What happened at Plum Island?
Since 1954, the center has been tasked with protecting America’s livestock from animal diseases. During the Cold War, a secret biological weapons program targeting livestock was conducted at the site, which ended in 1969 when President Nixon declared an end to the United States’ offensive bioweapons program.
What is the history of Plum Island?
Plum Island. Plum Island was visited as early as 1604 by Champlain and by Captain John Smith in 1614. This barrier island was originally under the jurisdiction of the General Court of Massachusetts, and after the settlement was established at Newbury in 1635 the towns of Newbury, Rowley, and Ipswich share the use of it …
Why is Plum Island called Plum Island?
A barrier beach island located off the coast of Newbury and Newburyport in northeastern Massachusetts, Plum Island (named for the beach plums that grow wild along its dunes) is a popular summer destination — and with good reason.
Is Plum Island a real Island?
Plum Island is an island in the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. The island is situated in Gardiners Bay, east of Orient Point, off the eastern end of the North Fork coast of Long Island. It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1 mile (1.6 km) wide at its widest point.
Why is the sand purple on Plum Island?
Plum Island is a barrier island. This purple sand is high above the high tide high water mark and is a remnant of the its initial deposition when the last glacial ice age began to recede and melt and dropped the sediments it had accumulated and pushed forward during its advance.
Who owned Plum Island?
Federal lawmakers on Monday passed a $1.4 trillion general appropriations bill that includes a provision to halt the public auction of Plum Island, the pristine 840-acre island that is officially part of Southold Town but is owned by the federal Department of Homeland Security.
Is there anything on Plum Island?
There are three popular Plum Island Beach destinations on the island: The Refuge, Plum Island Center and The North Point. As you come across the bridge towards Plum Island, turn right on Sunset Drive to reach the Refuge entrance.
What is Plum Island used for?
Since 1954, the DHS S Office of National Laboratories (ONL) Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) has served as the nation’s premier defense against accidental or intentional introduction of transboundary animal diseases (a.k.a. foreign animal diseases) including foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and African Swine …
Will Plum Island be under water?
The real estate firm Zillow estimates 30 percent of the homes on the island will be partially underwater if sea levels rise 6 feet. Federal studies project that in extreme scenarios, that could happen in the next 50 years in the Boston area.
Is Plum Island a barrier island?
Plum Island is a Barrier Beach and one of Newburyport’s most treasured resources. A Barrier Beach is a narrow, low-lying strip of beach and coastal dunes that lies parallel to the coastline, separated from the mainland by a body of water or wetland, such as Plum Island Sound and the salt marshes that border it.
What happened on Plum Island?
Plum Island has given rise to some interesting lore. Perhaps it’s the laboratory’s long history or its secluded location. Whatever the reason, conspiracy theorists and fiction writers alike have tried to link the site to germ warfare, anthrax, and even a purported “monster” found earlier this summer on a beach in nearby Montauk, NY.
When did Plum Island become part of Ipswich?
History of Plum Island – The General Court took action on October 17th 1649: “Upon the petition of Newbury, this Court thinketh meete to give & grant Plum Island to Ipswich two parts, Newbury two parts & Rowley to have one fifth part.” The Northern End of Plum Island – Nancy Virginia Weare spent 33 years at her family’s summer camp at Plum Island.
Where is Plum Island on a map?
Plum Island is an island in the Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York in the United States. The island is situated in Gardiners Bay, east of Orient Point, off the eastern end of the North Fork coast of Long Island. It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1-mile (1.6 km) wide at its widest point.
Who was the first European to visit Plum Island?
Who was the first European, voyaging along the coast, who saw the surf-beaten shore of Plum Island, with its fringe of white sand dunes, and its pine forests in the back ground? The Sagas of the Northmen record a voyage of Bjorne from Greenland, in the year 986, in which he touched the New England coast at many points.