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Ghosts of Hell Gate Sources / The Feminine Macabre

Chris Amandier

• 13 min read

Thanks for reading my essay, “Ghosts of Hell Gate,” published in The Feminine Macabre! Here’s the list of all the works consulted in working on this essay.

It’s a long list, but I drew from research I did while working on these Buried Secrets Podcasts episodes, so have included all the sources I consulted while working on them: A Victorian Lunatic’s Fort: Fort Maxey, Blackwell’s Island, NYC, The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse, or The Blackwell Island Light, NYC, Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate, New York City, The General Slocum Disaster, Hell Gate, New York City, The Haunted Hell Gate, New York City.

Sources consulted 

Articles consulted RE: Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate

  • “HUSSAR GOLD QUEST RESUMED BY INVENTOR: SIMON LAKE IN ‘BABY’ SUBMARINE TO INVESTIGATE 3 HULKS FOUND SUNK NEAR HELL GATE.” New York Times (1923-Current file), Aug 06 1935, p. 19. ProQuest. Web. 8 Nov. 2020 

  • LAKE’S SUBMARINE FAILS OF LAUNCHING: Mother Ship is Unable to Pull It … Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES. New York Times (1923-Current file); Oct 7, 1934; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index
    pg. 27

  • LACK OF FUNDS HALTS LAKE’S TREASURE HUNT: His Submarine to Be Auctioned if He Fails to Get $394 to Pay Deckhand. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]21 June 1936: 23.

  • HUNT PIECES OF EIGHT.: Lake’s Submarine Retrieves Pail and Clam Shell in East River. New York Times (1923-Current file); Sep 27, 1935;
    ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index
    pg. 23

  • LAKE THINKS HULK IS TREASURE SHIP: Inventor Believes He Has Found Wreck of Frigate Hussar in East River. CARRIED $1,800,000 GOLD Probing Reveals Hard Timbers in Indicated Position, and Treasury Is Notified. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]26 Sep 1936: 17.

  • SIMON LAKE AGAIN SUED: Inventor Seeking $4,000,000 Gold In $1,800 Foreclosure Action. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]11 Nov 1936: 2.

  • Simon Lake’s Home Is Foreclosed. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]06 Mar 1937: 15.

  • SIMON LAKE GETS RESPITE: Court Grants New Delay in Foreclosure Sale of Milford Home. New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]18 Nov 1937: 18.

  • LYONS OFFERS GOLD TO BOOM THE BRONX: It’s Not His Gold and He Isn’t Even Sure It’s There, but He Believes in Hunting It AT BOTTOM OF EAST RIVER Book Says Frigate Hussar, With $4,000,000 in Bullion Aboard, Sank There in 1780 New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]12 Feb 1940: 18.

  • SIMON LAKE DEAD; INVENTOR WAS 78: Father of Modern Submarine Intended Craft Only for Use in Peaceful Pursuits HUNTED SUNKEN TREASURE Lost Fortune Attempting to Salvage Lusitania, Recover Millions in East River Built 100 Craft During the War Experimented in Baltimore Founded Bridgeport Concern Sought Lusitania Treasure Family of Welsh Origin. The New York Times, 1934.New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]24 June 1945: 22.

  • Ship of Dreams: Ship of Dreams
    Vanderbilt, Tom.New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]17 Feb 2002: cy1.

Books consulted RE: Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate

Websites RE: Sunken Treasure at Hell Gate

  • Devil places: https://spookygeology.com/devil-places/
  • Devil places map: https://gizmodo.com/hail-satan-a-map-of-all-the-places-named-after-the-dev-1456016654
  • https://gothamist.com/news/the-strange-history-of-nycs-mighty-hell-gate
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate_Bridge
  • https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/HellGateRooseveltIsland-uscs-1891
  • Current nautical chart: https://charts.noaa.gov/BookletChart/12339_BookletChart.pdf
  • https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/870743950/
  • https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-rock-park/history
  • 1886 map: https://picryl.com/media/blackwells-wards-and-randalls-islands-and-adjacent-shores-of-east-and-harlem-31f143?zoom=true
  • https://vos.noaa.gov/MWL/aug_07/hellgate.shtml
  • Hell gate charts:
    https://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/new_york_charts/hell_gate.html
  • Removal of Hell Gate rocks:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removal_of_Hell_Gate_rocks
  • The conquest of Hell Gate:
    https://www.nan.usace.army.mil/Portals/37/docs/history/hellgate.pdf
    https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-rock-park/history
  • https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-rock-park/
  • Hell gate map 1700s:
    https://picryl.com/media/map-of-new-york-i-with-the-adjacent-rocks-and-other-remarkable-parts-of-hell-cc02a9
  • Hell gate pics:
    https://picryl.com/search?q=hell%20gate
  • Opening hell gate:
    https://picryl.com/media/opening-hell-gate-at-a-cost-of-dollar7000000-map-course-of-wider-hell-gate-ab9a7f
  • Destruction of flood rock: https://picryl.com/media/destruction-of-flood-rock-at-hell-gate-2ef359
  • Rev war map: https://picryl.com/media/a-plan-of-the-narrows-of-hells-gate-in-the-east-river-near-which-batteries
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_strait
  • https://www.givemeastoria.com/2020/09/17/a-treasure-under-hell-gate/
  • https://blogcritics.org/new-york-citys-hell-gate-bridges/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hussar_(1763)
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/26/nyregion/in-east-river-a-gold-frigate-and-high-hopes.html
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1985/09/29/weekinreview/the-region-raise-the-hms-hussar.html
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/09/nyregion/follow-up-on-the-news-about-that-gold-in-the-east-river.html
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/04/nyregion/finding-trash-and-worse-but-so-far-no-ship-with-treasure.html
  • http://www.simonlake.com/html/explorer.html
  • https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1934/10/13/hussar
  • http://www.simonlake.com/html/explorer.html
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Lake
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/13/nyregion/ny-harbor-wood-eating-shipworms.html
  • https://nypost.com/2004/04/19/worm-warfare-borer-destroying-our-waterfronts/
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1986/05/07/nyregion/diver-to-explore-east-river-wreck-for-treasure.html
  • https://mysteriouswritings.com/the-mystery-and-lost-treasure-of-the-h-m-s-hussar/
  • https://numa.net/2019/08/is-hms-hussars-treasure-in-a-landfill/
  • http://www.bronxmall.com/cult/film/page4.html
  • http://thesimonlakestory.com/
  • https://njscuba.net/sites/site_treasure.php
  •  

Additional sources

  • native-land.ca
  • http://landacknowledgements.org/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal
  • https://www.brickunderground.com/live/the-octagon-roosevelt-island
  • https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/islands-of-the-undesirables-roosevelt-island-blackwell-s-island
  • https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/living-grave-damnation-island-article-1.4011352

Websites consulted RE: The Haunted Hell Gate

Websites consulted RE: The General Slocum Disaster

  • https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/east-river-shipwrecks/
  • https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/haunted-oakwood-cemetery-sc/
  • https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kentucky/kasey-cemetery-ky/
  • https://www.haunted-places-to-go.com/haunted-huntsville.html
  • https://www.insider.com/urban-legends-us-2018-1#alabama-hells-gate-bridge-1
  • http://theghostdiaries.com/places-around-the-world-known-as-the-gates-of-hell/
  • https://gothamist.com/news/the-strange-history-of-nycs-mighty-hell-gate
  • https://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-german-saboteurs-invade-america-in-1942.htm
  • https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/earth-without-people
  • https://www.timeout.com/newyork/attractions/hell-gate-bridge
  • https://boroughsofthedead.com/hell-gate-bridge-a-great-survivor/
  • https://www.stonehengenyc.com/blog/haunted-new-york
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PS_General_Slocum
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Evangelical_Lutheran_Church_of_St._Mark
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Germany,_Manhattan
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Germany,_Manhattan
  • https://www.nypl.org/blog/2011/06/13/great-slocum-disaster-june-15-1904
  • https://antiquephotographics.com/the-general-slocum-disaster-ny-harbor-1904/
  • https://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/2014/06/14/the-1904-general-slocum-disaster-had-survivors-that-lived-into-the-21st-century/
  • https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/a-spectacle-of-horror-the-burning-of-the-general-slocum-104712974/
  • http://behindthescenes.nyhistory.org/general-slocum-disaster-photos/
  • https://history.wikia.org/wiki/List_of_General_Slocum_victims
  • https://www.garemaritime.com/the-general-slocum/
  • https://thehauntedjournal.wordpress.com/2018/04/20/hell-gate-bridge/
  • https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/earth-without-people
  • https://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-german-saboteurs-invade-america-in-1942.htm
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate_Bridge
  • https://ltvsquad.com/2005/05/13/hell-gate-bridge/

Articles RE: The General Slocum Disaster

  • TALES OF HORROR TOLD BY SURVIVORS: Eye-Witness Stories of Swift and Awful Panic. FAMILY PARTIES WIPED OUT Mrny Brave Deeds on Board the Doomed Steamboat Amid Scenes of Wild Panic. New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 June 1904: 2.

  • GRIEF-CRAZED CROWDS VIEW LINES OF DEAD: Scores Prevented from Throwing Themselves Into River. BOAT LOADS OF BODIES Immense Crowds Weeping and Struggling Seek to Identify Them. MANY PATHETIC INCIDENTS Measures Taken by Officials to Safeguard Interest of Relatives — Over $200,000 in Valuables Found on the Victims. New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 June 1904: 1.

  • 1,000 LIVES MAY BE LOST IN BURNING OF THE EXCURSION BOAT GEN. SLOCUM: St. Mark’s Church Excursion Ends in Disaster in East River Close to Land and Safety. 693 BODIES FOUND — HUNDREDS MISSING OR INJURED Flames Following Explosion Drive Scores to Death in the Water. FIERCE STRUGGLES FOR ROTTEN LIFE PRESERVERS The Captain, Instead of Making for the Nearest Landing, Runs the Doomed Vessel Ashore on North Brother Island in Deep Water — Many Thrilling Rescues — Few Men on Board to Stem the Panic of Women and Children.
    New York Times (1857-1922); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]16 June 1904: 1.

Videos of The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

Thomas Edison’s 1903 video of Blackwell’s Island, including the lighthouse.

Articles consulted RE: The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

  • The Chicago Evening Mail (Chicago, Illinois) · Thu, Dec 29, 1870 · Page 3
  • https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/668142082 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • The Meriden Daily Republican (Meriden, Connecticut) · Thu, Jul 23, 1874 · Page 3. https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/674763408 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • The St. Albans Weekly Messenger (Saint Albans, Vermont) · Fri, Jul 31, 1874 · Page 6 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/443287342 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • “Facts and Fancies” The Milwaukee Sentinel: July 31, 1874. Page 3.
  • Boston Post (Boston, Massachusetts) · Sat, Jul 25, 1874 · Page 4 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/74392312 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • Wayne County Herald (Honesdale, Pennsylvania) · Thu, Aug 6, 1874 · Page 1
    https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/362447557 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • Fort Maxey, Wednesday, July 19, 1865, New Haven Palladium, 25 , Issue 179
  • The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) · Wed, Jul 19, 1871 · Page 8 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/167861583 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • Black River Gazette (Ludlow, Vermont) · Fri, Jan 13, 1871 · Page 1
    https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/355365618 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • The Times (Streator, Illinois) · Wed, Sep 11, 1889 · Page 1
    https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/543479332 Downloaded on Oct 29, 2020
  • FOR HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS: SACEESTIOUS AT A MEETING OT THE PILOT COMMISSIONERS
    New York Times (1857-1922); Dec 30, 1896; ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times with Index pg. 8
  • A Blackwell’s Island Stampede. New York Herald. April 30, 1873
  • Paid for Twice. The Evening World (New York, New York) · Wed, Apr 24, 1889 · Page 1 https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/78637510 Downloaded on Oct 30, 2020
  • In the Court of Special . . . New York Tribune. August 8, 1870
    “On a flagstone in front of the lighthouse. . .” New York NY Press 1909 – 1257

Books consulted RE: The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

Websites RE: The Roosevelt Island Lighthouse

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bollard

  • Dock Construction Guide

  • Sticks & Stones – A Traditional Les Cheneaux Crib Dock Replacement Project

  • https://web.archive.org/web/20090517003017/http://nyc10044.com/timeln/timeline.html

  • The Lighthouse

  • https://gothamist.com/news/the-strange-history-of-nycs-mighty-hell-gate

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_Gate_Bridge

  • https://www.geographicus.com/P/AntiqueMap/HellGateRooseveltIsland-uscs-1891

  • Current nautical chart: https://charts.noaa.gov/BookletChart/12339_BookletChart.pdf

  • https://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=75

  • https://www.liboatingworld.com/single-post/2018/05/30/Exploring-NYs-East-River-Some-of-Its-Rich-History

  • https://www.us-lighthouses.com/blackwell-island-lighthouse

  • The Lighthouse

  • https://rioc.ny.gov/179/The-Lighthouse

  • Mysteries of Roosevelt Island: The Madman’s Lighthouse

  • http://www.correctionhistory.org/rooseveltisland/

  • http://www.correctionhistory.org/rooseveltisland/html/chapincards4.html#lite2

  • http://www.correctionhistory.org/rooseveltisland/html/rooseveltislandtour_lighthouse.html

  • https://daytoninmanhattan.blogspot.com/2010/10/mysterious-blackwell-island-lighthouse.html

  • The Lighthouses of NYC

  • https://rihs.us/2020/09/

  • https://www.stonehengenyc.com/blog/Roosevelt-Island-Day-Trip?_escaped_fragment_=#!

  • Lighthouse Park Roosevelt Island 900 Main Street New York, NY 10044

  • https://www.nps.gov/places/blackwell-s-island-new-york-city.htm

  • Lighthouse pics: https://www.loc.gov/item/ny0953/

  • Landmarks commission report: http://www.neighborhoodpreservationcenter.org/db/bb_files/LIGHTHOUSE-ROOSEVELT-IS.pdf

  • https://rihs.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018-August-Blackwells-Almanac.pdf

  • Tuesday, September 1, 2020 -SOME WONDERFUL LIGHTHOUSES NEARBY

  • The Lighthouse

  • https://joebrunoonthemob.wordpress.com/tag/the-whyos/

  • https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/mill-rock-park/history

  • https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/podcast/july17/nop08-historical-maps-charts.html

  • 1903 pic of lighthouse and island:
    https://picryl.com/media/panorama-of-blackwells-island-ny

  • 1886 map: https://picryl.com/media/blackwells-wards-and-randalls-islands-and-adjacent-shores-of-east-and-harlem-31f143?zoom=true

  • http://www.correctionhistory.org/rooseveltisland/html/rooseveltislandtour_lighthouse.html

  • http://americanyc.org/documents/10184/57129/AYC+2013+Spring+Cruising+Notes+Final.pdf/6594f92b-dc97-46ad-95fb-d6ee8c5a8b38?version=1.0

  • https://libraetd.lib.virginia.edu/downloads/1z40kt09r?filename=Dissertation_final_Libra.pdf

  • Report of the Welfare Island Planning and Development Committee : submitted to John V. Lindsay, Mayor, City of New York, February 1969. by Welfare Island Planning and Development Committee. https://archive.org/details/reportofwelfarei00welf/page/30/mode/2up?q=mccarthy

     

  • https://rioc.ny.gov/DocumentCenter/View/56/New-York-1960s-Chap-8-PDF

  • https://daniel-lanciana.medium.com/new-york-icons-harbor-islands-cdfe3097c66c

  • To Be Sane Amongst the Insane

  • http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Blackwell%27s_Island_Asylum

  • CHARLES DICKENS VISIT • AN ISLAND IN THE MIST • ARTWORKS FOR SALE

  • Nellie Bly: Charles Dickens’ Visit to Blackwell’s Island Asylum 1842 – Part 4

  • https://www.melinadruga.com/blackwellsislandasylum/

  • ROOSEVELT ISLAND 2005

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwell_Island_Light

  • https://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=753

  • https://vos.noaa.gov/MWL/aug_07/hellgate.shtml

Books consulted RE: Fort Maxey Blackwell’s Island

Websites RE: Fort Maxey Blackwell’s Island

  • Great pics of the asylum: https://www.theruin.org/blog/2016/10/12/the-new-york-city-lunatic-asylum-a-history
  • https://quiverquotes.com/2017/05/03/to-be-sane-amongst-the-insane/
  • http://www.asylumprojects.org/index.php?title=Blackwell%27s_Island_Asylum
  • https://rihs.us/2020/03/30/charles-dickens-visit-%E2%80%A2-an-island-in-the-mist-%E2%80%A2-artworks-for-sale/
  • https://lisawallerrogers.com/2009/01/03/charles-dickens-visit-to-blackwells-island-asylum-1842/
  • https://www.melinadruga.com/blackwellsislandasylum/
  • https://forgotten-ny.com/2005/10/roosevelt-island-2005/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwell_Island_Light
  • https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/2018/06/25/dancing-at-the-lunatics-ball-on-blackwells-island/
  • http://www.hauntingdarkness.com/2012/01/ghosts-of-roosevelt-island.html
  • “BLACKWELL’S ISLAND LUNATIC ASYLUM.” Harper’s New Monthly Magazine. Feb1866, Vol. 32 Issue 189, preceding p274-294. 22p. 20 Illustrations:
    Harper’s New Monthly Magazine Volume 126 December 1865 to May 1866: https://archive.org/details/harpersnew32various/page/290/mode/2up?q=fort+maxey
  • Article page 184: https://archive.org/details/harpersweekly00bonn/page/184/mode/2up?q=blackwell%27s
  • Article page 91: https://archive.org/details/harpersweeklyv13bonn/page/91/mode/2up?q=blackwell%27s
  • https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/roosevelt-island-lighthouse
  • http://www.correctionhistory.org/rooseveltisland/html/rooseveltislandtour_lighthouse.html
  • https://rihs.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/2018-August-Blackwells-Almanac.pdf
  • https://www.loc.gov/item/ny0949/
  • https://www.loc.gov/item/ny0953/
  • https://www.boweryboyshistory.com/2007/10/mysteries-of-roosevelt-island-madmans.html
  • https://forgotten-ny.com/2005/10/roosevelt-island-2005/
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwell_Island_Light
  • https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/islands-of-the
  • undesirables-roosevelt-island-blackwell-s-island
  • https://lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=753
  • https://www.gothamcenter.org/blog/an-afternoon-at-blackwells-light
  • Harper’s Weekly Archives: https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/serial?id=harpersweekly
  • HARPER’S WEEKLY. A JOURNAL OF CIVILIZATION. / Volume IX, Issue 466:
    https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/h/harpersweekly/harpersweekly-idx?coll=harpersweekly;type=HTML;rgn=DIV1;id=;byte=10925913

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