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The Great Transformation: Exploring Jamaica Bay in the Late 19Th and Early 20Th Centuries Through Newspaper Accounts

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The Great Transformation: Exploring Jamaica Bay in the Late 19Th and Early 20Th Centuries Through Newspaper Accounts National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science The Great Transformation Exploring Jamaica Bay in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries Through Newspaper Accounts Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR—2018/1607 ON THIS PAGE Top image: Haunts of Jamaica Bay Fishermen (source: Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 25 August 1895), Bottom image: How They Tracked Down the Typhoid Oysters (source: The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 February 1913). ON THE COVER Cover image: Sea Side House, Second Landing, Rockaway Beach, Long Island, as viewed from bay side (source: Ephemeral New York, https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com, circa 1900) The Great Transformation Exploring Jamaica Bay in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries Through Newspaper Accounts Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR—2018/1607 John Waldman Queens College The City University of New York 65-30 Kissena Blvd Flushing, NY 11367 William Solecki Hunter College The City University of New York 695 Park Ave, New York, NY 10065 March 2018 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate comprehensive information and analysis about natural resources and related topics concerning lands managed by the National Park Service. The series supports the advancement of science, informed decision-making, and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series also provides a forum for presenting more lengthy results that may not be accepted by publications with page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in digital format from the Natural Resource Publications Management website. Please cite this publication as: Waldman, J., and W. Solecki. 2018. The great transformation: Exploring Jamaica Bay in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through newspaper accounts. Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR— 2018/1607. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 962/143324, March 2018 ii Contents Page Figures.................................................................................................................................................... v Appendix .............................................................................................................................................. vii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. ix Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. xi List of Source Abbreviations ..............................................................................................................xiii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Hook & Line Fishing ............................................................................................................................. 3 Commercial Fishing ............................................................................................................................. 19 Other Marine Creatures ........................................................................................................................ 25 Presence of Eelgrass ............................................................................................................................ 27 Hunting ................................................................................................................................................ 29 Shellfishing .......................................................................................................................................... 31 Recreational Boating ............................................................................................................................ 35 Beachgoing & Resorts ......................................................................................................................... 39 Extreme Weather ................................................................................................................................. 45 Dangerous Waters ................................................................................................................................ 47 Fresh Waters - Distribution & Contamination ..................................................................................... 49 Waste & Public Health ......................................................................................................................... 55 Oysters & Typhoid Fever ..................................................................................................................... 59 Farms.................................................................................................................................................... 63 Port & Land Development ................................................................................................................... 65 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 79 References Cited .................................................................................................................................. 83 iii Figures Page Figure 1. Location map of the Jamaica Bay watershed, New York. ..................................................... 2 Figure 2. Haunts of Jamaica Bay, New York fishermen ....................................................................... 3 Figure 3. “Sheepshead” lithograph from the Fish from American Waters series for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes Brands .................................................................................................................... 5 Figure 4. Recreational fishing sites of Jamaica Bay, New York........................................................... 6 Figure 5. Goose Creek, Jamaica Bay, New York, no date .................................................................... 7 Figure 6. Fishing off the front porch of a house in Broad Channel, Queens, New York, c. 1910 - 1915 .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 7. Historical wetlands of Jamaica Bay, New York. ................................................................. 15 Figure 8. Wetland loss from 1844 to 2004 in Jamaica Bay, New York.............................................. 16 Figure 9. Limits of Jamaica Bay, New York. ..................................................................................... 23 Figure 10. Whale Washed Up & Roasted - c. 1800s - Rockaway Beach, New York......................... 26 Figure 11. Bottom types in Jamaica Bay, new York (1877). .............................................................. 28 Figure 12. Oyster beds in Jamaica Bay, New York (1912). ............................................................... 32 Figure 13. Idewild Regatta, at Jamaica Bay, New York (May 30th, 1877). ........................................ 36 Figure 14. New Colossal Hotel, 1889 Rockaway Beach, New York.................................................. 39 Figure 15. Advertisement for Hotel Howard, New York, 1899 .......................................................... 40 Figure 16. Children who stay in the city—Children who go to Rockaway, Advertising Card, c. 1900 ........................................................................................................................................ 42 Figure 17. 1898 topographic map of the Jamaica Bay watershed, New York. ................................... 43 Figure 18. Historical ponds in Jamaica Bay, New York. .................................................................... 49 Figure 19. Historical creeks and streams in Jamaica Bay, New York. ............................................... 50 Figure 20. Changes in the barrier island structure. ............................................................................. 56 Figure 21. Landfill 1844 to 1994, Jamaica Bay, New York. .............................................................. 58 Figure 22. Mid 18th Century settlements and key transportation routes, New York..........................
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