“Forgotten by God”: How the People of Barren Island Built a Thriving Community on New York City's Garbage
“Forgotten by God”: How the People of Barren Island Built a Thriving Community on New York City’s Garbage ______________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History Brooklyn College ______________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Miriam Sicherman Thesis Advisor: Michael Rawson Spring 2018 Table of Contents Abstract 1 Acknowledgments 2 Introduction 3 Chapter 1: Early History, Landscape, and Population 22 Chapter 2: Outsiders and Insiders 35 Chapter 3: Work 53 Chapter 4: Recreation and Religion 74 Chapter 5: Municipal Neglect 84 Chapter 6: Law and Order 98 Chapter 7: Education 112 Chapter 8: The End of Barren Island 134 Conclusion 147 Works Cited 150 1 Abstract This thesis describes the everyday life experiences of residents of Barren Island, Brooklyn, from the 1850s until 1936, demonstrating how they formed a functioning community under difficult circumstances. Barren Island is located in Jamaica Bay, between Sheepshead Bay and the Rockaway Peninsula. During this time period, the island, which had previously been mostly uninhabited, was the site of several “nuisance industries,” primarily garbage processing and animal rendering. Because the island was remote and often inaccessible, the workers, mostly new immigrants and African-Americans, were forced to live on the island, and very few others lived there. In many ways the islanders were neglected and ignored by city government and neighboring communities, except as targets of blame for the bad smells produced by the factories. In the absence of adequate municipal attention, islanders were forced to create their own community norms and take care of their own needs to a great extent.
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