Calf Island (Massachusetts)
Encyclopedia
Calf Island, also known as Apthorps Island, is a windswept island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...

 situated some 9 miles (14.5 km) offshore of downtown Boston in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area situated among the islands of Boston Harbor of Boston, Massachusetts. The area is made up of a collection of islands, together with a former island and a peninsula, many of which are open for public recreation and some...

. The island has a permanent size of 18 acres (72,843.5 m²), plus an intertidal zone
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...

 of a further 16 acres (64,749.8 m²), and has a thin layer of soil that supports vegetation including Wild Cherry, Beach Plum
Beach plum
Prunus maritima is a species of plum native to the Atlantic coast of North America, from Maine south to Maryland. Although sometimes listed as extending to New Brunswick, the species is not known from collections there, and does not appear in the most authoritative works on the flora of that...

, Grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

es, Chives
Chives
Chives are the smallest species of the edible onions. A perennial plant, they are native to Europe, Asia and North America.. Allium schoenoprasum is the only species of Allium native to both the New and the Old World....

, and Mock-orange
Mock-orange
Mock-orange is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 1 to 6 m tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and in southeast Europe....

. Access is by private boat only.

In the 17th century the island was granted to William Brewster
William Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...

 of Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...

, after whom the adjacent islands of Great Brewster
Great Brewster Island
Great Brewster Island is a one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, situated some offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , plus an intertidal zone of a further...

, Little Brewster
Little Brewster Island
Little Brewster Island is a rocky outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. It is best known as the location of Boston Light, the only remaining Coast Guard-manned lighthouse in the United States, and an important navigation aid for traffic to and from the Port of Boston...

, Middle Brewster
Middle Brewster Island
Middle Brewster Island is a rugged outer island in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area, located offshore from downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of , reaches a height of above sea level, and is bounded by sharp cliffs and sunken crags. It has only sparse vegetation...

 and Outer Brewster
Outer Brewster Island
Outer Brewster Island, also known as Outward Island, is a one of the outer islands in the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and is situated some 10 miles offshore of downtown Boston. The island has a permanent size of 20 acres, and consists of exposed bedrock covered by fertile soil...

 are named. Subsequently it was owned by Charles Apthorp
Charles Apthorp
Charles Apthorp was a British-born merchant in 18th-century Boston, Massachusetts. He ran his import business from Merchants Row, and "in his day he was called the richest man in Boston." He acted for the British government, and supported King's Chapel.-Life and career:He was born in England in...

 who also owned Long Island
Long Island (Massachusetts)
This article is about the island Long Island, Boston. For other islands called Long Island, see Long Island .Long Island is situated in the middle of Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. The island is part of the City of Boston, and of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area...

 and other property in the harbor. Over the years, several huts and houses were built on the island, including a colonial style summer estate built by Benjamin P. Cheney, Jr.
Benjamin Pierce Cheney, Jr.
Benjamin Pierce Cheney, Jr. , was an American business executive. He had extensive investments in railroad securities and served as a director of Wells Fargo & Company and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad....

 and his wife, actress Julia Arthur
Julia Arthur
Julia Arthur Although 1868 is accepted as the year of her birth, both The National Cyclopaedia of National Biography and Who Was Who in America give 1869 as the year. was a Canadian-born stage and film actress.-Early life:...

, in 1902. Today only ruins remain.

Illegal boxing matches were staged on the island in the late 19th century.

In the 1920s, the Army planned to install a pair of 16 inches (406.4 mm) guns on Calf Island as part of the Harbor Defenses of Boston, along with 16 inches (406.4 mm) gun batteries on Deer Island (now underneath Logan Airport) and Hog Island (now called Spinnaker Island), to cover the seaward approaches to Boston Harbor. The battery on Calf Island was never built.
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