Charles Island

For the island in Nunavut, Canada, see Charles Island (Nunavut). For the island in the Galápagos formerly named "Charles Island", see Floreana Island.

Charles Island

Charles Island at low tide, including the tombolo
Charles Island (Connecticut)
Geography
Location	Long Island Sound
Coordinates	41°11′28.32″N 73°03′18″W / 41.1912°N 73.055°W / 41.1912; -73.055Coordinates: 41°11′28.32″N 73°03′18″W / 41.1912°N 73.055°W / 41.1912; -73.055
Area	14 acres (5.7 ha)
Country
United States
State	Connecticut
County	New Haven
City	Milford
Demographics
Population	0
Density	0 /sq mi (0 /km2)

Charles Island is a 14 acre (57,000 m²) island located roughly 0.5 mile (1 km) off the coast of Milford, Connecticut, in Long Island Sound centered at 41°11′28.32″N 73°03′18″W / 41.1912°N 73.055°W / 41.1912; -73.055 (Charles Island).

Charles Island is accessible from shore via a tombolo (locally referred to as a sandbar), which is exposed at low tide. According to early local histories, the Sachem Ansantawae resided there during the summer months. European discovery of the island occurred in 1614 when Adriaen Block sailed through and mapped Long Island Sound. The island appears on his hand-drawn map found in The Netherlands National Archives.

After the Milford area was settled by the English in 1639 the island was referred to as Milford Island. After Charles Deal bought the island in 1657 it became known as Charles Island. Deal made a failed attempt to raise tobacco on the island – one of the first such efforts in Connecticut.

Local records indicate that Captain William Kidd visited Milford in 1699 when he was en route to Boston (where he was subsequently arrested for piracy and murder). Before Kidd’s arrival in Boston, he off-loaded and buried treasure on Gardiners Island off the eastern tip of Long Island. The treasure was retrieved after his arrest but questions remain as to whether all the treasure was in that cache and whether he may have buried more of it along Long Island Sound. Since it is known he visited Milford on his last voyage, it has been speculated that he may have buried some of his treasure on the mainland or on Charles Island.

Charles Island at High Tide from Walnut Beach. Summer 2006

In 1835, the first permanent residence was constructed on the island by John Harris. After his death the island was owned by several different owners and in 1852 it was purchased by Elizur Pritchard of Waterbury, Connecticut who turned the large house into a summer resort known originally as Charles Island House and later as Ansantawae House. After the Civil War the resort closed and the island was leased to the George Miles Company as a base for their fish fertilizer operations. After the Miles Company left the island it was relatively unused until the 1930s when the Dominican Order opened a religious retreat on the island. The Aquinas Retreat consisted of a chapel, small cabins for the retreatants, a central dining hall and religious shrines located along paths throughout the island. The retreat closed in the late 1930s and some remnants of it remain on the island.

The State of Connecticut now owns the island and it is part of Silver Sands State Park. It is designated a Natural Area Preserve for the local bird population of herons and egrets. White-tail deer are common as well. The waters around the island have bluefish, snapper blues, sand sharks, and horseshoe crabs.

Though an island during high tide, during low tide it is accessible by foot using a rocky tombolo that stretches from the beach to the island. Visitors are cautioned about the strong undertow and twice-daily flooding of the sandbar as a result of the tides. Currently (2005) the crossing window is at least two hours. However, Milford locals note that earlier in the 20th century the window was much greater, but erosion has reduced the size and width of the island and sandbar.

Kayakers paddling on the side of the island not facing the Connecticut shore can be surprised by the wind and rougher waves, according to a spokesman for the Milford Fire Department. At about 2 a.m. on September 6, 2009, a 22-year-old kayaker went missing after his boat capsized. Another man with him swam to safety, but after more than a month, the victim's body had not been found.^[1]

Legends of hauntings, treasure and a curse

Aerial photo of Charles Island

The island was allegedly cursed three times. The first curse was brought in the late 17th century by an Indian chief, whose tribe fought for the island which they felt was sacred—and "spirited"--ground. After the settlers defeated the Indians, the chief proclaimed, "Any shelter will crumble to the Earth, and he shall be cursed." Some feel this is the reason why no building has ever lasted on the island for more than a short period of time. The second curse was supposedly brought by Captain Kidd in 1699 when he allegedly buried some of his treasure there. Captain Kidd cursed anyone who attempted to dig up his treasure with certain death. The third curse was supposedly brought in 1721 by five sailors who stole Mexican emperor Guatmozin's treasure from a cave and brought it back to Connecticut. Guatmozin proclaimed a curse on the stolen treasure. After four of the five sailors suffered a death, the last sailor hid the treasure in the basement of the old Milford Inn. After it was accidentally discovered by a drunken customer searching the cellar for beer, the fifth sailor supposedly transported it to Charles Island in the dead of night, bringing the third curse along with him.

No one has ever found any of the treasures buried on the island, but local legend says that two treasure hunters came very close in 1850. They found an iron chest that was buried at the island. As they attempted to open it, a "screeching, flaming skeleton descended from the sky". It lurched into the pit where the treasure lay, sending forth a shower of blue flames. The treasure hunters were so terrified that they dropped their tools and fled the island. The following day, the two returned to the island only to find that their tools were gone and the digging site had been smoothly covered up, as if they had never even been there. Some say that the two men spent the rest of their lives in an insane asylum while others say that they were beheaded by the spirits of the Paugussett Indians, who made the treasure invisible.

Many people who have visited the island in recent years have reported seeing glowing ghosts in trees and hearing the sounds of disembodied voices and music of festivities from the past. Some think that the ghosts may even be phantom monks, who continue to make their processionals through the monastery ruins.

References

1. ^ Juliano, Frank, "Body found in Sound not missing kayaker", The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, p A8, October 13, 2009

• Dooling, Michael C. An Historical Account of Charles Island. The Carrollton Press, 2006
• History of Milford 1639-1939. Federal Writers' Project, 1939
• Lambert, Edward R. History of the Colony of New Haven. New Haven: Hitchcock and Stafford, 1838
• Cheri Revai Haunted Connecticut. Stackpole Books, 2006
• David E. Philips "Legends of Pirate Gold." Legendary Connecticut. Curbstone Press, 2001
• New England Site.com. "The Curse of Charles Island, Charles Island History".