Governors Island

Governors Island National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Governors Island National Monument New York Castle Williams is a circular defensive work of red sandstone on the west point of Governors Island in New York Harbor. It was designed and erected between 1807 and 1811 under the direction of Colonel Jonathan Williams, Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The castle was one component of a defensive system for the inner harbor that included Fort Jay and the South Battery on Governors Island, Castle Clinton at the tip of Manhattan, Fort Gibson (at Ellis Island) and Fort Wood (now the base for the Statue of Liberty). Williams tested his design by inviting U.S. Navy ships to fire at point blank range on the castle while he stood inside. He proudly told the Secretary of War that almost no Jonathan Williams learned military engineering while helping his great damage occurred from the exercise. uncle, Benjamin Franklin, in France during the American Revolution in the 1770's. Returning to America, he applied his own ideas to classical military engineering, making the castle a pioneering effort in American fortifications design. Today, named after its designer, Castle Williams is the best preserved of its type in the country and is featured in the background of this portrait and of is featured as a landmark many other paintings of New York Harbor. Its usefulness as a fortification began to end in the 1830's and afterwards it served as barracks for new recruits and transient troops. During the Civil War, Castle Williams served alternately as a barracks for troops headed to war, such as the 28th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment from Boston, and as a prison for Confederate soldiers and deserters from the Union Army. In 1895, Castle Williams was designated as a military prison. In 1901, Secretary of War, Elihu Root, who worked hard to modernize the Army, also made a commitment to preserve the castle and overruled army leaders who wanted to demolish it and Fort Jay. By 1903, the castle was fitted up as a model, state-of-the-art prison facility. In 1947, extensive renovations were carried out with the wooden catwalks replaced by concrete enclosed walk ways, hiding the beautiful stone arches on the third level and resulting in the industrial appearance of the courtyard today. Castle Williams ceased operations as a military prison in 1963 just before the U.S. Army left Governors Island. The castle again faced a challenge as Coast Guard officials in Washington, D.C. who took over Governors Island in 1966 wanted to demolish it. Instead, finding use for the historic building, it was remodeled into a youth community center with a nursery, meeting rooms for Scouts and clubs, a woodworking shop, art studio, photography lab and a museum. By the late 1970's the community center moved to another location and the fort became the landscape shop for the Coast Guard base. Over time the roof failed and broken windows allowed serious water damage to occur inside the castle. In the mid-1990's, the roof was replaced and new windows were installed to stop further water damage to the structure. But today, the interior remains closed until it can be made safe for public access. The National Park Service proposes to stabilize and restore the castle and eventually provide access to the roof, allowing the public to admire the harbor and the modern skyline of the great city this fortress once protected. Right: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the only branch of the Army to have their own dress uniform buttons. The image on the button is of New York Harbor and Castle Williams, a suitable tribute to Williams, one of the early Chief Engineers of the United States Army. "Essayons" on the ribbon in the beak of the eagle is French for "Let Us Try" the motto for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A Past and a Future... The National Park Service plans to remove the modern style barracks next to Castle Williams and restore the open landscape as it was when the fortification protected New York City. The Castle has always been a prominent landmark in New York Harbor as it was at the time of this early Hudson River School painting in 1820. Mathew Brady took this Civil War-era photo in the 1860's from the location of today's ferry dock. Brady often posed in his pictures and may be the tiny figure standing on a rock in the center of the photo. One of the first aerial photos taken of Governors Island in 1912 featured a bird's eye view of Castle Williams next to the island's trash incinerator. The National Park Service also plans to reestablish the path between Castle Williams and Fort Jay the "covert way" — an important route for the movement of troops and ammunition in time of emergency. The interior of Castle Williams will retain the courtyard and a sampling of the prison cells and gun emplacements. The remainder will offer exhibit spaces for the Governors Island Harbor and History Center. The roof or parapet of Castle Williams will someday be a premiere vantage point for viewing Lower Manhattan and New York Harbor. In 1947, the castle was converted to a modern military prison. Note the stone work in the arches. EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA