ROCKAWAY POINT FORT BEGUN

The Building of a New Landmark

On Saturday, February 3, 1917, President Wilson announced to Congress that he had recalled Hon. James W. Gerard, the American Ambassador to the Imperial German Government at Berlin, and had directed that passports be given to the German Ambassador to the United States, Count Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff. The severance of diplomatic relations with Germany was the result of a long series of events involving a disregard of American rights upon the high seas.

On February 9, 1917, under direction of engineers of the United States army, 150 men broke ground for a new fort on Rockaway Point in the Borough of Queens, city of New York. In response to our inquiry, the Chief of Engineers informed us under date of March 16, 1917, that no official name had been given to the fort, but that the locality was referred to unofficially in correspondence as Rockaway Point. Whatever may be the history which the future holds for this fort, its erection creates a new landmark of historical interest. The selection of the site, it was announced in the newspapers of the next day, was the result of a six months' survey by the government authorities in a search for an advantageous point for a battery to command the sea approach to New York city. At present a warship of the Queen Elizabeth type could cruise outside the range of the Sandy Hook armament and batter Brooklyn and New York at will.

The work on February 9 was begun under the direction of Capt. Frank K. Herkness and Capt. J. T. Ardley of the United States Army Engineer Corps.

The beginning of this new fortification was attended by interesting transactions in the Legislature.

The Federal Government had negotiated the terms of purchase for the land required by the fort, but the land had not actually been conveyed. The adjacent land under water belongs to the city of New York, and its use is necessary to the fort. On February 9 Senator Ogden L. Mills of New York and Assemblyman John G. Malone of Albany by request introduced in their respective chambers a bill reading as follows:

Section 1. The City of New York is hereby authorized to cede or grant to the United States of America for national, governmental purposes, any land or lands under water, island, hammock, or hassock, in Jamaica bay adjacent to the upland required by the United States on the westerly end of Rockaway Neck, Borough of Queens, City of New York, for such consideration and upon such terms and conditions as the Board of Commissioners of the Sinking Fund may, in its discretion, deem proper.

This bill was passed by the Senate February 12 and by the Assembly February 13.

On February 9 bills were introduced by request" to amend the Greater New York Charter, relative to selling and conveying the right, title and interest of the City of New York in and to lands under water to upland owners in the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens." This bill proposed to authorize the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund " to approve agreements submitted by the Commissioner of Docks for the sale and conveyance to adjacent upland owners of the city in and to any lands under water within the limits of the Boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens lying outshore of high water mark and inshore of any bulkhead line established under the provisions of this act." This bill was also represented to be necessary to the consummation of the government plans; but was strongly opposed on the ground that it exceeded the necessities of the fort situation, and opened the way for the alienation of valuable water rights by the city.

The bill having failed to pass, and the conveyance of the fort site to the Federal Government having been delayed, a bill was introduced authorizing the taking of the land by the State under its power of eminent domain and transferring it to the Federal Government. Under an emergency message from Governor Whitman, the bill passed both houses of the Legislature on February 21 and was immediately signed by the Governor. It became chapter 13 of the Laws of 1917. As soon as the bill was signed, Governor Whitman issued the following order to Adjt.-Gen. Louis W. Stotesbury, State Engineer Frank M. Williams, and State Superintendent of Public Works W. W. Wotherspoon, who, under the new law, comprise a permanent commission to condemn private lands needed for the public defense:

"Pursuant to the provisions of chapter 13 of the laws of 1917. you are hereby directed to acquire such land as is desired by the

Federal Government for the purpose of public defense at Rockaway Beach, County of Queens, in the City of New York."

As soon as this had been issued the Governor sent the following telegram to Secretary of War Newton D. Baker:

"The Honorable the Secretary of War,

Washington, D. C.:

"I desire to call your attention to the fact that the Legislature has passed, and I have this day approved, an act to amend the State law relative to the acquisition of land by the State for purposes of public defense. This act gives me power, after certain provisions have been complied with, to convey title of land, to be used for the purposes of defense, to the United States Government. Immediately upon approving the act, and pursuant to its provisions, I directed the commission created by the act, consisting of the Adjutant General, the State Engineer, and the Superintendent of Public Works, to acquire such land as is desired by the Federal Government for the purposes of the public defense in Rockaway Beach, County of Queens, in the City of New York. "CHARLES S. WHITMAN."

Work on the fort proceeded so rapidly that on Saturday, March 3, 1917, two six-inch guns were mounted and searchlights with a range of five miles were installed. Ammunition had already arrived, and preparations were going forward actively for the mounting of more guns in the near future.

NEW YORK CITY ARCHAEOLOGY

Results of Explorations in 1916

During the year 1916, a small group of archaeologists, among the leaders of whom are Mr. Reginald Pelham Bolton, a member of our Board of Trustees, Mr. W. L. Calver, a member of the Society, and Mr. John Ward Dunsmore, the historical painter, continued their exploration of historical sites on Manhattan Island which have not yet been occupied by modern buildings. To Mr. Bolton we are indebted for the description, given on pages 164-172, of excavations in which he took a leading part:

The Dyckman Farm-House

The year 1916 opened with interesting possibilities. The repair of the Dyckman farm-house at Broadway and 204th street, was proceeding and this afforded an opportunity for search in the soil around the building. There was some uncertainty as to the position of the old well, and a party was therefore organized to dig behind the house and endeavor to locate it. As it happened they missed it by a few feet, but found the rich soil filled with the débris of past occupancy of the place. They struck a place near the kitchen door where there had been a little pathway paved with Colonial bricks, and on either side were abundant remains of household materials, bones, broken crocks and china, nails and ironwork. They found a good Colonial shoe-buckle, a George II half-penny, and a Spanish silver coin of Carolus IV. Among a lot of material brought out from behind the plastering of partitions, they recovered a nearly complete cup and saucer of early English ware and some scraps of porcelain of good quality; also a bullet mould and an old skate. The workmen employed in grading the grounds were instructed to keep every object found, so that a large quantity of broken china and earthenware was recovered, sundry iron work of the farm, such as trace chains, a plow share and among other finds, a small cannon ball, a grapeshot, and a few bullets. Quite a handful of coins came to light ranging in dates to modern times. All these objects were turned in to the museum of the building, forming an interesting group, directly connected with the vicissitudes through which the old dwelling has passed.

The reconstruction of parts of the old building afforded an opportunity for utilizing some of the iron work found in the near-by camp, and such objects as hinges and latches were restored to domestic use after their long burial of 140 years. (See plates 11-15.)

The party also contributed the bricks taken out of the bakeoven in the British Camps which were utilized by Mr. A. M. Welch, the architect, in repair of the chimneys and the hearths in the kitchens.

This work led to the plan for reconstructing, out of available materials, one of the military dug-out huts, which Dr. Bashford

Dean suggested would add to the interest of Dyckman house park. (See plate 12.)

Mr. A. M. Welch, having asked Mr. Bolton to undertake this work, with Dr. Dean's request he marked and removed all the stones and bricks composing the fireplace in Hut No. 34,* on line of 203d street and about 150 feet west of Seaman avenue, which was opened in 1915. These were re-erected on April 21, 1916, under Mr. Bolton's supervision, as nearly as possible in the same order and place, set in cement and backed by stonework set by Andy McConnell of Ayrshire. The arch was made of hand-hewn oak beams brought from an old Long Island barn of 1740. Pothooks of Hut 34 were hung in place. The upper part of the chimney was built with stones from the fireplaces in huts contiguous to No. 34, especially selected for suitable shape. For this purpose and to construct the side walls of the hut, they dug out and dismantled the fireplaces in Huts 36 and 37 and took the stones of Hut "S" and also of Hut "A." While taking out the latter the explorers found a store of pewter buttons in a little pocket by the fire-place containing twelve specimens of the 52d Foot. They also took out the floor-stones in the Apothecary's hut, opened in 1916, for use in the flooring. In building the side walls they inserted here and there an old brick from the hut-sites and some of the bottoms of the glass bottles so frequently found in the huts. Later they dug into several hut floors and took up stones and bricks which had formed part of the surface and transported these to the reconstructed hut, which is paved over, and the door-step is the actual stone step of Hut 34 from which the fireplace was transferred. The work of construction was carried out by John Harden, Jr., and he and Mierisch did the cearpenter work personally, showing great interest in the details.

The chimney was extended up to a height of ten feet, and above ground field boulders were used, picked out of those forming fireplaces in other huts, notably Hut "S" and also No. 36 in the series. The flue is capped with a natural slab of native rock found at Seaman avenue and 207th street near the spot where Indian dog burials were discovered. The chimney drew very well.

* This and following hut number refer to designations on the landmark maps on which the explorers keep their records.