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September - October 2018 69 boatingonthehudson.com
“Constitution Island”. Henry W. Warner, a Long Island lawyer, bought the 280-acre
island and the adjacent marsh from Samuel Gouvernier in November 1836, intending to
build a country estate and a resort/luxury hotel on the island, and, astonishingly, to grow
rice in the marsh.
Timing is Everything: the Panic of 1837 wiped out Warner’s fortune, “[reducing] the
family to real poverty”. After Warner’s death, his two daughters, Susan—1819-1885—
and Anna—1824-1915—declined “many tempting offers to sell the island for large sums
of money for an amusement park”! Susan and Anna were both prolific writers: Susan
became one of 19th Century America’s best-selling authors, writing over 40 novels and
stories between 1850 and 1855, including the first American best seller, “The Wide, Wide
World”. Anna wrote the arguably “most famous Christian hymn”, “Jesus Loves Me”.
Both sisters wrote their entire lives, with “...about one hundred and six publications to
their credit....”.
In 1908 Anna sold the island to Mrs. Russell Sage for $150,000.00, and Mrs. Sage
presented it as a joint gift to President Theodore Roosevelt and the US government,
once again saving it from commercial interests. The island is now part of the West Point
Military Academy Reservation. The Warner sisters are buried side-by-side in the West
Point Cemetery.
Back to the bus: it—and some very nice people—were waiting for us at the far south
end of the Metro North parking lot, and we were driven along a narrow, bumpy service
road paralleling the railroad tracks and right over the bridge we’ve canoed under a zillion Get in touch with Ralph at:
times, never knowing a road shared the railroad
tracks that were right above us. It dropped us
off just above Warner House—the family home
from 1836 to 1915—with a spectacular view
south down the river.
There were all kinds of nice family/kids
things going on—miniature horses, a teddy bear
parade, a small “zoo: goats, ducks, rabbits, and,
a kangaroo!!!—and, all kinds of nice families
and kids enjoying all the nice things. But..after
all these years, I was really eager to satisfy my
curiosity about the island and explore. We got a
map: there were about a half-dozen trails, one
leading just about to the 138-foot high point of
the island: turn me loose!
But, first things first: as we walked past
the house there was a woman dressed in 19th
Century finery standing alongside the Memorial
Garden: 'Anna Warner', the younger sister, who,
in 1872 published “Gardening by Myself”! As
anxious as I was to explore, how could I pass
up an opportunity to actually talk to one of
the Warner sisters??? I asked her what year it
was, and I think she said it was 1890. I asked
her about her sister Susan, and she said she
had died. She asked me if I knew anything
about “Cadet Eisenhower”, and I told her that
we were from the future, and there had been a
terrible World War and Cadet Eisenhower had
been a General, and that after the War he had
become President of the United States. I said
she must have noticed that we were dressed “a
bit differently”, and told her that it was 2017.
She asked how we got to the island, and I said
we had arrived on the island on a bus, and she
surmised it must have been “steam powered”.
All in all, a very cool encounter.
The Hike: we headed out on the Redoubt 7
Trail, and detoured to the 1775 First Fortification
ruins facing south right down the river, then
passed the Parade Grounds, then missed the trail
and scrambled steeply up to a broad lookout
towards West Point, then to the formidable ruins
of the 1778 Redoubt No. 7. We then scrambled
up to the 138-foot high point of the island, then
headed north through the woods, down into a
saddle, and up the other side until we had a clear
view north up the river. We then found our way
through the woods back to the Redoubt 7 Trail
to the house, saving the long Wetlands Loop
Trail and the Redoubt 5 and 6 Trails for another
day, hopefully on a Wednesday in the Spring or
Summer of 2018.
Ralph with a character from the past 'Anna Warner', the younger sister, who, in 1872
published “Gardening by Myself”