Остров Шелтер: Природа, Население и Особенности

Shelter Island is an island town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, near the eastern end of Long Island. The population was 3,253 at the 2020 United States census.

Shelter Island is nestled between the North and South Forks of Long Island. It is surrounded on three sides by Shelter Island Sound and on the fourth side by Gardiners Bay. It can be reached via ferry from Greenport to the north (an approximately eight minute trip) or from North Haven to the south (an approximately five minute trip). The two ferry crossings are connected by New York State Route 114, which crosses the island. Shelter Island is around in size. Vast tracts are protected wetlands, a nature preserve marshland. Nearly one third of the island is owned by The Nature Conservancy to be preserved in a wild state. The Preserve has four nature and bird watching trails, varying in length from 1.5 mile (2 km) to 11 mile (18 km), as well as a barrier free Braille trail for the visually impaired. According to the United States Census Bureau, Shelter Island has a total area of 28.7 square miles (74 km2), of which 12.2 square miles (32 km2) is land and 16.5 square miles (43 km2) (57.49%) is water.

As of the 2000 census, there were 2,228 people, 996 households, and 656 families residing in the town. However, during the summer months the population can exceed 8,000. The population density was There were 2,370 housing units at an average density of The racial makeup of the town was 96.32% White, 0.72% Black or African American, 0.04% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 2.33% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.38% of the population. There were 996 households, out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.1% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female head of household, and 34.1% were non families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.75. In the town, the population was spread out, with 18.1% under the age of 18, 4.0% from 18 to 24, 20.1% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 28.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,011, and the median income for a family was $63,750. Males had a median income of $41,508 versus $36,316 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,346. About 4.7% of families and 7.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.0% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.

Dering Harbor, on the north side of the island.

Harbor View, on the west side of the island overlooking West Neck Harbor, is made up of homes built since the 1950s. Originally part of a large egg farm called "Cackle Hill,” the property featured two homes. First, The manor house, which still sits adjacent to Harbor View community on about 17 acres. The second, a smaller farm house, stood on the top of cackle bluff and was removed before development of the community. The farm raised chickens and Lima beans. Residents: Several children of the original developers still own homes or properties in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is significant in the early queer rights movement. Several early residents of the neighborhood were queer rights activists, most of whom died in the AIDS epidemic. Shelter Island, the hamlet of Shelter Island, located on the south side. Shelter Island Heights, on the north side of the island. The Heights was developed as a Methodist Campground in the late 1800s. A private community, it is governed by the Shelter Island Heights Property Owners Corporation, which owns the roads and the North Ferry Company. The Heights was designated on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic district in 1993. The Victorian architecture includes 141 contributing buildings and one contributing structure. Silver Beach, on a peninsula on the southwest side of the island, overlooks breezy Peconic Bay to the west and West Neck Harbor to the east. Residents of Silver Beach Homeowners Association collectively own several large tracts of undeveloped property, including an 18 acre wooded preserve in the center of the peninsula that is maintained as a bird sanctuary and the access point to Shell Beach, which has a large, protected Piping Plover nesting site. Development on Silver Beach began in the post World War II era, and many of the homes there are small cottages typical of the time, though some have been expanded. Westmoreland, on the west side of the island, was built as a private camp retreat. It is home to one of the Island's few remaining equestrian farms and has a private airstrip. The home of the late New York Governor Hugh Carey is on Westmoreland, as is the summer home of comedian Louis C. K.
Nostrand Parkway runs along the west coast of the island, facing the open waters of Peconic Bay. Several prominent older homes there date to a development in the late 1800s known as West Neck Park. The main road, Nostrand Parkway, takes its name from the developer of West Neck Park.

The island was long inhabited by indigenous peoples, related to those who lived north of Long Island Sound. At the time of European encounter, it was occupied by the Manhanset tribe, an Algonquian speaking people related to the Pequot and other Algonquians of New England. The original name of the island, used by the Manhanset Indians, is Manhansack aha quash awamock, which literally translates to "Island sheltered by islands."

Shelter Island Heights was developed in 1871 as a summer resort for camp meetings, after a group of Brooklyn businessmen purchased the Frederick Chase estate for this purpose. It was developed by the Shelter Island Grove and Camp Meeting Association of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For eight years, the camp meetings took place on the island, before moving to Jamesport. During this time, Robert Morris Copeland designed the Union Chapel, built in 1875. In 1984 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). Shelter Island Heights in total was a planned development by Copeland. The houses were designed in classic American styles: Stick Eastlake, Queen Anne Style, and Colonial Revival. During the eight years from 1872 to 1880, when camp meetings were held here, about 70 summer cottages were built in the Heights. By 1890 the district was well defined architecturally; the residences have not changed much since then. Shelter Island Heights was listed in 1993 as an Historical District on both the NRHP and the New York State Register of Historic Places. At the turn of the 20th century, fish processing plants still operated on the island. One was located at the end of Burns Road, another on Big Ram Island, off what is today Tuthill Road. Some summer residents traveled here by steam ferries from New York City. White Hill is located above the North Ferry landing in Shelter Island Heights. The Prospect Hotel was built on the hill. After it burned down, it was rebuilt, but was destroyed a second time by fire in 1942. Today the land where the hotel was located is a town park.

Francis Marion Smith (1846–1931) was known as the "Borax King" for his mining successes. Smith and his family bought a home on the island in 1892. He expanded it to more than 30 rooms and called his estate Presdeleau (French for "by the water"). By 1906 he owned more than on the south side of the island. Smith Cove and Smith Street were named for him. Smith shipped in deer from California to hunt in his "deer park"; their descendants roam some areas of the island. The remains of his estate are reinforced concrete retaining walls and a "Japanese" footbridge from the garden, built by Ernest L. Ransome about 1898, behind Merkle Lane. Another 19th century millionaire who had an estate on Shelter Island was Artemas Ward (1848–1925), a pioneer in mass market advertising. Ward made millions of dollars by monopolizing all advertising on New York City elevated trains, subways, and streetcars. Ward had a large estate on the south side of the island. Ward wrote a biography of his great grandfather, Major General Artemas Ward (1727–1800), a commander in the American Revolutionary War. After years of being tied up in court, the vestiges of Ward’s original estate in the Shorewood section of the Island (including a manor house, formal Italian gardens, and a concrete water tower) have been renovated. In the case of the manor house, it has been partially "deconstructed" to restore an earlier version. Following World War I, development slowly crept onto the island. Summer camps were started in the 1920s, including Camp Quinipet, a United Methodist Church camp and retreat center on Rocky Point Road. On West Neck Harbor, developers Albert and Fred Dickerson built houses for what is today called Montclair Colony. Homes were built on Silver Beach, Ram Island, and Hilo Farms. Following the Depression, some of the summer cottages were abandoned or left to rot. Recovery was slow. It was not until after World War II that summer residents started returning in larger numbers. During the 1950s a farm cooperative grew lima beans on the island. This was the last of commercial farming on Shelter Island. In the 1960s and 1970s, more families started to move to Shelter Island as year round residents. The Gerard family owned the property at Sachem’s Neck that had belonged to the Nicoll family for more than 200 years, and later to financier Otto Kahn. Developers eyed the The land was purchased in January 1980 by the Nature Conservancy to preserve it as a nature park in perpetuity; half of the funds to buy the forest were raised on the island to create Mashomack Preserve. There are still numerous Shelter Island residents with family roots dating to families here at the time of the American Revolution. Some summer residents are fifth generation seasonal visitors.

In the 1996 presidential election, it was the only town on Long Island to vote for Bob Dole. But, in 2004, John Kerry became the first Democrat in recent history to win Shelter Island, although he failed to receive as many votes as Al Gore did four years earlier throughout Long Island. Shelter Island saw consecutive successes for the Democratic Party; in 2008 and 2012, Barack Obama won Shelter Island, in 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton won Shelter Island, and most recently, Shelter Island voted for Joe Biden for the 2020 presidential election.