{{Short description|River island in the Delaware River, US}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2025}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} [[File:DelawarePhillyCamdenPettyIslandaerial.jpg|thumb|Petty Island in the Delaware River]]
'''Petty Island''' (also '''Pettys Island''';<ref>Pursuant to an official decision of the [[Board on Geographic Names]] of the [[United States Geological Survey]] in 1891, the official name is ''Petty Island''; see {{gnis|879261}}</ref> or '''Petty's Island''') is a {{convert|292|acre|km2|adj=on}}<ref name=camden>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080512073352/http://www.camdennewjersey.org/petty%27s_island.htm Top N.J. Official Seeking Petty's Island Compromise]. March 29, 2006. Archived copy of May 12, 2008 at the [[Wayback Machine]].</ref> island located in the [[Delaware River]], which forms the border between [[Pennsylvania]] and [[New Jersey]] in the United States. The island is situated between the cities of [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Camden, New Jersey]] and can be seen from both the [[Benjamin Franklin Bridge]] and the [[Betsy Ross Bridge]]. It is the fourth-largest island in the Delaware River's path. Petty Island is officially part of [[Pennsauken Township, New Jersey]]. In 2019, the State of New Jersey announced plans to buy the island, owned by [[Citgo]], and make it a nature preserve.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/camden/2019/04/island-outside-poor-nj-city-could-have-had-luxury-homes-now-itll-be-a-nature-preserve.html|title = Island outside poor N.J. City could have had luxury homes. Now, it'll be a nature preserve|date = 22 April 2019}}</ref>
==History== Petty Island was called "Shackamaxon Island" after the local [[Shackamaxon]] village of [[Lenni Lenape]],<ref name=Shakamaxon>[http://www.phillyh2o.org/backpages/Ledger_islands_1882.htm Islands in the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers Within the Boundaries of Philadelphia]. Accessed June 12, 2008.</ref> "Aquikanasara" by Swedish explorer Peter Lindestrom in 1654,<ref name=Aquikanasara>[http://www.ushistory.org/philadelphia/petty.htm Philadelphia History: Petty's Island]. Accessed June 12, 2008.</ref> and "Treaty Island," the latter likely named after the [[Penn Treaty Park|Penn Treaty]] by the Manderson Family, who in 1852 bought most of the land.<ref name=pennsauken>[http://www.twp.pennsauken.nj.us/about-pennsauken_history.cfm Pennsauken History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925071025/http://www.twp.pennsauken.nj.us/about-pennsauken_history.cfm |date=2007-09-25 }}. Accessed September 8, 2007.</ref> The island was originally bought from local chiefs by Elizabeth Kinsey, a [[Quaker]] who had fled persecution in England.<ref name=camden/> [[William Penn]] owned the island after Kinsey; John Petty, its namesake, bought it in 1732.<ref name=camden/> The island was a hotbed for gambling and dueling in the 18th and 19th centuries, and acquired a reputation for lawlessness and danger; adding to this danger was the large number of [[shipwreck]]s which occurred around the island, some of which are still visible at low tide. Ralston Laird, an Irish immigrant, moved to Petty Island in 1851 and became a farm manager there, living on the island for nearly 60 years and eventually being proclaimed its "king".<ref name=camden/>
In 1971, the Philadelphia Bicentennial Planning Committee proposed using the island as a World's Fair style exposition site for the 1976 Bicentennial celebration. These plans were unsuccessful, however, and the park was never built. Petty Island is currently uninhabited, the last residential structure having burned down in 1964.<ref name=camden/> It is owned by [[Citgo]], which formerly used the island for fuel storage.<ref name=camden/> Additionally, until 2018 Citgo leased portions of the island to [[Crowley Maritime]], a shipping company.<ref name=camden/><ref name=Zoppo>{{cite web |last1=Zoppo |first1=Avalon |title=Another cleanup at Petty's Island readies a natural gem for New Jersey ownership |url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/another-cleanup-at-pettys-island-readies-a-natural-gem-for-new-jersey-ownership-20180407.html |website=Philly.com |accessdate=4 June 2018}}</ref> Citgo also formerly leased to [[Koch Industries]] for asphalt manufacturing.<ref name=camden/> The western end of the island is undeveloped and forested.
In the early 2000s (decade), local politics in Pennsauken turned to Petty Island as a centerpiece for waterfront redevelopment, with residents and politicians hoping to install restaurants and a golf course on the island.<ref name=camden/> Environmental groups opposed these measures because of a pair of [[bald eagle]]s living on the island.<ref>[http://www.audubonwildlifesociety.org/pettys_island/action_alert.htm Action Alert] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060302213557/http://www.audubonwildlifesociety.org/pettys_island/action_alert.htm |date=2006-03-02 }}. [[Audubon Society]]. Accessed September 8, 2007.</ref>
[[Venezuela]]n President [[Hugo Chávez]] announced in April 2009 that the Venezuelan government (owner of Citgo) would donate the island to New Jersey for environmental preservation.<ref>[http://www.abn.info.ve/noticia.php?articulo=178349&lee=17 Bolivarian Government donates Petty's Island to United States] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426105425/http://www.abn.info.ve/noticia.php?articulo=178349&lee=17 |date=2009-04-26 }}. ''Agencia Bolivariana de Noticias'', April 20, 2009.</ref><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/23/venezuela.island/index.html Venezuela to give island to New Jersey]. ''CNN'', April 23, 2009.</ref> The New Jersey Natural Lands Trust has been granted a conservation easement for the entire island, with ownership to be transferred from Citgo to the Natural Lands Trust by 2022, when the cleanup of the island's former petroleum operations is complete.<ref>[http://nj.gov/dep/njnlt/pettysisland.htm New Jersey Natural Lands Trust Petty's Island Preserve]. Accessed June 20, 2017.</ref><ref name=Zoppo/>
==References== {{Commons-inline}} {{reflist}}
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{{Delaware River and Delaware Bay}} {{authority control}}
[[Category:River islands of New Jersey]] [[Category:Landforms of Camden County, New Jersey]] [[Category:Uninhabited islands of New Jersey]] [[Category:Islands of the Delaware River]] [[Category:Pennsauken Township, New Jersey]]