Dry Island (New York)

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Corrigan residence on Dry Island, circa 1928 Dry Island 1934 to 1935.jpg
Corrigan residence on Dry Island, circa 1928

Dry Island is the name of a now-submerged island in the St. Lawrence River in the United States. It was also the name of a private estate which encompassed the entire the island. The estate was built by James C. Corrigan, a multi-millionaire from Cleveland, Ohio. Corrigan purchased the island in 1901, and in 1904 began the erection of a large house, docks, boathouses, service buildings, and other features on the property. Corrigan purchased the nearby Canada Island to add to the estate.

Contents

After Corrigan's death in 1908, his son, James W. Corrigan, added to the house. It sat abandoned from some years in the 1920s. After James W. Corrigan's death, his widow, Laura Mae Corrigan, sold Dry Island to the Morrisburg-Waddington Ferry Co., which utilized it as a pleasure ground for ferry passengers. It was sold again to American investors in 1935, and the house turned into a hotel named Chateau Waddington.The hotel was destroyed by fire in 1938.

Corrigan Island was submerged below Lake St. Lawrence in 1957.

Purchase by James Corrigan

Location of Dry Island in 1905, before its 1932 inundation Dry Island 1905.jpg
Location of Dry Island in 1905, before its 1932 inundation

In the summer of 1901, Corrigan visited the Morrisburg, Ontario, area [1] and became enamored of Dry Island, a 25-acre (10 ha) [2] densely wooded island in the St. Lawrence River located at foot of the Rapide Plat where the Little River (the south channel of the St. Lawrence) met the main channel. [1] He purchased Dry Island, which was only a three-minute boat ride from Morrisburg, [3] from Capt. W.J. Murphy [4] on October 17, 1901. [1] [3] He had the island immediately seeded with thousands of American black walnut trees. [5] Corrigan and various family members used the island as a campground from 1901 to 1904. [6]

In the spring of 1904, Corrigan had the channel between Dry Island and Murphy Point dredged to make it passable for pleasure watercraft. [7] [8]

Estate construction

Corrigan began construction of a summer residence on the west end of the island [9] in September 1904. [10] During temperate months, he resided in a tent on the grounds to oversee the home's construction. [11]

The structure was a Rustic-style house [12] [a] with walls constructed of logs [14] [2] which came from large cypress trees in South Carolina. [15] It was square in shape, [15] three stories high, [15] and seated on stone foundations that extended 6 feet (1.8 m) into the ground. [9] Hardwood was used for the floors, ceilings, and paneling throughout the residence. [14] The north, west, and south sides of the house were surrounded by 12-foot (3.7 m) wide verandahs. [15] There were a total of 38 rooms, [16] [17] 25 of which were double bedrooms, each with its own private bath. [15] There were another 12 stand-alone bathrooms in the house. [15] [17] The main entrance led to a large foyer [12] dominated by a stone fireplace [14] with a 70-foot (21 m) high stone chimney. [15] There was a ballroom, [14] large butler's pantry, [14] pastry kitchen, [15] spacious main kitchen, [14] and rooms for the butlers, chefs, maids, and groundskeepers. [16] There was also an elevator and telephone system. [15] The home was appointed with heavy, luxury furniture constructed of bird's eye maple [15] [17] and expensive oriental rugs. [16] [17] The stuffed heads of bison, deer, elk, and other animals were mounted on walls throughout the place. [14] Two rows of Chinese willows were planted around the house. [12] The residence was finished by summer of 1905. [8]

Dry Island also sported bridle paths, tennis courts, [18] [12] [11] numerous lawns, [18] [14] formal gardens, [14] and stables. [11] It had its own electrical power plant, [18] located on the east end of the island, [11] with all electricity lines buried underground. [18] [11] A carpentry, [12] ice house, [11] machine shop, [12] [11] and storehouses on the grounds. [11] There were two large boathouses on the eastern side [14] each with a marine railway. [12] The island had two docks on the north side, a dock at the northeast corner, a dock on the south side, and at the boathouses. [11] There was even a small dry dock. [12]

Considered "a residential showplace", [17] the home alone cost $20,000 (equivalent to $530,000in 2023), [1] [4] with the rest of the island's improvements coming in at another $580,000 (equivalent to $15,383,000in 2023). [15] The furnishings cost an additional $50,0000 (equivalent to $1,326,000in 2023). [15]

Home of the Ida May

Corrigan also purchased a gasoline powered yacht, [19] which was permanently docked at Dry Island. [16] It was 95 feet (29 m) long, had a 16-foot (4.9 m) beam, and drew 4 feet (1.2 m). [19] At the time, it was the largest gasoline powered boat on the St. Lawrence River, [20] and could make 17.5 miles per hour (28.2 km/h), [19] making it locally famous [14] and the fastest yacht on the St. Lawrence River. [18] Corrigan named the yacht Ida May. [20] In the spring of 1907, the yacht's cabin was rebuilt and the sides raised 14 inches (360 mm) to make the Ida May capable of weathering severe storms on Lake Erie. [21]

Canada Island

In July 1904, Corrigan purchased the nearby Canada Island, Ontario, Canada, for $2,500 (equivalent to $66,000in 2023). [7] [22] Also known as Sheep Island and Doran's Island, Canada Island was a popular camping ground for residents of the Morrisburg area. [23] [24] Corrigan sold the island to Price McKinney less than a year later. [25]

James Corrigan occupied Dry Island every summer for the rest of his life, [26] entertaining there lavishly. [20] He held flashy weekend parties, [2] mounted a huge fireworks display every July 4, and even brought Broadway musicals to the island, complete with their original casts. [11] Locals in Canada and the U.S. began referring to Dry Island as Corrigan's Island. [27] [28]

James W. Corrigan ownership

James W. Corrigan Jr. James W Corrigan Jr.jpg
James W. Corrigan Jr.

James W. Corrigan inherited Dry Island when his father died. [17] He added a semi-circular addition to the west side of the house in 1912. [14] [15] He converted the fireplace in the former main foyer into a back-to-back fireplace that served both areas. [15] A spacious verandah surrounded the new addition. [15] He allowed the Canadian government to use the house there as a convalescent hospital during World War I. [29] He attempted to sell the island in 1920, [30] but was unsuccessful.

After James Jr. died of a heart attack on January 23, 1928, his wife Laura Mae Corrigan inherited the land and continued to spend summers on Dry Island. [31] Laura Mae stopped visiting Dry Island in the late 1920s. The house was closed up, and the island became overgrown with shrubs and weeds. [18] [17]

Subsequent owners

The Morrisburg-Waddington Ferry Co. of Morrisburg, Ontario, purchased Dry Island for $600,000 in October 1933. [12] A ferry terminal was built in the spring of 1934, [14] and in June [32] the Amecan Hotel opened in the Corrigan home. [14] [33] The ferry company also built a bridge to the U.S. mainland in July 1934. [2] [11]

The island was sold again in June 1935 to the Island Hotel Corporation, an American company owned by police court judge John W. Whalen and his son, Amos, of Massena, New York. They gave the hotel a new name, Chateau Waddington. [34] The place proved so popular that the U.S. government built a customs house and immigration station on the island. [15]

Chateau Waddington was destroyed by fire at noon on October 23, 1938, when a spark from the chimney landed on the wood shingle roof and set the structure ablaze. [15] [35]

Submerged by Lake St. Lawrence

Corrigan Island was submerged below Lake St. Lawrence in 1957 and 1958, after the lake was created by the construction of the Moses-Saunders Power Dam. [16] [17]

Notes

  1. ↑ The residence was similar in style to the Log Lodge at the Lucerne-in-Quebec development near Montebello, Quebec. [12] The Log Lodge is Rustic in style. [13]

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Dry Island Sold". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. October 18, 1901. p. 6.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "This Section of St. Lawrence Unrivalled in Scenic Beauty". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. July 6, 1934. p. 7.
  3. 1 2 "Two Islands Worth Seeing". The Syracuse Post-Standard. October 20, 1901. p. 10.
  4. 1 2 "Forty Years Ago in Morrisburg". The Daily Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. October 9, 1941. p. 12.
  5. ↑ "Incidents of the Day". The Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. December 12, 1901. p. 3; "District Dashes". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. December 13, 1901. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "43 Years Ago in Morrisburg". The Daily Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. August 23, 1945. p. 12.
  7. 1 2 "Bought Canada Island". The Ottawa Citizen. July 23, 1904. p. 2; "Island Sold to American". The Montreal Star. July 23, 1904. p. 18.
  8. 1 2 Carter 1905, p. 294.
  9. 1 2 "Plan Erection of Casino to Replace Hotel". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. October 26, 1938. p. 7.
  10. ↑ "District Dashes". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. September 2, 1904. p. 3.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Recall Stories of Dry Island and Corrigans". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. October 26, 1938. p. 7.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Dry Island Bought By Ferry Company". The Ottawa Citizen. October 13, 1933. p. 1.
  13. ↑ "Lucerne-in-Quebec". Construction: A Journal for the Architectural, Engineering and Contracting Interests of Canada: 261. August 1930.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Corrigan Home on Dry Island Place of Beauty". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. July 4, 1934. p. 7.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "Chateau Waddington Destroyed By Flames". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. October 24, 1938. p. 1.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 "St. Lawrence To Cover Corrigan Playground". The Cleveland Press. August 12, 1932. p. 15.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "New St. Lawrence Seaway Will Write 'Finis' Over Romantic Corrigan Island". Daily Sentinel. Rome, New York. July 29, 1932. p. 5.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Morrisburg Folk Recall Owners of Dry Island". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. March 26, 1930. p. 7.
  19. 1 2 3 "A large gasoline cruising yacht..." Norwood News. Norwood, New York. March 29, 1904. p. 8. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 "Waterboy to Millionaire". The Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. December 29, 1908. p. 1; "Water Boy to Millionaire". The Weekly British Whig. Kingston, Ontario. December 31, 1908. p. 1.
  21. ↑ "District Dashes". The Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. February 27, 1907. p. 1; "Year Stock Fight Millions". The Weekly British Whig. Kingston, Ontario. February 28, 1907. p. 3.
  22. ↑ "St. Lawrence Island Sold". The Weekly British Whig. Kingston, Ontario. July 25, 1904. p. 1; "District Dashes". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. July 15, 1904. p. 2.
  23. ↑ Carter 1905, p. 293.
  24. ↑ "Broder Island One of Several National Parks". The Ottawa Citizen. December 13, 1919. p. 17.
  25. ↑ "District Dashes". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. June 2, 1905. p. 2.
  26. ↑ "James Corrigan - Canadian Boy Develops Into Captain of Industry". Calgary Herald. January 6, 1909. p. 7.
  27. ↑ Morgan 1964, p. 2.
  28. ↑ "Former Resident of Morrisburg in England Now". The Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. July 11, 1931. p. 7; "Names of People and Places Changes With Passing Years". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. February 12, 1937. p. 7.
  29. ↑ "Dry Island Valuable". The Weekly British Whig. Kingston, Ontario. September 12, 1918. p. 3.
  30. ↑ "St. Lawrence River Island Estate For Sale". Country Life. June 1920. p. 8. Retrieved May 22, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Former District Woman Given Croix de Guerre". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. March 5, 1941. p. 9.
  32. ↑ "Both Ferries in Use". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. June 27, 1934. p. 9.
  33. ↑ "4th Is Celebrated by U.S. Citizens in Traditional Way". The Standard-Freeholder. Cornwall, Ontario. July 6, 1934. p. 7.
  34. ↑ "Log House to Be Hotel". The Montreal Gazette. June 21, 1935. p. 6.
  35. ↑ "Fire Destroys Hotel at Corrigan Island". Poughkeepsie Eagle-News. October 24, 1938. p. 1.

Bibliography

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