along with [[Governors Island]] and [[Ellis Island]]). Construction of a fort on the island in the shape of an 11-point star began in 1806 and was completed in 1811, protecting New York from British invasion in the upcoming conflict.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-wood-fort-gibson.htm |title=Fort Wood (Liberty Island) and Fort Gibson (Ellis Island), U.S. National Park Service |access-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-date=January 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102113045/https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-wood-fort-gibson.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The fort is considered part of the [[Seacoast defense in the United States|second system of U.S. fortifications]]. Following the [[War of 1812]], the [[Star fort|star-shaped fortification]] was named '''Fort Wood''' after Lt. Col [[Eleazer Derby Wood]] who was killed in the [[Siege of Fort Erie]] in 1814, a major American defensive victory against British troops near the war's end. The granite [[fortification]] followed an 11-pointed [[star fort]] layout, mounting 24 guns.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wade |first1=Arthur P. |title=Artillerists and Engineers: The Beginnings of American Seacoast Fortifications, 1794–1815 |publisher=CDSG Press |year=2011 |page=243 |isbn=978-0-9748167-2-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://dmna.ny.gov/forts/fortsT_Z/woodFort.htm |title=Fort Wood |website=dmna.ny.gov |access-date=November 27, 2016 |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811153615/http://dmna.state.ny.us/forts/fortsT_Z/woodFort.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> A larger fort mounting 77 guns was proposed under the [[Seacoast defense in the United States|third system of US fortifications]] but was not built.<ref>{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Robert B. |title=Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States |publisher=Macmillan |year=1988 |pages=594–596 |location=New York |isbn=0-02-926880-X}}</ref>

By the time it was chosen for the Statue of Liberty in the 1880s, the fort was outmoded and obsolete, disused and its substantial stone walls were then used as the distinctive base for the [[Statue of Liberty]] given by the [[Third French Republic]] for the American 1876 centenary celebrations. It had become a part of the base for the Statue of Liberty after the island was first seen by [[Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi]], the statue's sculptor. The National Park Service (which had been created in 1916) took over operations of the island in two stages: {{convert|2|acre|m2}} in 1933, and the remainder in 1937.<ref name="Early History of Ellis Island" /> The military installation was completely removed by 1944.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dmna.state.ny.us/forts/fortsT_Z/woodFort.htm |title=Fort Wood |access-date=July 29, 2012 |archive-date=August 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811153615/http://dmna.state.ny.us/forts/fortsT_Z/woodFort.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Moreno">{{cite book |last=Moreno |first=Barry |year=2000 |title=The Statue of Liberty Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/statueoflibertye00more |url-access=registration |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |location=New York, N.Y. |isbn=978-0-7385-3689-7}}</ref>{{rp|pages=91-92}}

=== Statue of ''Liberty Enlightening the World'' ===
The statue, entitled ''[[Statue of Liberty|Liberty Enlightening the World]]'',<ref name=NPS>{{cite web |url=https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm |title=Liberty Enlightening the World |publisher=[[National Park Service]] |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=February 12, 2020 |archive-date=January 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101091139/https://www.nps.gov/stli/index.htm}}</ref> was a gift from the people of France to mark the [[American Centennial]]. It was agreed that the Congress would authorize the acceptance of the statue by the President of the United States, and that the War Department would facilitate its construction and presentation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Liberty's Statue Full Programme of the Inaugural Ceremonies |url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/10/10/109787104.pdf |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 10, 1886 |access-date=December 22, 2009 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704090013/https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/10/10/109787104.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

The construction of the statue was completed in France in July 1884. The cornerstone was laid on August 5, 1884, and after some funding delays, construction of the pedestal was finished on April 22, 1886. The statue arrived in New York Harbor on June 17, 1885, on board the French frigate ''Isère'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.blogs.delaware.gov/2009/10/20/statue_of_liberty/ |title=Delaware Division of Libraries Blog |access-date=July 29, 2012 |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725172043/http://library.blogs.delaware.gov/2009/10/20/statue_of_liberty/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> was stored for eleven months in crates waiting for its pedestal to be finished, and was then reassembled in four months. On October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty was inaugurated by [[Grover Cleveland|President Grover Cleveland]]. The name Liberty Island was made official by Congress in 1956.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=127:3:3634273965821751::NO:3:P3_FID,P3_TITLE:877748%2CLiberty%20Island |title=Usgs:li |access-date=July 29, 2012 |archive-date=July 4, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240704090019/https://www.usgs.gov/us-board-on-geographic-names |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Museums ==
[[File:Nixon_at_Liberty_Island.jpg|right|thumb|September 26, 1972: President [[Richard Nixon]] visits the statue to open the American Museum of Immigration. The statue's raised right foot is visible, showing that [[Liberty (personification)|Liberty]] is depicted moving forward.]]
[[File:Liberty Island Jul 2019 27.jpg|thumb|The original torch, carried by ''Liberty'' from 1886 to 1984, is exhibited at the island's [[Statue of Liberty Museum]]]]

===American Museum of Immigration===
The American Museum of Immigration formerly operated at Liberty Island. It was dedicated on September 26, 1972, in a ceremony presided over by President of the United States [[Richard Nixon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3599 |title=321 – Remarks at the Dedication of the American Museum of Immigration on Liberty Island in New York Harbor |date=September 26, 1972 |work=The American Presidency Project |publisher=[[University of California Santa Barbara]] |access-date=May 17, 2012 |archive-date=September 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925212615/http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=3599 |url-status=live }}</ref> The museum closed in 1991 following the opening of the [[Ellis Island Immigration Museum]].<ref name="Moreno" />{{Rp|19}}

===Statue of Liberty Museum===
{{main|Statue of Liberty Museum}}

On October 7, 2016, construction started on the new [[Statue of Liberty Museum]] on Liberty Island. The new $70 million, {{Convert|26,000|ft2|m2|adj=on}} museum is able to accommodate all of the island's visitors, as opposed to the former museum, which only 20 percent of the island's daily visitors could visit.<ref name="NewMuseum">{{Cite news |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/statue-liberty-new-70m-museum-set-open-2019-article-1.2820741 |title=Statue of Liberty Getting New $70M Museum Set to Open in 2019 |last=Durkin |first=Erin |date=October 6, 2016 |newspaper=NY Daily News |access-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-date=October 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008152618/http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/statue-liberty-new-70m-museum-set-open-2019-article-1.2820741 |url-status=live }}</ref> The original torch, carried by ''Liberty'' from 1886 to 1984, is located here, along with exhibits relating to the statue's construction and history. There is a theater where visitors can watch an aerial view of the statue.<ref name="NewMuseum" /><ref name="Plagianos 2016">{{Cite web |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161006/financial-district/statue-of-liberty-museum-designs |title=See Designs for the New Statue of Liberty Museum |last=Plagianos |first=Irene |date=October 6, 2016 |website=DNAinfo New York |access-date=October 7, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161009174101/https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161006/financial-district/statue-of-liberty-museum-designs |archive-date=October 9, 2016}}</ref>

The museum, designed by [[FXFOWLE Architects]], is integrated with the parkland around it.<ref name="Plagianos 2016" /> It is being funded privately by [[Diane von Fürstenberg]], [[Michael Bloomberg]], [[Jeff Bezos]], [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]], [[NBCUniversal]], the family of [[Laurence Tisch]] and [[Preston Robert Tisch]], [[Mellody Hobson]], and [[George Lucas]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.amny.com/news/statue-of-liberty-museum-to-open-on-liberty-island-in-2019-1.12416472 |title=Statue of Liberty Museum to Open in 2019 |last=Pereira |first=Ivan |date=October 6, 2016 |newspaper=am New York |access-date=October 7, 2016 |archive-date=October 8, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161008162203/http://www.amny.com/news/statue-of-liberty-museum-to-open-on-liberty-island-in-2019-1.12416472 |url-status=live }}</ref> Von Fürstenberg headed the fundraising for the museum, and the project raised more than $40 million in fundraising as of groundbreaking.<ref name="Plagianos 2016" /> The museum opened on May 16, 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/1/18525338/statue-of-liberty-ellis-island-tours-ban |title=Statue of Liberty Will Ban Tour Guides from Some of Its Most Popular Areas |last=Rosenberg |first=Zoe |date=May 1, 2019 |website=Curbed NY |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501204257/https://ny.curbed.com/2019/5/1/18525338/statue-of-liberty-ellis-island-tours-ban |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/nyregion/statue-of-liberty-tour-guides.html |title=Everyone's Welcome at the Statue of Liberty. Except Tour Guides. |last=Kilgannon |first=Corey |date=April 1, 2019 |website=The New York Times |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501232833/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/01/nyregion/statue-of-liberty-tour-guides.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* {{Annotated link |Statue of Liberty in popular culture|Liberty Island and the Statue of Liberty in popular culture}}
* {{Annotated link |Castle Clinton}}
* {{Annotated link |Central Railroad of New Jersey Terminal}}
* {{Annotated link |New York–New Jersey Harbor Estuary}}
* {{Annotated link |List of enclaves and exclaves}}
* {{Annotated link |Prall's Island}}
* {{Annotated link |Robbins Reef Light}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
{{NSRW Poster|Bedloe's Island}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20150321012712/http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/hh/11/hh11m.htm National Park Service Bedloe's Island web site]
* [https://www.nps.gov/stli/ National Park Service's Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island site]
* [http://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/2336 Bedloe's Island] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825061550/http://digitallibrary.hsp.org/index.php/Detail/Object/Show/object_id/2336 |date=August 25, 2016 }} in 1867 at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

{{Statue of Liberty}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan}}
{{New York City Islands}}
{{Portal bar|Islands|Geography|National Register of Historic Places|New York City|New York (state)|New Jersey}}

[[Category:Statue of Liberty|*]]
[[Category:Borders of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Borders of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Exclaves in the United States]]
[[Category:Internal territorial disputes of the United States]]
[[Category:Islands of Manhattan]]
[[Category:Islands of New Jersey]]
[[Category:Islands of New York (state)]]
[[Category:Islands of New York City]]
[[Category:Landforms of Hudson County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:National Park Service areas in New York City]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Hudson County, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan]]
[[Category:New Jersey Register of Historic Places]]
[[Category:Port of New York and New Jersey]]
[[Category:Star forts]]
[[Category:Uninhabited Atlantic islands of the United States]]