Sale of The Pelham Horse Railroad in 1900

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It was a sleepy one-track horse railroad -- Pelham's first.  Beginning in the 1880s, it ran in two sections from Bartow Station on the New Haven Branch Line down City Island Road to Marshall's Corners near the beginning of City Island Bridge, then across the bridge to Belden's Point at the end of City Island.  Some called it a trolley.  It really was just a dilapidated trolley car pulled along on tracks by a pair of horses.  Yet, at the turn of the 20th century, the sleepy little horse railroad found itself in the eye of a business hurricane.

At the turn of the 20th century, two trolley companies were in a brutal corporate battle to be the first to acquire small trolley franchises throughout the region and connect their trolley tracks to permit travel by trolley from The Bronx to the Connecticut border roughly parallel to the New Haven railroad lines.  The New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company (also known as the "Traction Company" and the "P. H. Flynn Syndicate") was in a race against the Union Railway (also known as the "Huckleberry Railway").

Both companies were taking over and consolidating small trolley franchises and horse-drawn railroads along the coast.  Early in 1900, the Union Railway reportedly paid half a million dollars for the Tarrytown and Mamaroneck trolley line only to discover that the P. H. Flynn Syndicate had made strategic acquisitions in Larchmont and "other points" to block the ability of the Union Railway to connect its main trolley lines along the coast with its new acquisition.

The P. H. Flynn Syndicate then made its next strategic move.  The Pelham Horse Railroad was the only railway line that ran within Pelham Bay Park.  Moreover, it was the only line in that region that ran all the way to Long Island Sound.  The line pre-dated the final assemblage of the parcels that comprised Pelham Bay Park (and the annexation of the park lands by New York City).  Thus, it was permitted to continue to operate, though no further railways were permitted within the park.  

In January, 1900, newspapers began reporting breathlessly that the owners of the Pelham Horse Railroad were in talks with the P. H. Flynn Syndicate to sell a majority of their stock in the sleepy little railroad to give the syndicate control of the only railway in The Bronx that ran all the way to Long Island Sound.

The Pelham Horse Railroad was controlled by majority owner Judge Henry DeWitt Carey of City Island.  He was a colorful entrepreneurial character and a long-time, respected resident of City Island.  I have written before about him and his son of the same name who became a famous actor in Cowboy Westerns.  See, e.g.:

Mon., May 28, 2007:  Brief Biography of Henry DeWitt Carey, 19th Century Pelham Justice of the Peace.

Mon., Jun. 02, 2014:  Henry DeWitt Carey Of City Island in the Town of Pelham.

Wed., Jul. 01, 2015:  Western Actor Harry Carey of Pelham, Born Henry DeWitt Carey, Recalls His Boyhood Days in Pelham.

Tue., Mar. 28, 2017:  More on Famed Western Film Actor Harry Carey, Who Grew Up in Pelham.  

Rumors began circulating in January, 1900 that Henry DeWitt Carey was negotiating with a Mount Vernon attorney named William J. Marshall who represented the P. H. Flynn Syndicate to sell his majority stake in the Pelham Horse Railroad for $140,000 (about $4.75 million in today's dollars).  Newspapers further reported that the Flynn Syndicate made a deposit of $10,000 with Carey (and other stockholders) "as an evidence of good faith" as the negotiations proceeded.  

According to news reports, the P. H. Flynn Syndicate planned to "equip the line with electricity at once, and then build lines on its other franchises in the Borough of The Bronx, Pelham, Mount Vernon and New-Rochelle" as part of its plan to cover the entire Westchester and Bronx coastal regions with a lattice-work of trolley lines to serve New Yorkers.  

Finally on February 15, 1900, a local newspaper reported that the sale had been completed.  It said:

"The Bartow and City Island horse car line, owned by ex Judge Carey and others, has been purchased by the Westchester and Connecticut Traction Co.  The price paid was $140,000.  This is considered a great defeat for the Union Company.  The horse cars will be supplanted by modern electrical equipment as soon as Contractor O'Rourk completes the new bridge, now building at City Island.  The line will be extended to Mount Vernon and New Rochelle."

1910 Postcard View of the "CITY ISLAND HORSE CAR.  CITY ISLAND,

N. Y."  Source:  From the Author's Collection.  NOTE:  Click on Image

to Enlarge.

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"AFTER CITY ISLAND FRANCHISE.
-----
THE FLYNN SYNDICATE ABOUT TO PURCHASE THE PELHAM RAILROAD.

Negotiations are pending and it is expected will be completed to-day for the purchase of the Pelham Railroad Company in the Borough of The Bronx by the New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, known as the P. H. Flynn syndicate.  The Pelham Railroad extends from the Bartow Station of the suburban branch of the New-Haven Railroad to Belden's Point, on the extreme end of City Island, a distance of about two miles.  Although it is only a single track horsecar line, with two antiquated cars which are run at irregular intervals, the franchise is regarded as one of the most valuable in The Bronx, as it is the only road which can run through Pelham Bay Park and thus reach City Island and Long Island Sound.

It is said that the traction company has arranged to purchase the majority of the stock, which is held by ex-Judge H. D. Carey, of City Island, at $140,000.  William J. Marshall, Corporation Counsel of Mount Vernon, who represents the Flynn syndicate in the transaction, is said to have made a deposit of $10,000 on Wednesday with Judge Carey and the stockholders, as an evidence of good faith.  Mr. Marshall was not at his office last night, and his assistant said that he had gone to New-York to complete the deal.  It is said that the traction company will equip the line with electricity at once, and then build lines on its other franchises in the Borough of The Bronx, Pelham, Mount Vernon and New-Rochelle.

By the acquisition of the City Island road the Flynn syndicate has stolen a march on its rival, the Union or 'Huckleberry' Railway, and the latter will not be able to reach Long Island Sound at any advantageous point in the Borough of The Bronx.

It is said that in some manner the New-Haven Railroad is interested in the New-York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, and also in the Port Chester Street Railroad and the Larchmont Horse Railroad.  These three companies now practically parallel the New-Haven lines from the Connecticut boundary line at Port Chester to the Harlem River."

Source:  AFTER CITY ISLAND FRANCHISE -- THE FLYNN SYNDICATE ABOUT TO PURCHASE THE PELHAM RAILROAD, New-York Tribune, Jan. 26, 1900, p. 12, col. 2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).

"To Buy City Island Railroad.

Negotiations, it is expected, will be completed, to-day, for the purchase of the Pelham Railroad Company in the Borough of The Bronx, by the New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, known as the P. H. Flynn Syndicate.

The Pelham Railroad extends from the Bartow Station of the suburban branch of the New Haven Railroad to Belden's Point, on the extreme end of City Island, a distance of about two miles.  Although it is only a single track horsecar line, with two antiquated cars which are fun at irregular intervals, the franchise is regarded as one of the most valuable in The Bronx, as it is the only road which can run through Pelham Bay Park and thus reach City Island and Long Island Sound.

By the acquisition of the City Island road the Flynn Syndicate, it is said, has stolen a march on its rival, the Union Railway."

Source:  To Buy City Island Railroad, The Yonkers Statesman [Yonkers, NY], Jan. 26, 1900, Vol. XVII, No. 4,967, p. 2, col. 3.  

"TROLLEY LINE NOW BETWEEN CITY ISLAND AND MOUNT VERNON
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Flynn Syndicate Steals March on Rival and Gets Line Through Pelham Bay Park.
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(BY TELEGRAPH TO THE EVENING TELEGRAM.)

MOUNT VERNON, N. Y., Friday. -- The New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, better known as the P. H. Flynn syndicate, and which has been working to get a foothold in Westchester County, has stolen another march on its rival, the Union Railroad Company, and purchased the Pelham Railway, a horse car line two miles long, which operates between the Bartow station on the Harlem River branch of the New Haven Railroad, and Belden's Point on City Island.

For this franchise the Flynn syndicate is to pay $14,000 [sic].  The Pelham company held the only franchise through the Pelham Bay Park, and it is anticipated that the syndicate will immediately abolish the horse car line and replace it with a trolley line between City Island and Mount Vernon."

Source:  TROLLEY LINE NOW BETWEEN CITY ISLAND AND MOUNT VERNON -- Flynn Syndicate Steals March on Rival and Gets Line Through Pelham Bay Park, The Evening Telegram [NY, NY], Jan. 26, 1900, p. 6, col. 1.  

"REPORTED SALE CITY ISLAND RAILROAD.
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To Traction Company.
ADMITTED TO BE A VALUABLE PROPERTY.
-----
Flynn Syndicate Said to Have Acquired It -- It Holds a Valuable Franchise -- It is Within Park Territory -- No Similar Privilege to Others.
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It is reported that the New York, Westchester & Connecticut Traction Co., or P. H. Flynn syndicate, which is attempting to rival the 'Huckleberry' Railway in the Borough of the Bronx, has purchased the horse railway which runs from the Bartow Station of the New Haven Suburban Railroad to City Island on the Sound.  The price paid is said to have been about $150,000.  

The syndicate secures an outlet to the Sound for its lines in the Bronx, Mount Vernon, Pelham and New Rochelle, and also secures the privilege of running through Pelham Bay Park, which no other company can get without a special act of the Legislature.

If this sale proves to be true in every respect Mount Vernon is bound to have a most advantageous outlet to the southeast and through a territory sure to become as thickly populated as any part of Mount Vernon.

All shore property is destined to become more valuable both for resident and business purposes as the years go by and none more so than that lying and being on Eastchester Creek, which enters this city at the southeast, and all that territory in the vicinity of the great Pelham Park and City Island.

For many years the Hon. Henry D. Carey, at one time Justice of Sessions in this county, was President and principal owner of this line.  It is destined to be one of the most valued properties in any outlying section of Greater New York.  

With the granting of certain additional franchises to the Traction Company in this city direct connection could be made with this line and it is to be hoped such will be the early outcome.

The Pelham Railroad extends from the Bartow Station of the suburban branch of the New Haven Railroad to Belden's Point, on the extreme end of City Island, a distance of about two miles.  Although it is only a single track horsecar line, with two antiquated cars which are run at irregular intervals, the franchise is regarded as one of the most valuable in the Bronx, as it is the only road which can run through Pelham Bay Park and thus reach City Island and Long Island Sound.

It is said that the traction company has arranged to purchase the majority of the stock, which is held by ex-Judge H. D. Carey, of City Island, at $140,000.  William J. Marshall, Corporation Counsel of Mount Vernon, who represents the Flynn syndicate in the transaction, is said to have made a deposit of $10,000 with Judge Carey and the stockholders, as an evidence of good faith.

It is said that the traction company will equip the line with electricity t once, and then build lines on its other franchises in the Borough of the Bronx, Pelham, Mount Vernon and New Rochelle.

By the acquisition of the City Island road the Flynn syndicate has stolen a march on its rival, the Union or 'Huckleberry' Railway, and the latter will not be able to reach Long Island Sound at any advantageous point in the Borough of the Bronx.

It is said in some manner the New Haven Railroad is interested in the New York, Westchester & Connecticut Traction Co., and also in the Portchester Street Railroad and the Larchmont Horse Railroad.  These three companies now practically parallel the New Haven lines from the Connecticut boundary line at Port Chester to the Harlem River."

Source:  REPORTED SALE CITY ISLAND RAILROAD -- To Traction Company.
ADMITTED TO BE A VALUABLE PROPERTY -- Flynn Syndicate Said to Have Acquired It -- It Holds a Valuable Franchise -- It is Within Park Territory -- No Similar Privilege to Others, Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Jan. 27, 1900, Vol. XXXII, No. 2,402, p. 1, col. 5.

"Its Outlet to the Sound.

It is reported that the New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, or P. H. Flynn Syndicate, which is attempting to rival the 'Huckleberry' Railway in the borough of The Bronx, has bought the horse railroad which runs from the Bartow station of the New Haven road to City Island on the Sound.  The price paid is said to have been about $150,000.  The Flynn Syndicate thus secures an outlet to the Sound for its lines in the borough of The Bronx, Mount Vernon, Pelham and New Rochelle, and also the privilege of running through Pelham Bay Park, which no other company can get without a special act of the Legislature.  It is said to be the syndicate's intention to equip the line with electricity as early as possible. -- N. Y. Sun."

Source:  Its Outlet to the Sound, New Rochelle Pioneer, Jan. 27, 1900, p. 4, col. 2.  

"SUBURBAN NOTES.
-----

The New York Tribune says that the Union Trolley Company has recently paid $500,000 for the Tarrytown and Mamaroneck trolley line, and is now in a predicament.  Owing to the opposition of the Flynn syndicate, at Larchmont and other points, the company is unable to connect the main lines with this new and expensive purchase.
-----

The Bartow and City Island horse car line, owned by ex Judge Carey and others, has been purchased by the Westchester and Connecticut Traction Co.  The price paid was $140,000.  This is considered a great defeat for the Union Company.  The horse cars will be supplanted by modern electrical equipment as soon as Contractor O'Rourk completes the new bridge, now building at City Island.  The line will be extended to Mount Vernon and New Rochelle.
-----

It is reported that the extension of the Union Trolley line through Boston road, Eastchester, will be completed in time to allow the Crawford syndicate, Carroll and others to place their property on the market by Decoration Day, in which event one or more extensive auction sales will be the result. . . ."

Source:  SUBURBAN NOTES, Mount Vernon News [Mount Vernon, NY], Feb. 15, 1900, p. 7, col. 2.  

"-- Nine cars, containing 7,500 ties for the New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, have arrived in Mt. Vernon.  They will be used to complete the line which will connect Mt. Vernon with New Rochelle, Bronxville, Pelham Manor, Pelham, City Island and the Borough of The Bronx.  The work of building the lines, it is said, will be pushed with all speed."

Source:  [Untitled], New Rochelle Pioneer, Aug. 4, 1900, Vol. 42, No. 20, p. 5, col. 3.

"THE FLYNN SYNDICATE TO BEGIN RAILWAY BUILDING.
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New Rochelle, Aug. 15. -- The New York, Westchester and Connecticut Traction Company, of Flynn syndicate, which is attempting to rival the Union Railway in Westchester County, has announced that it will begin building lines over the routes upon which it has received franchises before next Monday.  The first tracks will be laid in Firth avenue, in Upper New Rochelle, to connect with the Larchmont Horse Railway.  After this connection is made the company expects to push through Wingate avenue to North Pelham to connect with a line built there several years ago.

It will then cross the Hutchinson River to Mount Vernon, where it will form a junction with the North Mount Vernon road operated by it."

Source:  THE FLYNN SYNDICATE TO BEGIN RAILWAY BUILDING, Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Aug. 15, 1900, Vol. XXXIV, No. 2,570, p. 1, col. 5.  

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More on Famed Western Film Actor Harry Carey, Who Grew Up in Pelham

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

Order a Copy of "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak."

Harry Carey, born Henry DeWitt Carey II, was one of the most successful western film actors ever.  He appeared in well over three hundred movies during the early years of Hollywood well into the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Carey was born on January 16, 1878 on 116th Street in New York City.  In 1884, he and his family moved to City Island before the area was annexed by New York City.  Carey grew up on City Island and rambled throughout the region of today's Pelham Bay Park during his youth.

Henry DeWitt Carey II was a son of Henry DeWitt Carey who served as a judge in the Special Sessions Court at White Plains for many years and founded a local dairy known as the Willow Brook Dairy in which he owned an interest for many decades until he sold that interest in the mid-1920s.  Judge Carey also served as president of the New Home Sewing Machine Company.  He also owned an interest in the little horse railroad that once ran from Bartow Station on the Branch Line to Belden's Point at the tip of City Island.  Thus, the Carey family was comparatively affluent.

I have written before about Western actor Harry Carey and his father, Henry DeWitt Carey.  See:

Wed., Jul. 01, 2015:  Western Actor Harry Carey of Pelham, Born Henry DeWitt Carey, Recalls His Boyhood Days in Pelham.

Mon., Jun. 02, 2014:  Henry DeWitt Carey Of City Island in the Town of Pelham.

Mon., May 28, 2007:  Brief Biography of Henry DeWitt Carey, 19th Century Pelham Justice of the Peace.

Today's Historic Pelham article provides more background information on Pelhamite Harry Carey.

Henry DeWitt Carey II was only six years old when his family moved to the Town of Pelham.  The family lived in a home on Terrace Point (sometimes called Carey's Point) on City Island.  

Newspaper reports say that Carey lived a "Huck Finn boyhood" in Pelham.  He hunted, fished, swam, and trapped game in the Pelham Bay region.  One of his most vivid boyhood memories involved driving a horse railroad car on one occasion on the City Island line.  After his death in 1947, a reporter recalled:

"Harry told me how he once drove a horse car in the Bronx.  His father owned and operated a street car line, horse-powered, with headquarters and barns at City Island.  Harry, as a boy, did chores around the barns, and learned to love the horses.  One day, before sunrise, the driver of an outbound car permitted young Harry to drive the team.  It was the great thrill of his life."

Indeed, Harry Carey's exposure to the horses that pulled the street cars may well have played a role in his later love for the west and western-style entertainments.  

After graduating from college, for his health, young Carey took some time and traveled out west.  He reportedly spent some time working as a foreman of a ranch in Montana.  While working on the ranch, he wrote several scripts for "light melodramas."  

Carey's father was not happy.  He wanted his son to return home, attend law school, and settle down.  Carey finally returned home and entered New York University Law School.  According to one account, however, he studied law "against his will."  He wanted to be an actor.

Harry Carey's father, Henry DeWitt Carey, was happy when his son graduated with a law degree from NYU Law School.  He was not happy, however, when his son decided not to practice law and, instead, decided to try his hand at acting.  Carey joined a stock company at the Yorkville Theater where he had a brief run acting in a single show.  He then joined the "Ferris Circuit" playing in so-called "tom shows" at fairs in the region.  (Tom shows were shows based, even loosely, on the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe.)  

Finally, Harry Carey decided to try his hand at writing and starring in his own play.  At the age of 28, Carey fell seriously ill and used a lengthy convalescence at his family's home on City Island to write an epic western play titled "Montana."  He set about to have the play produced with him as the star.  

Carey's father was fed up.  He struck a deal with his son.  If the new play, Montana, was a flop, the son would "abandon the stage, and return to the practice of law."  

On April 26, 1906, "Montana" opened before a large audience in New Rochelle Theatre.  Harry Carey made his debut that night as a leading man, playing the role of Jim Graham, foreman of the ranch that was at the center of the show.  The show was a wild success.  The audience was overwhelmed and applauded the entertainment, and Carey, thunderously when the show ended.  There were curtain calls.  

Carey's father, a lawyer and ex-judge at the time, reportedly relented after the show with tears in his eyes and said "So long as it is Harry's choice and the people are with him, I humbly surrender."  Harry Carey took his show on the road for four years and earned $18,000 performing it throughout the country.

Harry Carey had an extraordinarily successful film career playing cowboy heroes for more than thirty years.  He was never truly affected by Hollywood or his success.  Late in life he repeatedly was described as "unaffected," "genuine," "unpretentious," and the like.  He and his wife, Olive, homesteaded a ranch in Saugus, California (part of today's City of Santa Clarita).  Early in his career, as they homesteaded the land, they made ends meet by raising and selling turkeys on the property.  By 1931, the couple had acquired by homesteading and by purchase 1,100 acres of ranch land in Saugus and maintained "a real ranch with no frills about it and . . . staffed with Navajo Indians."

Harry Carey died in Brentwood, California on September 21, 1947 with members of his family and his friend, famed Hollywood western film director John Ford, at his bedside.  Some have suggested he died of a broken heart.  His final stage appearance in New York was in a show titled "Ah Wilderness."  Carey reportedly was "extremely nervous" about the show because it had been done often in New York City and was considered by many to be "outmoded."  The show flopped.  Thereafter Carey reportedly "worried himself into a nervous breakdown, and was ill from that time until his death."

Actor Harry Carey in 1919. Source: Wikipedia.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

1920 Movie Poster for "Human Stuff" Starring

Harry Carey. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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Below is the text of a number of items that relate to today's Historic Pelham article.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"JUDGE'S SON TURNS ACTOR.

Father of Harry Carey, at First Opposed, Surrenders After Seeing Play.

Harry D. Carey, son of ex-County Judge Henry D. Carey of Westchester, capitalist and former President of the New Home Sewing Machine Company, made his debut last night as a leading man in 'Montana,' a play written by himself, before a large audience in the New Rochelle Theatre.

Carey, who is 28 years old, is an athlete and ranchman, and, although his father was strenuously opposed to his going on the stage, the elder Carey joined with the audience in its applause last night.  Laboring under a severe strain, Actor Carey, known in the play as Jim Graham, foreman of the ranch, responded to curtain calls.  As he left the stage Judge Carey's eyes filled with tears.  It is said that Judge Carey, who wished his boy to make a name for himself in the legal profession, said:

'So long as it is Harry's choice and the people are with him, I humbly surrender.'

Young Carey is a graduate of New York University.  After graduating he went west for his health and became foreman of a Montana ranch.  

While there he wrote several light melodramas, which are now being produced.  When he returned home his father desired that he study law, which he did against his will.  It was young Carey's wish to become an actor and portray on the stage the part he played in 'Montana,' which he wrote while West [sic].

It was learned that Judge Carey and his son had a talk before the play was produced, and it was mutually agreed that if it was not well received in the opening night that the young actor would abandon the stage, and return to the practice of law.  Judge Carey's home is at Terrace Point, City Island."

Source:  JUDGE'S SON TURNS ACTOR -- Father of Harry Carey, at First Opposed, Surrenders After Seeing Play, N.Y. Times, Apr. 27, 1906, p. 11, col. 1 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"Hollywood News - by John Chapman
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Hollywood, Cal., June 6 -- Harry Carey, who has been hot stuff in the films longer than anybody else I can think of, is the most homespun guy you'll meet anywhere -- and that goes for his wife, Ollie, too.

Harry is New York-born and his real name is Henry De Witt Carey, 2d.  Many a New Yorker has come out to the films and gone Hollywood.  Harry is one of the few who have come out here and gone genuinely and unpretentiously western.  The Carey ranch at Saugus is a real ranch with no frills about it and is staffed with Navajo Indians.  Harry and Ollie literally live out of mail-order catalogues and can quote Montgomery Ward and Sears Roebuck prices on anything from plows to chintz.  Harry even has coal oil lamps in his bedroom because electric light is too harsh for reading.
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Many a film star has acquired a 'ranch' after he's got his money.  It is usually very fancy and it rarely makes any money.  The Careys got their place the hard way -- by homesteading it, and Harry and the original Man Who Came to Dinner Joe Harris cleared it.  And before they filed the homestead claim the Careys had a seventeen-acre place in Newhall, just below where Bill Hart is now, and they pieced out Harry's Universal Pictures income by raising and selling turkeys.  They didn't have money enough for real turkey equipment and the birds would roost on the house.  They were restless sleepers, those turkeys, and frequently would keep Harry and Ollie awake.
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A week hence will be the 33d anniversary of Harry's movie debut, so Paramount is whooping up a big barbecue party at the ranch -- and, more than incidentally, whooping up interest in Carey's latest picture, The Shepherd of the Hills.  Which is all right, too, because The Shepherd is a big technicolor production and reportedly one of Harry's best jobs to date.  You have to be sort of vague and say 'one of' because Harry has been in more than 300 movies and even he can't remember half of them.
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Carey is 63; straight, lean, strong enough to outwork Indians on his place, quick of mind.  His father was a special sessions judge in New York.  Harry grew up on Carey Point of Pelham Bay.  He lived a Huck Finn boyhood, hunting, fishing, swimming and trapping.  First stage show he saw was Frank Mayo in Davy Crockett.  'There was some shootin' and I got scared and hollered.  The old man took me out in the lobby and walloped my tail,' he recalls.
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He went to military academy, then through the N.Y.U. Law School.  But he never hung out his shingle.  (A classmate, James J. Walker, was among those who did.)  Harry joined a stock company at the Yorkville Theater, played a villain in tights in When Knightwood Was in Flower.  Then played the ferris wheel circuit in a tom show.  [NOTE:  A "tom show" is a general term for any play or musical based even loosely on the 1852 novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" by Harriet Beecher Stowe.]  Then he fell ill and spent his convalescence writing a play, Montana, which had its tryout at a city island [i.e., City Island] church.  In the fall of 1906 he got a Klaw and Erlanger booking for it, toured in it four years and made $18,000.  He lost it all on another epic he wrote, The Heart of Alaska.  During summer layoffs he and Joe Harris, a stage villain, lived in a shack on Chimney Sweeps, a little island off Pelham Bay Park.  Harry, a veteran of the stage from the time when actors wore cross-over beards, never played Broadway until a couple of years ago, when he appeared in Albert Bein's railroad fantasy, Heavenly Express.
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When Heart of Alaska flopped, Harry took a job making four westerns for the National Film Distributing Company.  And June 14, 1908, faced the camera in Bill Sharkey's Last Game.  Since then he has never been out of pictures for long, and his nearest competitors for the long-run record are Lionel Barrymore, Donald Crisp and Bill Farnum.  Right after he made Trader Horn it looked as though he'd be out of pictures for good -- for he had been in Africa so long that agents and bosses had forgotten him.  But Will Rogers, in a Satevepost piece, happened to opine that Carey was the best of all the western stars, and that compliment put him back in the game.
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Carey gave John Ford his start as a director, when Ford was eighteen.  One rainy day Harry and Jack were at the Newhall Turkey Farm doping out their first five-reeler, Hell Bent, when John Harris came to call.  'Who's that?' asked Ford.  'A heavy I used to know in Stair and Havlin shows,' said Carey.  'Let's use him,' said Ford.  So Joe got a job and Harry and Ollie asked him to stay with them during the shooting.  That was in 1915 or '16.  Joe is still the Careys' guest.
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The Carey fortunes have had their ups and downs.  As homesteaders, they added 420 acres to their original 160, then bought more, now have about 1,100.  They built a clapboard house, added to it from time to time instead of building one that would be more heat-resistant.  They were sentimental about the place because their children, Dobie and Cappy, were born there.  Dobie, twenty and a promising baritone, is so nicknamed because of his baked red complexion and hair.  He's really Henry De Witt Carey, 3d."  

Source:  Hollywood News - by John Chapman, Buffalo Courier-Express [Buffalo, NY], Jun. 7, 1941, p. 10, cols. 1-2.  

"Harry Carey, Who Portrayed More Than 300 Movie Roles, Dies at 69

HOLLYWOOD, Sept. 21 -- (AP) -- Harry Carey, 69, veteran motion picture actor and cowboy hero of the silent screen, died today at his home in suburban Brentwood.

The cause of death was given as a blood clot in the heart, following a weakened lung and heart condition from a recent illness.

The veteran of more than 300 movie roles succumbed as members of his family and Director John Ford, a long-time friend, gathered at his bedside.  

Surviving are his widow, Olive Golden, silent screen actress, and two children, Harry Carey, Jr., and Mrs. Ella Carey Taylor. 

Born Henry D. Carey on January 16, 1878, in New York City, the actor gained popularity as a hard-riding cowboy star in the early days of the motion picture industry -- although never west of the Hudson River until Hollywood beckoned in 1910.  

He was a graduate of New York University, where he was a classmate of the late ex-Mayor Jimmy Walker, of New York city.  His father was the late Justice Henry De Witt Carey, of New York.

Outstanding roles in recent films included parts in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' 'They Knew What They Wanted,' 'The Shepherd Of The Hills,' and 'Sea of Grass.'"

Source:  Harry Carey, Who Portrayed More Than 300 Movie Roles, Dies at 69, The Cumblerland News [Cumberland, MD], Sep. 22, 1947, p. 1, cols. 1-2 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"NEW YORK DAY BY DAY
-----
By CHARLES B. DRISCOLL
------

New York. -- Passing of Harry Carey, Hollywood movie star, affected New Yorkers as deeply as it touched the people of California and the addicts of the western movies in which Harry appeared as hero.

This cowboy hero, who was an honored guest in our home when he could steal time for relaxation, was a native New Yorker, and spent his youth on City Island, a long time ago.  He was nearly 70 at the time of his death.
-----
Harry told me how he once drove a horse car in the Bronx.  His father owned and operated a street car line, horse-powered, with headquarters and barns at City Island.  Harry, as a boy, did chores around the barns, and learned to love horses.  One day, before sunrise, the driver of an outbound car permitted young Harry to drive the team.  It was the great thrill of his life.
-----
At a Christmas party in our home, Harry and his brilliant wife were the center of much attention.  Both were unaffected, intelligent, and devoid of the appearance of boredom which so many Hollywood celebrated stars wear when being saluted by their fans.

Over the coffee at a midtown hotel, Harry and I often discussed farming, horses, and cattle.  Harry was a real farmer posing for the newsreels.  He worked hard at the job, between pictures, and managed to make money in a practical farming venture.
-----
We talked with Harry before and during his last stage appearance in New York, in 'Ah Wilderness!'  It was evident that the actor was extremely nervous about the play, which had been done often in New York and was a bit outmoded.  

Despite the fact that Carey turned in a perfect acting job, the production was not a great success.  Harry worried himself into a nervous breakdown, and was ill from that time until his death. . . ."

Source:  Driscoll, Charles B., New York Day by Day, Joplin Globe [Joplin, MO], Oct. 4, 1947, p. 6, cols. 2-3.

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A Little History of the Chimney Sweeps, Two Diminutive Pelham Rocky Islets

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Just north of High Island which, in turn, is just off the northeast tip of City Island, are two rocky islets known for hundreds of years as the "Chimney Sweeps."  No record reveals how the islets got their names.  There are several traditions, however.  According to one, in days long ago, local chimney sweeps attached two rocks to their sweeps to use as weights to lower the sweep down chimneys to dislodge soot.  The islands, according to this story, resemble the chimney sweep stones.  According to another local story, the islands at low tide can look as black as soot, evoking thoughts of soot-covered chimney sweeps.

The two islets are tiny.  One is about 2/5th of an acre.  The other is slightly larger than 1/10th of an acre.  At various times over the years a sandbar arose between the two islets.  At low tide, there could be up to four mucky acres of flats surrounding the little rock outcroppings.

For such tiny islets, these rocky outcroppings have a very large and fascinating history.  Today's Historic Pelham article tells a little of the history of the Chimney Sweeps, once part of the Town of Pelham, before their annexation by New York City in 1895.

The Chimney Sweeps were included in Thomas Pell's original purchase of lands from local Wiechquaeskecks on June 27, 1654.  The little islets have been the scene of shipwrecks since at least the eighteenth century and, as one article recently noted, "modern-day boatsmen do well to avoid them."  

During much of the nineteenth century, the Chimney Sweeps were owned by members of the Delancey and Hunter families.  At least as early as 1890 a boat house stood on the Chimney Sweeps.  It belonged to to Andrew Horton of City Island, although there is no evidence he owned the Chimney Sweeps at the time.  It seems he likely was a tenant at the time.  

By April 18, 1895, the Chimney Sweeps were owned by Henry DeWitt Carey of City Island. We know this because on that date his attorney prepared a notice for publication in local newspapers stating that on June 6, 1895, Carey would file with the Commissioners of the Land Office of the State of New York an application seeking a grant of title in fee simple to underwater lands surrounding the Chimney Sweeps.  The notice further stated that:  "It is the intention of the undersigned to appropriate the lands described to his beneficial enjoyment by filling in the same or enclosing same by a sea wall."  

Henry DeWitt Carey was the former Sessions Judge who was a prominent City Island resident.  His son, Henry DeWitt Carey II, became quite famous as an actor known as Harry Carey.  I have written about both men on a number of occasions.  See, e.g.:

Wed., Jul. 01, 2015:  Western Actor Harry Carey of Pelham, Born Henry DeWitt Carey, Recalls His Boyhood Days in Pelham.

Mon., Jun. 02, 2014:  Henry DeWitt Carey Of City Island in the Town of Pelham.

Mon., May 28, 2007:  Brief Biography of Henry DeWitt Carey, 19th Century Pelham Justice of the Peace.

Interestingly, during a number of summers, Harry Carey lived "in a shack" on the Chimney Sweeps with his good friend, Joe Harris, a well-known "stage villain" in the acting world.  See Hollywood News - by John Chapman, Buffalo Courier-Express [Buffalo, NY], Jun. 7, 1941, p. 10, cols. 1-2 ("During summer layoffs he and Joe Harris, a stage villain, lived in a shack on Chimney Sweeps").

Clearly Carey's application to have title to underwater lands surrounding the Chimney Sweeps was granted.  Most subsequent references to the islets make reference to the underwater lands belonging with them.  On May 17, 1900, Henry DeWitt Carey transferred title of the Chimney Sweeps to Ella J. Carey for one dollar.  

Occasionally the Chimney Sweeps figured prominently in local events.  For example, on July 3, 1913, a couple of young men escaped from a reformatory on Hart Island.  They swam to the Chimney Sweeps and stole a rowboat there.  They used the rowboat to escape to the mainland where searchers sought them unsuccessfully.  

It appears that although Henry D. Carey and, later, Ella J. Carey, owned the Chimney Sweeps for many years in this period, they leased the islets to Charles Swan in 1914.  Swan served, for many years, as a captain of a volunteer life saving corps on City Island.  

Swan, it seems, had grand plans for the Chimney Sweeps.  Shortly after he leased the islets, the New York Herald reported that he planned to "erect a hotel and boathouse there."  More interestingly, the same report stated that he had arranged for the Melrose Gun Club to "have their shooting ground on the rock."  

Within a matter of days or weeks, Swan purchased the Chimney Sweeps from the Carey estate for $4,500 in the spring of 1914.  It is unclear, but he may have initially sought to lease the islets and, instead, bought them.  

Swan's plans never came to fruition.  Within less than a year, on February 25, 1915, Charles Swan sold the Chimney Sweeps to Franz Marquardt of 2249 Maclay Avenue in the Bronx.  Franz Marquardt was an eccentric fellow of "exceptional proportions."  He became rather famous, locally, for his ownership of the Chimney Sweeps.  Though news reports typically misspelled both his first and last names, locals referred to him as "Baron Marquardt."  According to one account:

"It was the baron's custom on Sundays to swim out to his islands and there rest, dream or read until nightfall, when he would swim back to the Bronx.  Occasionally he towed across to his island possessions, either one of which was not much larger than the 'baron,' who was a man of exceptional proportions.

In 1926, it appears that Franz Marquardt sought to register his deed to the islets.  A question arose over Marquardt's title to the Chimney Sweeps.  Apparently, governmental authorities questioned whether the deed could be registered on the ground that the the islets were "an interference to navigation."  Consequently, Marquardt filed a lawsuit to clear title to the islets.  The action was heard by Justice Hatting of the Supreme Court of New York.  Justice Hatting ruled that the islands were not an interference to navigation and that the earlier grant to Henry DeWitt Carey contingent upon the development of the land by a sea wall enclosure and by filling in land had been met.  (See New York Law Journal, Oct. 6, 1926.)

Following the successful efforts to clear Marquardt's title to the Chimney Sweeps, ownership of the islets was transferred to the "Chimney Sweeps Corporation."  Several "cottages" arose on the islets.  It seems that ownership thereafter became a little more complicated.  Nine "owners" cooperated and organized as "Chimney Sweeps Islands, Inc."  While those nine owners may have enjoyed the Chimney Sweeps for a time, soon the feared Parks Commissioner Robert Moses turned his attention -- and desires -- toward the islets.

It turned out that for a number of years, Park Commissioner Robert Moses had been responsible for fireworks displays above the nearby, newly-opened Orchard Beach facilities.  Consequently, he was paying $600 a year to rent "an old barge" from which fireworks were fired into the skies for beach goers.  Moses looked at the Chimney Sweeps and saw an opportunity.  He asked the Board of Estimate to appropriate $3,500 for the purchase of the islands and to start condemnation proceedings.  

Moses, it seems, faced a fight.  According to one account:  

"Russell Smith, employed by a bank in this city, is the president of Chimney Sweeps.  He and the other owners believe that they spent about $9,000 for the land and cottages.  The only notice they ever received, they claim, was a letter from the real estate division of the Board of Estimate asking the owners to sell.  A refusal was sent."

Research has not revealed precisely how the situation was resolved, but clearly Robert Moses won.  For a time, the City Parks Department used the Chimney Sweeps as "a base from which to set off fireworks displays."  

In 1939. the City of New York formally acquired the "Chimney Sweeps."  No one lived there afterward.  

Today, however, the Chimney Sweeps are home to many birds including gulls, skuas, and great blue herons.  Part of Pelham Bay Park, the islets are true gems of Pelham.

Detail of Map Published in 1901 Showing Location of Chimney Sweeps,

in Center of Detail, Between High Island and The Blauzes.  Source:

Abbatt, William, The Battle of Pell's Point (Or Pelham) October 18, 1776.

Being the Story of a Stubborn Fight, Map After p. 26 (New York: Privately

Printed, 1901).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Satellite Image of the Chimney Sweeps.  Source:

Google Maps.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *           *          *

"City Island. . . . 

Andrew Horton is making quite an extensive alteration to his boat house on the Chimney Sweeps. . . ."

Source:  City Island, The Chronicle [Mount Vernon, NY], Feb. 28, 1890, Vol. XXI, No. 1276, p. 3, col. 3.  

"CITY ISLAND. . . .

The advertised sale of the chimney sweeps will not take place on June 13th as previously stated but will be sold on June 27th, at same hour and place. . . ."

Source:  CITY ISLAND, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 24, 1893, Vol. 2, No. 354, p. 1, col. 4.  

"NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A GRANT OF LAND UNDER WATER. -- Take Notice, that the undersigned will file with the Commissioners of the Land Office, on the sixth day of June, 1895, an application for a grant of the lands under water hereinafter described, and by resolution of said Commissioners, any person deeming himself liable to injury by said grant, should file before said date with said Commissioners, at the Capitol in Albany, a remonstrance, stating his reasons for opposing said grant.  

The land under water above mentioned is bounded and described as follows, to wit:

DESCRIPTION OF LAND UNDER WATER AROUND THE 'CHIMNEY SWEEPS.'

All that certain piece or parcel of land under the waters of Long Island Sound, in front of and adjacent to upland known as the 'Chimney Sweeps,' and owned by Henry D. Carey, situated off the north shore of City Island, in the town of Pelham, County of Westchester, and State of New York, described as follows:  Beginning at a point in the waters of Long Island Sound, said point lying distant two hundred and sixty-six and forty-three one-hundredths feet, on a bearing of south, twenty-nine degrees twelve minutes and twenty seconds east, from an iron bolt set in the high water mark of the west shore of the before mentioned property owned by Henry D. Carey, and running thence north, seventy-eight degrees west, three hundred feet; thence north, twelve degrees east, four hundred feet; thence south, seventy-eight degrees east, six hundred and twenty-five feet; thence south, twelve degrees west, four hundred feet; and thence north seventy-eight degrees west, three hundred and twenty-five feet to the place of beginning, containing five and two hundred and nine one-thousandths acres of land under water, exclusive of all the upland contained in the above description, which is owned by Henry D. Carey and described as follows:  Beginning at the before mentioned iron bolt, which is set in the high water mark, and running thence along the said high water mark the following courses and distances:  North, forty-six degrees forty-eight minutes and thirty seconds west, forty-one and ninety-seven one hundredths feet; thence north, thirty-five degrees thirty-five minutes and thirty-seconds east, twenty-three and forty-nine hundredths feet; thence north, eighty-three degrees and twenty-one minutes east, eighty-seven and fourteen hundredths feet; thence south, forty-five degrees and thirty-six minutes east, thirty-eight and thirty-nine one hundredths feet; thence south, fourteen degrees twenty-two minutes and thirty-seconds west, thirty-three and four-tenths feet; thence south, eighty-nine degrees and thirty-four minutes east, seventy-nine and thirty-three one hundredths feet; thence south, six degrees forty-three minutes and thirty-seconds west, sixty and forty-four one-hundredths feet; thence south, fifty degrees thirty-six minutes and thirty seconds west, fifteen and eight-tenths feet; thence north, eighty-two degrees forty-five minutes and thirty-seconds west, hone hundred and eight and forty-one one hundredths feet; thence south, twenty-five degrees forty-nine minutes and thirty seconds west, thirty-one and ninety-five one hundredths feet; thence north sixty degrees and fifty-six minutes west, twenty-five and ninety-two one-hundredths feet; thence north, three degrees thirty-five minutes and thirty seconds west, seventy-four and sixty-two one hundredths feet to the place of beginning.

Excepting also all that certain piece or parcel of upland owned by said Henry D. Carey, and lying east of the above described piece of upland described as follows:  Beginning at a point in the high water line of the parcel hereby described, and being distant one hundred and seventy-five and forty-six one hundredths feet on a bearing north, seventy-eight degrees fifty-two minutes and thirty-seconds east, from a cross cut in the rock on the above described parcel of upland, and running thence north, ten degrees thirty-seven minutes and thirty seconds west, fifty and sixteen one hundredths feet; thence north, forty degrees nineteen minutes east, twenty-four and sixteen one hundredths feet; thence north, eighty-eight degrees and eight minutes east, twenty-five and ninety-seven one-hundredths feet; thence south, forty-six degrees forty-one minutes and thirty seconds east, twelve and eighty-one one hundredths feet; thence south, twenty-five degrees and fifty-six minutes east, twenty-five and fifty-five one hundredths feet; thence south, fourteen degrees thirty-four minutes and thirty seconds east, ninety-seven and sixteen one hundredths feet; thence north eighty-five degrees and twenty-one minutes west, fifty-five feet; thence north, seven degrees and nine minutes west, twenty six and twenty-four one hundredths feet; thence north, thirty-six degrees twenty-eight minutes and thirty seconds east, twenty-one and six one hundredths feet; thence north, seventy-two degrees fifty-one minutes and thirty seconds west, thirty-three and nineteen one hundredths feet to the place of beginning.

The soundings, taken every fifty feet, on the whole exterior line of land under water, beginning at the point of beginning of the above description, are as follows:

Thirteen and a half feet, thirteen feet, thirteen feet, twelve and a half feet, thirteen feet, fourteen feet, fifteen feet, thirteen and a half feet, twelve feet, twelve feet, twelve feet, twelve and a half feet, thirteen feet, thirteen and a half feet, fourteen and a half feet, fourteen feet, thirteen feet, twelve feet, ten feet, seven feet, seven feet, nine feet, twelve feet, thirteen and a half feet, fourteen and a half feet, sixteen feet, eighteen feet, nineteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, eighteen feet, seventeen and a half feet, fourteen feet, twelve feet, twelve feet, twelve and a half feet, and thirteen feet.

The mean rise and fall of tides is seven and a half feet.

The uplances of the undersigned applicant are islands in and surrounded by the waters of Long Island Sound, and said uplands are actually occupied by Jacob Gruse, applicant's tenant.  

(b.)  It is the intention of the undersigned to apply for an absolute title in fee simple to said lands under water.

(c.)  It is the intention of the undersigned to appropriate the lands described to his beneficial enjoyment by filling in the same or enclosing same by a sea wall. -- Dated New York, April 18th, 1895.

HENRY D. CAREY,
Applicant.

Post-Office Address -- 
City Island, 
Westchester County, New York.

HENRY G. K. HEATH, 
Attorney for Applicant, 
Office and Post-Office Address -- 
No. 54 Wall Street, 
New York City.          4w6"

Source:  NOTICE OF APPLICATION FOR A GRANT OF LAND UNDER WATER, The Eastern State Journal [White Plains, NY], May 25, 1895, Vol. LI, No. 9, p. 4, cols. 6-7.

"CONVEYANCES. . . . 

Lots 441, 442, 450, 452, 570 to 573, 622, and 623, map of the property of Elizabeth R. B. King, City Island; also Scofield Ave., s. s., 100 ft. w. of Main St., 100x108.3, City Island; also two islands known as the 'Chimney Sweeps,' off the n. shore of City Island, contain 530-1.000 acre, with land under water in front of and adjoining the land of Henry D. Carey on w. shore of City Island, contains 3 398-1.000 acres; Henry D. Carey to Ella J. Carey, q. c., May 17.....................1"

Source:  The Evening Post Record of Real Estate Sales in Greater New York, p. 289 (NY, NY:  The Evening Post, Jun. 5, 1900).  

"TWO FLEE PRISON; SWIM TO FREEDOM
-----
Get a Rowboat in 'Chimney Sweeps,' Reach Mainland and Escape.
-----

Joseph De Parlo and Gustave Repetti escaped from the reformatory on Hart's Island, in Long Island Sound, yesterday by swimming to the 'Chimney Sweeps,' narrow ledges of rock off City Island.  

Before an alarm had been sounded the youths had made their way to the mainland in a rowboat.  Up to a late hour last night they were still at large.

Keepers first missed De Parlo and Repetti at the noon roll call.  A keeper found footprints in the sand of one of the beaches, and the police in City Island were informed.  

Soon afterward detectives learned the two young men had been seen paddling in an old rowboat toward Pelham Bay Park.  It is thought the young convicts grounded the boat in the park and then easily found a hiding place.

Careful search of the swamps and brush in Pelham Bay Park was made yesterday and last night.  There homes were watched last night.  De Parlo lives in Coney Island, and his companion lives in No. 28 West Twenty-third street.  A general alarm has been sent out from Police Headquarters."

Source:  TWO FLEE PRISON; SWIM TO FREEDOM -- Get a Rowboat in 'Chimney Sweeps,' Reach Mainland and Escape, The New York Press, Jul. 4, 1913, Vol. XXVI, No. 9347, p. 1, col. 6.  

"NEW SHOOTING GROUND.
-----

Charles Swan, for many years captain of a volunteer life saving corps in City Island, has leased the large rock known as Chimney Sweeps, off City Island, and will erect a hotel and boathouse there.  The Melrose Gun Club also will have their shooting ground on the rock.  Chimney Sweeps comprises three and one-half acres [sic].  It was granted by Congress to Henry D. Carey fifty years ago.  It is now owned by his son, Allen L. Carey.  Mr. Swan will build a ten foot sea wall around the rock."

Source:  NEW SHOOTING GROUND, New York Herald, Mar. 22, 1914, First Section, Part IV, p. 3, col. 6.  

"CHIMNEY SWEEPS SOLD.
-----

Charles Swan has purchased from the Carey estate Chimney Sweeps, an island near City Island, consisting of about five acres of rock.  The price is reported at $4500."

Source:  CHIMNEY SWEEPS SOLD, New York Herald, Apr. 13, 1914, p. 17, col. 6.  

"TRANSACTIONS RECORDED. . . . 

CHIMNEY SWEEPS, being two islands situate off n. shore City Island, containing 400 [-1.000] and 130-1000 acres; also land under water, L. I. Sound, in front of and adj above islands -- Chas Swan to Franz Marquardt, 2249 Maclay av. Feb. 25; attys.  Froes & McE. 3639 3d av. . . $100"

Source:  TRANSACTIONS RECORDED, The Sun [NY, NY], Mar. 2, 1915, p. 13, cols. 4-5.  

"TITLE CHIMNEY SWEEPS DATES TO CHARLES II
-----
'Baron' Marquard Purchased Specks on Sound for Resting Places When Swimming
-----

Chimney Sweeps, two diminutive islands in the Sound off the north shore of City Island, have been admitted to title registration by Supreme Court Justice Hatting after examining the records of the islands back to the time of Charles II in 1666.  It was held that the islands were not an interference to navigation and that the old grant was contingent upon the development of the land by a sea wall enclosure and by filling-in.  (L.J., October 6, 1926.)

Several years ago, 'Baron' Hans Marquard of the Bronx, an authority on real estate and finance, purchased the islands from the State of New York for a summer retreat.  It was the baron's custom on Sundays to swim out to his islands and there rest, dream or read until nightfall, when he would swim back to the Bronx.  Occasionally he towed across to his island possessions, either one of which was not much larger than the 'baron,' who was a man of exceptional proportions.  When the baron's titles to the islands were questioned he turned to the court an the Torrens law for relief.  The islands are now held in the name of the Chimney Sweeps Corporation."

Source:  TITLE CHIMNEY SWEEPS DATES TO CHARLES II -- "Baron" Marquard Purchased Specks on Sound for Resting Places When Swimming, The Nassau Daily Review, Nov. 3, 1926, p. 8, col. 5.  

"CHIMNEY SWEEP ISLES
-----
Moses Wants City to Buy the Land From Owners.

Whether the two rocky islands in the sound off City Island, which are known as the Chimney Sweeps, can be retained as a vacation place by their nine owners, organized as Chimney Sweeps Islands, Inc., will be decided by the City Planning Commission.  The islands comprise about four acres at low tide and much less at flood tide.  There are several cottages on them.  

Park Commissioner Moses, who has been paying $600 a year for the rent of an old barge on which fireworks are displayed for the visitors at Orchard Beach, decided that the islands would be a better place.  He asked the Board of Estimate to appropriate $3,500 for the purchase of the islands and to start condemnation proceedings.

Russell Smith, employed by a bank in this city, is the president of Chimney Sweeps.  He and the other owners believe that they spent about $9,000 for the land and cottages.  The only notice they ever received, they claim, was a letter from the real estate division of the Board of Estimate asking the owners to sell.  A refusal was sent."

Source:  CHIMNEY SWEEP ISLES -- Moses Wants City to Buy the Land From Owners, The Sun [NY, NY], Jan. 18, 1939, Vol. CVI, No. 116, 7th Ed., p. 1, col. 6.  

"'Chimney Sweeps' Islets Famous More for Wrecks than Populace

In the vicinity of the Blazes we discussed last week are two other tiny islands grouped under the title of 'the Chimney Sweeps.'  These rocky islets have been the scene of marine wrecks since Revolutionary times, and modern-day boatsmen do well to avoid them.  They were originally included in Thomas Pell's purchase from the Indians, and in later times, were owned by the Delancey and Hunter families.  

In 1896 Henry D. Carey of City Island was their owner, and in 1914 his widow sold them to a Charles Swan.  In 1915, Franz Marquardt bought them and their acreage was duly listed in official files:  383/1000 Acres and 147/1000 Acres.  

Three families erected bungalows out there for summer use, and had to transport drinking water, fuel, food and furniture to the bleak rocks.  Even a piano, believe it or not!  The campers built narrow boardwalks over and around the rocks to make their footing more secure, and made themselves comfortable as possible.

For a time, the Parks Department used the island as a base from which to set off fireworks displays.  In 1939, the City formally acquired 'the Chimney Sweeps' and no one has lived there since.

No one knows with certainty how the name was acquired.  One belief is that chimney sweeps used to tie two stones together and lower them down chimneys to loosen the soot.  The two rocky islands, once joined by a sandbar, might have resembled this stock-in-trade of a chimney sweep and so acquired the name.  But, lest the reader take this as Gospel truth -- this is only a theory!"

Source:  McNamara, John, The Bronx In History:  'Chimney Sweeps' Islets Famous More for Wrecks than Populace, Bronx Press Review, Jul. 11, 1963 (copy provided courtesy of Jorge Santiago of the East Bronx History Forum).  

"High Island lies north of City Island, and in the vicinity of these larger islands are several rocky islets called Rat Island, the Chimney Sweeps, and the Blauzes.  Bolton says that this section was formerly the resort of immense numbers of wild ducks, as many as one thousand being shot in six hours."

Source:  Jenkins, Stephen, The Story of the Bronx from the Purchase Made by the Dutch from the Indians in 1639 to the Present Day, p. 20 (NY, NY:  G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1912).  

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