Fishers Island
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Fishers Island is a small island, approximately 9 mi (14 km) long and 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, in Suffolk County in the U.S. state of New York. It is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, 5 mi (8 km) off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. It is approximately 11 mi (18 km) from the tip of Long Island and approximately 7 mi (12 km) southeast of New London, Connecticut, from which it is accessible by ferry.
The island was called "Munnawtawkit" by the Pequots. In 1614 it was discovered by Adrian Block, who named it Visher's Island. In 1640, the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony granted the island to John Winthrop, Jr., who lived only one winter on the island. After being named governor of the Connecticut Colony, Winthrop used the island to raise horses and goats. The island remained a property of the Winthrop family for 218 years until it was sold to Rober R. Fox in 1863. In 1889 it was sold to Edmund and Walton Ferguson. It was the subject of a border dispute between New York and Connecticut until 1879 when a joint commission decided that the island was part of New York. Despite this decision, in many ways the island remains psychographically tied more to Connecticut than to New York even today: Its ZIP Code, for example, is 06390 (Connecticut zip codes begin with "0" while all other places in New York State besides Fishers Island have zip codes starting with "1") and the island is the only point in Suffolk County to which telephone calls placed from the greater New York City area are classified as long distance and not "regional," even though the island's area code is the same as that of eastern Long Island (631). About 275 people live year-round on the island, and the population of the island rises to over 2000 during the peak summer weekends.
The island is noted as a famous summer colony and private playground for old money summer residents of the island's exclusive estates. Its more notable residents include former Governor Thomas Kean of New Jersey, CIA Director Porter Goss, filmmaker Albert Maysles, former Whitney Museum director Tom Armstrong, author Rick Moody (The Ice Storm, was made into a film directed by Ang Lee in 1997), and heirs to IBM and Dupont. Most of the island's year-round residents reside in the hamlet of Fishers Island on the western end of the island. In addition to their houses, there are all the necessities for small-town life, including a grade school, bowling alley, movie theater, liquor store, grocery store, gas station, volunteer fire department, and post office. The west end also has a small air strip, a museum, an ice cream shop (Toppers), and a restaurant/bar (The Pequot).
The eastern two-thirds of the island is scattered with large summer estates accessible by a single private road. During the main season, access to the private road is protected by a guard shed.
The island has two country clubs. The smaller club, on the islands western portion, is Hay Harbor. Hay Harbor's golf course is a 9 hole links-style course with a 2nd hole that runs along the ocean. Its tennis club has approximately 10 clay courts, a swimming pool, and a salt water swimming area affectionately called The Tank. Finally, Hay Harbor has a sailing club. With the magnificent winds that swirl all around the island, sailing is a popular pastime for people summering at the island.
The second country club, Fishers Island Club, usually called The Big Club, is at the island's eastern tip. It is home to a world-class links golf course that is rated 18th in the US by Golf Magazine. The club also has four tennis courts, a beach club, and a members-only beachfront. The main clubhouse has two dining rooms capapble of seating 250 people. There are also housing facilities for over 40 employees on the island.
Brush With Fame: The seaside scenes in the movie ``The World According to Garp, starring Robin Williams and Glenn Close, were shot on Fishers Island on and about the grounds the mansion originaly built by Bethelem Steel heir, Robert Linderman.
External links
- News and Information About Fishers Island, NY (http://www.fishersisland.net/)
Includes history, directories, ferry schedules, and more
- Fishers Island Ferry District (http://www.fiferry.com/)
- "The Matter of Proceedings to Acquire Land on Fishers Island" (http://www.raga.com/guardianofthesound/acquireland.html)