Essay/Term paper: Throgsneck

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Position Papers

History of Throgs Neck and Maritime College.



"In September 1642, John Throgmorton , with 35 families applied to the Dutch authorities in Niew Amsterdam for permission to settle in. Permission was granted in October 1642, and the conlonists settled on the long neck lying south of what is Eastchester Bay today and named it Throgmorton"s Neck after their leader. By the time of the American Revolution, the name had been contracted to Throgg"s Neck. Throgmorton and his colony thrived for short time, for in the later part of 1643, the Siwanoy Indians attacked the colony and destroyed it. Eighteen persons were massacred. Fortunately, at the time of the attack, a passing boat managed to land at the Neck and helped the remaining colonist to escape to safety. Throgmorton escaped but didn"t return to his colony after the massacre. " (Hamilton, Harlan. Throgs Neck Light. 1-2)

Fort is built at Throgs Neck.

"As New York City developed into the nations largest seaport and business center, the strategic value of Throgs Neck as a site for defense of the seaward approaches to the city from Long Island Sound became apparent. Construction of a fort was considered in 1818, and on July 26, 1826, the federal government purchased fifty-two acres of land from William Bayard. Construction of a fort began in 1833 with I.L. Smith as the architect. New England stone masons erected the thick walls of the fort using granite blocks ferried down from Greenwich, Connecticut. Irish laborers did much of the manual labor such as driving teams of horses and unloading the barges. Other Irish ran taverns that sprang up in Schuylerville where East Tremont and Bruckner Boulevard are today.

Although not completed until 1851, the new defense of New York approaches was christened Fort Schuyler in December 1845 in honor of General Philip Schuyler, the American Revolutionary War officer whose able command of the northern army in 1777 laid the groundwork for the defeat of the British at Saratoga. The fort was not completely garrisoned, however, until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1863. " (Hamilton, Harlan. Throgs Neck Light. 3)

"The fort was built in an irregular pentagon design which is still considered one of the finest examples of Napoleonic military architecture in existence; the Pentagon in our nation"s capital is modeled after it. It was unusual in that it was erected over a sandy foundation with little solid rock underneath, but it never settled or sagged. The armament for it was formidable: three hundred and twelve seacoast and garrison guns, six field pieces, and one hundred and thirty-four other heavy guns, all to be manned by a garrison of twelve hundred men. The design also provided for a complete three hundred and sixty degree defensive pattern, thus eliminating the possibility of land attack. During the years, muzzle loading cannons gave way to rifled cannons which in turn were replaced by "disappearing" twelve inch guns. There was even a "torpedo" launching casemate." (Hamilton, Harlan. Throg Neck Light. 3)

The College.

New York Maritime was established in 1874 on board the Navy Sloop of war U.S.S. St. Marys, on Manhattan East River. 1929 the name of the school was changed to New York State Merchant Marine Academy. In 1938 the school moved to its present location. In 1948 it became one of the original State University of New York (SUNY). One year later, it was designated the State University of New York Maritime College. "At the outset, baccalaureate degrees in Marine Engineering and Marine Transportation were awarded and, in keeping with the specialized nature of the College, professional nautical training continued to be provided to enable the graduates to pass the Federal license examinations required for Merchant Marine officers. It rapidly became evident that other curricula were necessary in order to meet the needs of the maritime industry and to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of the student population. The first of the new programs was a degree effort in Meteorology and Oceanography, soon to be followed by Nuclear Science, Naval Architecture, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Humanities concentration. " (Maritime College. Centennial 1874-1974.)

"Between 1960 and 1972, the University undertook a multi-million dollar construction program at Fort Schuyler. All temporary war-time buildings were razed; up-to-date dormitories, classrooms and dining halls replaced the old. The first new, modern building was completed in 1963. It was Vander Clute Hall, named in honor of Carl Vander Clute, Class of "21, Merchant Marine Officer, U. S. Lines; Admiralty Lawyer; General Manager, Marine Department, Gulf Oil Corporation; Member, Maritime College board of Visitors 1934-54; Chairman, Maritime College Council 1955-60. The building includes dormitories, dining hall and cadet lounge area. Cadets live two to a room in the dormitories.