First English settlement in New York The island was settled by
Lion Gardiner in 1639, who moved there with his family from the
Connecticut Colony. He reportedly purchased the island from the local
Montaukett people for "a large black dog, some
powder and
shot, and a few Dutch blankets." The Montauketts gave Gardiner the title, at least in part because of his support for them in the
Pequot War. The island was not part of the Connecticut Colony or the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations of the British, nor was it a part of the Dutch colony of
New Netherland. It evidently fell under the jurisdiction of
Earl of Stirling, William Alexander, who had been given
Long Island by the King of England in 1636 and required Gardiner to gain his approval of the land grant through his agent James Farrett. It has been privately owned by Gardiner's descendants for years. The
royal patent of 1639 gave Gardiner the "right to possess the land forever", with the island being declared a
proprietary colony Gardiner was given the title of
Lord of the Manor and the attenuating privileges of governorship. On October 5, 1665, after the British had taken over New Netherland and established the
Province of New York, and it had been established that Long Island would not be part of the Connecticut Colony,
Richard Nicolls, the first Governor of the Province, issued a new patent to Lion Gardiner's son David. In 1688, when
Governor Thomas Dongan granted a patent formally establishing the
East Hampton municipal government, there was an attempt to annex the island, which the Gardiners successfully resisted. Gardiner's Island would remain independent of outside municipal jurisdiction until after the
American Revolution, when it was formally annexed to East Hampton. Gardiner established a
plantation on the island, raising corn, wheat, fruit, tobacco, and livestock.
Captain Kidd Privateer William Kidd stopped at the island in June 1699 while sailing to Boston to answer charges of
piracy. With the permission of the island's proprietor, he buried a chest, a box of gold, and two boxes of silver in a ravine between Bostwick's Point and the Manor House. Indicating to Mrs. Gardiner that the box of gold was intended for the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony,
Lord Bellomont, Kidd gave Mrs. Gardiner a length of
gold cloth, Kidd was tried in Boston, and Gardiner was ordered by Governor Bellomont to deliver the treasure as evidence. The booty included gold dust, bars of silver,
Spanish dollars, rubies, diamonds, candlesticks, and
porringers. Gardiner kept one of the diamonds which he later gave to his daughter. A plaque on the island marks the spot where the treasure was buried.
American Revolution The Gardiners sided with the colonists during the
American Revolution. A fleet of thirteen British ships sailed into the island's Cherry Harbor and began foraging and pillaging its manor house at will; they were planning to turn it into a private hunting preserve. Among the British interlopers were
Henry Clinton and
John André. At one point, Major André and Gardiner's son Nathaniel Gardiner exchanged toasts on the island. Nathaniel Gardiner was a surgeon for the
New Hampshire Continental Infantry. He was the American surgeon who later attended to André before he was executed for spying with
Benedict Arnold. Following the revolution, the island was formally brought under East Hampton town jurisdiction.
War of 1812 During the
War of 1812, a British fleet of seven ships of the line and several smaller frigates anchored in Cherry Harbor and conducted raids on American shipping through
Long Island Sound. Crews would come ashore for provisions, which were purchased at market prices. During one of the British excursions, Americans captured some of the crew. The British came to arrest then owner John Lyon Gardiner, who, being a delicate man, adopted the "green room defense", where he stayed in a bed with green curtains surrounded by medicine to make him look feeble. Gardiner's supply boats were manned by slaves during the war, and this made it easier for them to pass through British lines. After the State of New York abolished slavery in 1827, many of the freed Gardiner slaves went to live in
Freetown, just north of
East Hampton village. Another claim is that it was named for former President
John Tyler (1841–1845), who married
Julia Gardiner Tyler, born on Gardiners Island. The fort was intended to consist of Battery Edmund Smith, with emplacements for two
8-inch M1888 disappearing guns and two
5-inch M1900 guns on pedestal mounts. Records indicate that it was never armed. Robert David Lion Gardiner and Alexandra Gardiner Creel occupied the island at the expiration of Sperry Rand's lease in 1963. Gardiner inherited three Gardiner fortunes: from his father, his uncle and his Aunt Sarah. The island was designated as a
National Natural Landmark (NNL) in April 1967 by the
National Park Service, in recognition of its waterfowl and shorebird habitat, and its role as a breeding ground for
osprey.
Bickering ownership Sarah Diodati Gardiner had also set aside a trust fund for upkeep of the island, but it was exhausted by the 1970s. When Alexandra Gardiner Creel died, her rights passed to her daughter, Alexandra Creel Goelet. Robert David Lion Gardiner and Goelet were to have a highly publicized dispute over ownership and direction of the island. Robert accused Alexandra of wanting to sell and develop the island. She accused him of not paying his share of the estimated $2 million per year upkeep and taxes of the island. Robert said he would not oppose ownership by the government or a private conservancy group. Gardiners Island's NNL status was removed in July 2006, following a request from the island's owner, Alexandra Creel Goelet. ==Ownership==