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94-543: This company was established in 1861 by a number of ship-owners in search of business for their unemployed vessels. Having purchased Howland Island in the Southern Pacific , where there was a rich deposit of bird guano, they established their business on Spectacle Island , in Boston Harbor , and here they carried their guano, and, having dried it in the vats of the deserted salt-works, put it up in bags for

188-400: A cleared landing strip. This was the island Amelia Earhart was going to land on when she was not heard from again on her long flight. The day after Pearl Harbor, the island was bombed and attacked several more times, which damaged the day beacon and killed two people, finally leading to its evacuation. After the war, the day beacon was repaired, and the island became a nature reserve. It has been

282-603: A few extinctions covered below, the island's land and offshore ecosystems have mostly survived the 20th century. In September 1999, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service established the Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 1,344 acres (5.44 km ) of land and a 12 nautical mile (22.2 km) radius of marine habitat around the island. Later that year, full administrative responsibility for Navassa

376-624: A legal history for the island under U.S. law, unlike many other islands initially claimed under the Guano Islands Act. Haiti's 1987 constitution maintains its claim to the island, which is considered part of the department of Grand'Anse . Guano phosphate is a superior organic fertilizer that became a mainstay of American agriculture in the mid-19th century. In November 1857, Duncan transferred his discoverer's rights to his employer, an American guano trader in Jamaica, who sold them to

470-497: A lighthouse on Navassa, and in 1917 the Lighthouse Service built the 162- foot (49-meter) Navassa Island Light on the island, 395 feet (120 meters) above sea level . At the same time, a wireless telegraphy station was established on the island. A keeper and two assistants were assigned to live there until the Lighthouse Service installed an automatic beacon in 1929. After absorbing the Lighthouse Service in 1939,

564-540: A maritime hazard. There is a boat landing area along the middle of the sandy beach on the west coast and a crumbling day beacon . The island is visited every two years by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It was mined for guano in the 19th century, and in the 1930s it was colonized by the American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project . In modern times, it is a nature reserve, and there are some historical remains from

658-432: A migratory stopover for bristle-thighed curlews . The U.S. claims an Exclusive Economic Zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km) and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 km) around the island. Since Howland Island is uninhabited, no time zone is specified. It lies within a nautical time zone , which is 12 hours behind UTC , named International Date Line West ( IDLW ). Howland Island and Baker Island are

752-456: A north–south axis, 1.40 by 0.55 miles (2.25 km × 0.89 km), and covers 1 square mile (640 acres; 2.6 km ). Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge consists of the entire island and the surrounding 32,074 acres (129.80 km ) of submerged land. The island is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an insular area under the U.S. Department of the Interior . It

846-558: A population of four people on April 1, 1940. Ground was cleared for a rudimentary aircraft landing area during the mid-1930s in anticipation that the island might eventually become a stopover for commercial trans-Pacific air routes and also to further U.S. territorial claims in the region against rival claims from Great Britain. Howland Island was designated as a scheduled refueling stop for American pilot Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan on their round-the-world flight in 1937. Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds were used by

940-413: A series of plows on one side, also revolving, thoroughly stirred the mass which passed under them. Fifteen minutes sufficed for a thorough mixture, and the guano was removed to a storage shed, where it remained for six weeks or more to allow the ingredients to thoroughly combine. It was then thrown into hoppers, passed through rapidly-revolving wire screens, and after it has been packed in 200-pound sacks, it

1034-826: A small limestone island located in the Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic . These islands were once centers of guano mining and are now nature reserves for the United States. Transient Haitian fishermen and others camp on Navassa Island. Still, it is uninhabited. Navassa has no ports or harbors, only offshore anchorages, and its only natural resource is guano. Economic activity consists of subsistence fishing and commercial trawling activities. A 2009 survey of fishermen in southwestern Haiti estimated some 300 fishermen, primarily from Anse d'Hainault Arrondissement , regularly fished near

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1128-702: A very shallow hill at the island's center. In 2000, a visitor accompanying a scientific expedition reported seeing "a flat bulldozed plain of coral sand, without a single tree" and some traces of buildings from colonization or World War II building efforts, all wood and stone ruins overgrown by vegetation. Howland is primarily a nesting, roosting, and foraging habitat for seabirds, shorebirds, and marine wildlife. The island, with its surrounding marine waters, has been recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports seabird colonies of lesser frigatebirds , masked boobies , red-tailed tropicbirds and sooty terns , as well as serving as

1222-444: A watering place once agitated legal measures to compel a removal of the works, but the general sentiment of the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts in which the company paid heavy taxes, and specially of the many villagers of Woods Hole who earn their living in the works, prevented any results. Howland Island Howland Island ( / ˈ h aʊ l ə n d / ) is a coral island and strict nature reserve located just north of

1316-648: Is 440 yards (400 m) from the southwestern coast or 655 yards (600 m) east of Lulu Bay. The terrain of Navassa Island consists mostly of exposed coral and limestone, the island being ringed by vertical white cliffs 30 to 50 feet (9.1 to 15.2 m) high, but with enough grassland to support goat herds. The island is covered in a forest of four tree species: short-leaf fig ( Ficus populnea var. brevifolia ), pigeon plum ( Coccoloba diversifolia ), mastic ( Sideroxylon foetidissimum ), and poisonwood ( Metopium brownei ). Navassa Island's topography, ecology, and modern history are similar to those of Mona Island ,

1410-576: Is a small uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea . Located northeast of Jamaica , south of Cuba , and 40 nautical miles (74 km; 46 mi) west of Jérémie on the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti, it is subject to an ongoing territorial dispute between Haiti and the United States, which administers the island through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . The U.S. has claimed the island as an appurtenance since 1857, based on

1504-569: Is accorded "entity" (country) status by the American Radio Relay League . The callsign prefix is KP1. Since it became a National Wildlife Refuge, amateur radio operators have repeatedly been denied entry. In October 2014, permission was granted for a two-week DX-pedition in February 2015. The operation, designated K1N, made 138,409 contacts. Navassa Island is about 2.1 square miles (5.4 km ) in area. It

1598-573: Is administered as part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex . Due to hazardous coastal conditions and to preserve species habitat, the refuge is closed to the general public, and visitors need permission from the Fish and Wildlife Service to enter its territorial waters or land. After World War II, amateur radio operators occasionally visited to operate from the territory. Navassa

1692-554: Is liable from exposure was that it collected moisture and became more difficult to grind. In such cases, it was piled in great heaps upon a brick floor, and roughly kiln-dried by a fire of soft coal kindled under it. The sulphuric acid used was manufactured on the spot from Sicily sulphur , which was brought in vessels from Boston and direct from the Sicily . About 1,200 tons of sulphur were used annually, and not far from 3,000 tons of sulphuric acid . The sulphuric acid used in manufacture

1786-465: Is located 35 miles (56 km) west of Haiti 's southwest peninsula, 103 miles (166 km) south of the U.S. naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba , and about one-quarter of the way from mainland Haiti to Jamaica in the Jamaica Channel . Navassa reaches an elevation of 250 feet (76 m) at Dunning Hill 110 yards (100 m) south of the lighthouse, Navassa Island Light. This location

1880-733: Is part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument . The atoll currently has no economic activity . It is managed as a nature reserve. It is best known as the island Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan were searching for but failed to find when they and their airplane disappeared on July 2, 1937 , during their planned round-the-world flight. Airstrips constructed to accommodate her planned stopover were subsequently damaged in World War II , not maintained, and gradually disappeared. There are no harbors or docks. The fringing reefs may pose

1974-505: Is shaped like a short lighthouse . It was constructed of white sandstone with painted black bands and a black top meant to be visible several miles out to sea during daylight hours. It is located near the boat landing in the middle of the west coast, near Itascatown. The beacon was partially destroyed early in World War II by Japanese attacks but was rebuilt in the early 1960s by men from the U.S. Coast Guard ship Blackhaw . By 2000,

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2068-676: The American Equatorial Islands Colonization Project arrived on the island to establish a permanent U.S. presence in the Central Pacific. It began with a rotating group of four alumni and students from the Kamehameha School for Boys, a private school in Honolulu . Although the recruits had signed on as part of a scientific expedition and expected to spend their three-month assignment collecting botanical and biological samples, once out to sea, they were told, according to one of

2162-594: The Bureau of Air Commerce to construct three graded, unpaved runways meant to accommodate Earhart's twin-engined Lockheed Model 10 Electra . The facility was named Kamakaiwi Field after James Kamakaiwi, a young Hawaiian who arrived with the first group of four colonists. He was selected as the group's leader and spent more than three years on Howland, far longer than the average recruit. It has also been referred to as WPA Howland Airport (the WPA contributed about 20 percent of

2256-481: The Caribbean Sea , about 290 miles (470 km) off Jamaica, and the phosphate of lime was obtained from that point until 1866 or 1867, when the reopening of the south gave access to the Charleston beds. The company used a considerable quantity of the rock from Navassa , a small island lying between Cuba and Santo Domingo , a reddish deposit, rich in phosphate of lime. This deposit was estimated to contain on

2350-538: The Guano Islands Act of 1856. Haiti's claim over Navassa goes back to the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 that recognized French, rather than Spanish, control of the western portion of the island of Hispaniola and other specifically named nearby islands. However, there was no mention of Navassa in the treaty detailing terms. Haiti's 1801 constitution claimed several nearby islands by name, among which Navassa

2444-552: The Order of Galilean Fishermen , raised money to defend the miners in federal court. The defense tried to build a case on the contention that the men acted in self-defense or the heat of passion and even claimed that the United States did not have jurisdiction over the island. E. J. Waring , the first black lawyer called to the Maryland bar , was a part of the defense's legal team. The cases, including Jones v. United States , went to

2538-599: The Pacific Guano Company purchased Howland Island to provide a source of guano for its fertilizer plant. In the late 19th century, British claims were made on the island, and attempts were made to set up mining. John T. Arundel and Company, a British firm using laborers from the Cook Islands and Niue , occupied the island from 1886 to 1891. Executive Order 7368 was issued on May 13, 1936 to clarify American sovereignty. In 1935, colonists from

2632-489: The U.S. Coast Guard to defray the high cost of logistical support. Colonists sent to the island in the mid-1930s to establish possession by the United States, built the Earhart Light ( 0°48′20.48″N 176°37′8.55″W  /  0.8056889°N 176.6190417°W  / 0.8056889; -176.6190417  ( Earhart Light ) ) , named after Amelia Earhart , as a day beacon or navigational landmark. It

2726-665: The U.S. Supreme Court in October 1890, which ruled the Guano Act constitutional. Three of the miners were scheduled for execution in the spring of 1891. A grass-roots petition driven by black churches around the country, also signed by white jurors from the three trials, reached President Benjamin Harrison , who mentioned the case in that year's State of the Union Address . Among other things, he said: "There appeared on

2820-623: The equator in the central Pacific Ocean, about 1,700 nautical miles (3,100  km ) southwest of Honolulu . The island lies almost halfway between Hawaii and Australia and is an unincorporated, unorganized territory of the United States. Together with Baker Island , it forms part of the Phoenix Islands . For statistical purposes, Howland is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands . The island has an elongated cucumber -shape on

2914-433: The $ 12,000 cost). Earhart and Noonan took off from Lae , New Guinea , and their radio transmissions were picked up near the island when their aircraft reached the vicinity, but they failed to arrive. It is known that they must have gotten within the radio range of Howland due to the strength of the final radio communications that morning, despite some problems with radio communication and radio direction finding. In some of

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3008-587: The American claim, calling for military action to enforce it. Navassa Island has since been maintained by the United States as an unincorporated territory (according to the Insular Cases ). The United States Supreme Court on November 24, 1890, in Jones v. United States , 137 U.S. 202 (1890), Id. at 224, found that Navassa Island must be considered as appertaining to the United States, creating

3102-536: The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor . It damaged the three airstrips of Kamakaiwi Field. Two days later, shelling from a Japanese submarine destroyed what was left of the colony's buildings. A single bomber returned twice during the following weeks and dropped more bombs on the rubble. The two survivors were finally evacuated by the USS ; Helm , a U.S. Navy destroyer, on January 31, 1942 . Thomas Bederman, one of

3196-578: The Jarvis Island colonists, George West, "Your names will go down in history" and that the islands would become "famous air bases in a route that will connect Australia with California". The settlement was named Itascatown after the USCGC Itasca that brought the colonists to Howland and made regular cruises between the other equatorial islands during that era. Itascatown was a line of a half-dozen small wood-framed structures and tents near

3290-590: The Phosphate Company had to abandon its operations on Navassa due to its proximity to Spanish Cuba and Puerto Rico. Company president John H. Fowler noted that the war made it impossible to find ships to deliver supplies to the island and expected his workers to be evacuated by June. Maryland senator Arthur Pue Gorman called for a naval warship to escort supply ships to the island to help evacuate workers. In July 1898, abrogating an agreement with Haitian Naval Admiral Hammerton Killick that would have allowed

3384-671: The Phosphate Company to withdraw equipment and supplies left on Navassa, a group of Haitians occupied the island and seized the company's assets. They were unable to operate the machinery, and mining ceased. The Navassa Phosphate Company went bankrupt and the island was sold at auction in the United States in September 1900. A dispute over the sale hampered efforts to restart mining on the island and left four contract workers virtually abandoned on Navassa from December 1900 to May 1901. Between 1857 and 1898, approximately 1 million pounds (450,000 kg) of phosphate deposits were removed from

3478-491: The U.S. Coast Guard serviced the light twice yearly. The U.S. Navy set up an observation post for the duration of World War II. The island has been uninhabited since then. Fishermen, mainly from Haiti, fish the waters around Navassa. As part of the Parish–Smithsonian Expedition to Haiti in 1930, Smithsonian naturalists Alexander Wetmore and Waston Perrygo stopped at Navassa to document and collect examples of

3572-539: The US Army Corps of Engineers in 1987, found no evidence of prehistoric settlement or use of the island. Still, sub-surface testing was limited in scope due to time constraints. Additionally, the USACE survey failed to locate the architectural features described by Hague. However, they concede this may be due to the destruction of these features later during the construction of an airstrip. A later conservation plan by

3666-628: The US Fish and Wildlife Service suggests that Howland was likely used as a stopover or meeting point as opposed to being permanently occupied. Captain George B. Worth of the Nantucket whaler Oeno sighted Howland around 1822 and called it Worth Island . Daniel MacKenzie of the American whaler Minerva Smith was unaware of Worth's sighting when he charted the island in 1828 and named it after his ship's owners on December 1, 1828 . Howland Island

3760-539: The average 72 per cent of phosphate of lime, while the brown deposit from Saint Helena Sound, technically known as "marshrock", contained 60 per cent, and the yellow "land-rock", from the vicinity of Charleston, only 50. About 12,000 tons of this rock was used annually in the Woods Hole establishment. Great piles of rock were left lying out of doors and under sheds; at one time, it was estimated that there were seven or eight hundred tons on hand. The only damage to which it

3854-432: The beach on the island's western side. The fledgling colonists were given large stocks of canned food, water, and other supplies, including a gasoline-powered refrigerator, radio equipment, medical kits, and (characteristic of that era) vast quantities of cigarettes. Fishing provided variety in their diet. Most of the colonists' endeavors involved making hourly weather observations and constructing rudimentary infrastructure on

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3948-512: The beacon was reported to be crumbling, and it had not been repainted in decades. Ann Pellegreno overflew the island in 1967, and Linda Finch did so in 1997 during memorial circumnavigation flights to commemorate Earhart's 1937 world flight. No landings were attempted, but Pellegreno and Finch flew low enough to drop a wreath on the island. Navassa Navassa Island ( / n ə ˈ v æ s ə / ; Haitian Creole : Lanavaz ; French : Île de la Navasse , sometimes la Navase )

4042-616: The claim on the basis that the Guano Islands Act applies only to islands which, at the time of the claim, are not "appertaining to" the United States. The department's opinion said that Navassa is and remains a U.S. possession "appertaining to" the United States and is "unavailable to be claimed" under the Guano Islands Act. A 1998 scientific expedition led by the Center for Marine Conservation in Washington, D.C. , described Navassa as "a unique preserve of Caribbean biodiversity." Aside from

4136-644: The colony and a stone tower called Earhart Light. The climate is equatorial, with little rainfall and intense sunshine. Temperatures are moderated somewhat by a constant wind from the east. The terrain is low-lying and sandy: a coral island surrounded by a narrow fringing reef with a slightly raised central area. The highest point is approximately 20 feet (6.1 m) above sea level . There are no natural fresh water resources. The landscape features scattered grasses along with prostrate vines and low-growing pisonia trees and shrubs. A 1942 eyewitness description spoke of "a low grove of dead and decaying kou trees " on

4230-583: The company directors considered they already had sufficient deposits. In October   1857, the American Guano Company sent Benson's son Arthur to Baker and Jarvis Islands to survey the guano deposits. He also visited Howland Island and took samples of the guano. Subsequently, Alfred G. Benson resigned from the American Guano Company. Netcher, Taylor, and George W. Benson formed the United States Guano Company to exploit

4324-602: The crew were unharmed, rescued by the USCGC ; Balsam , transferred to a subchaser, and taken to Canton Island. On June 27, 1974, Secretary of the Interior Rogers Morton created Howland Island National Wildlife Refuge, which was expanded in 2009 to add submerged lands within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of the island. The refuge now includes 648 acres (2.62 km ) of land and 410,351 acres (1,660.63 km ) of water. Along with six other islands,

4418-501: The definitive delimitation of the maritime zones between the United States and Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti, as well as determining the maritime frontier at the point of confluence between Jamaica, Cuba, and Haiti. The island was disregarded for the purposes of determining equidistant boundary calculation with Cuba during the signing of the Cuba–Haiti Maritime Boundary Agreement in 1977; Cuba backs Haiti's claim to

4512-725: The first four remain common, with the next three likely extinct , and the last being possibly extirpated due to feral cats , dogs and pigs inhabiting the island. In 2012, Acropora palmata (elkhorn coral), a common reef-building coral of the Caribbean, was located underwater near the island. The remaining coral was found to be in good condition. The island, with its surrounding marine waters, has been recognized as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of red-footed boobies and magnificent frigatebirds , as well as hundreds of white-crowned pigeons . The dispute has prevented

4606-422: The fish needed, and after extracting the oil, applying the pumice to the manufacture of guano. By 1879, the plant had discontinued the fisheries and oil pressing branch of business. To this end an extensive outfit of vessels and nets was obtained and a force of men employed. The location, however, proved to be unfavorable, and after five years’ trial the fishery project was abandoned. At this point, however, there

4700-502: The guano on Howland Island, with this claim recognized under the U.S. Guano Islands Act of 1856. However, when the United States Guano Company dispatched a vessel in 1859 to mine the guano, they found that Howland Island was already occupied by men sent there by the American Guano Company. The companies ended up in New York state court, with the American Guano Company arguing that the United States Guano Company had, in effect, abandoned

4794-481: The gunpowder works at New Haven. The Charleston, South Carolina plant consumed immense quantities of menhaden scrap brought from the water by the vessels which carried on their return trip a supply of South Carolina phosphates for the Wood's Hole factory. The process of manufacture was sufficiently simple. The fish-scrap, on its reception, was stored, after being mixed with about 3 per cent. of its weight of kainite. This

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4888-547: The immediate Howland area as she ran low on fuel. The U.S. Coast Guard determined this by tracking her signal strength as she approached the island, noting signal levels from her reports of 200 and 100 miles out. These reports were roughly 30 minutes apart, providing vital ground-speed clues. After the largest search and rescue attempt in history up to that time, the U.S. Navy concluded that the Electra had run out of fuel, and Earhart and Noonan ditched at sea and perished. Based on

4982-534: The island on the ship Rousseau under Captain Pope. Mr. Stetson arrived on the island in 1854 and described it as being occupied by birds and a plague of rats. The American Guano Company established claims with respect to Baker Island and Jarvis Island , which were recognized under the U.S. Guano Islands Act of 1856. Benson tried to interest the American Guano Company in the Howland Island deposits; however,

5076-558: The island since the continual possession and actual occupation required for ownership by the Guano Islands Act did not occur. The result was that both companies were allowed to mine the guano deposits, which were substantially depleted by October   1878. Laborers for the mining operations came from around the Pacific, including from Hawaiʻi; the Hawaiian laborers named Howland Island Ulukou ('kou tree grove'). Established in 1861,

5170-554: The island was administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Pacific Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. In January   2009, that entity was upgraded to the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument by President George W. Bush . Multiple invasive exotic species have affected the island habitat. Black rats were introduced in 1854 and eradicated in 1938 by feral cats introduced

5264-658: The island's birds and other terrestrial and marine wildlife. From 1917 to 1996, Navassa was under the administration of the United States Coast Guard . In 1996, the Coast Guard dismantled the light on Navassa, which ended its interest in the island. Consequently, the Department of the Interior assumed responsibility for the civil administration of the area , and placed the island under its Office of Insular Affairs. For statistical purposes, Navassa

5358-478: The island, as part of the US Minor Outlying Islands , is ISO 3166-2:UM-76 . In 1504, Christopher Columbus , stranded on Jamaica during his fourth voyage, sent some crew members by canoe to Hispaniola for help. En route, they landed on the island, which had no water. They called it Navaza (from nava-, Spanish for 'plain' / 'field'), and mariners largely avoided it for

5452-414: The island, including clearing a landing strip for airplanes. During this period, the island was on Hawaii time, which was then 10.5   hours behind UTC . Similar colonization projects were started on nearby Baker Island and Jarvis Island , as well as Canton Island and Enderbury in the Phoenix Islands , which later became part of Kiribati . According to the 1940 U.S. Census , Howland Island had

5546-623: The island. In 1905, the U.S. Lighthouse Service identified Navassa Island as a good location for a new lighthouse. However, plans for the light moved slowly. With the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, shipping between the American eastern seaboard and the Canal through the Windward Passage between Cuba and Haiti increased in the area of Navassa, which proved a hazard to navigation. Congress appropriated $ 125,000 in 1913 to build

5640-525: The island. There were eight species of native reptiles, all of which are believed to be, or to have been, endemic to Navassa Island: Comptus badius (an anguid lizard ), Aristelliger cochranae (a gecko ), Sphaerodactylus becki (a gecko), Anolis longiceps (an anole ), Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis (an endemic subspecies of the rhinoceros iguana ), Leiocephalus eremitus (a curly-tailed lizard ), Tropidophis bucculentus (a dwarf boa ), and Typhlops sulcatus (a tiny snake). Of these,

5734-468: The landing point at Lulu Bay, where it was put into sacks and lowered onto boats for transfer to the Company barque , the S.S. Romance . The living quarters at Lulu Bay were referred to as ' Lulu Town ', as appears on old maps. Railway tracks eventually extended inland. In September 1875, the fierce 1875 Indianola hurricane swept over the island, destroying much of the company's infrastructure, including

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5828-528: The last messages recorded from them on 2 July 1937, 7:42 am, Earhart reported, "We must be on you, but cannot see you – but gas is running low. Have been unable to reach you by radio. We are flying at 1,000 feet." At 8:43 am, Earhart reported, "We are on the line 157 337. We will repeat this message. We will repeat this on 6210 kilocycles. Wait." Between Earhart's low-on-fuel message at 7:42 am and her last confirmed message at 8:43, her signal strength remained consistent, indicating that she never left

5922-420: The market. After a time, it was suggested that the guano might be improved by the admixture of refuse fish, and that the ammonia lost by exposure to the weather might thus be replaced. In this way, the use of menhaden chum , already well known as a manure , was introduced into the manufacture. In 1863, the works were removed to Woods Hole , Barnstable County, Massachusetts , with the intention of capturing

6016-492: The newly formed Navassa Phosphate Company of Baltimore . After an interruption for the American Civil War , the company built larger mining facilities on Navassa with barrack housing for 140 black contract laborers from Maryland , houses for white supervisors, a blacksmith shop, warehouses, and a church. Mining began in 1865. The workers dug out the guano by dynamite and pick-axe and hauled it in rail cars to

6110-514: The next 350 years. In 1798, Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry , a member of the French Parliament best known for his publications on Saint-Domingue , referred to "la Navasse" as a "small island between Saint-Domingue and Jamaica". From 1801 to 1867, the successive constitutions of Haiti claimed sovereignty over adjacent islands, both named and unnamed, although Navassa was not specifically enumerated until 1874. Navassa Island

6204-413: The only places on Earth observing this time zone. This time zone is also called AoE, Anywhere on Earth , a calendar designation indicating that a period expires when the date passes everywhere on Earth. Howland Island was claimed by the United States in 1856 and was mined for guano later that century. In the 1930s, human activity on the island began with a few people, several buildings, a day beacon, and

6298-474: The rail line and workers' homes. In total, the storm caused an estimated $ 25,000 (equivalent to $ 690,000 in 2023) in damage on the island. Hauling guano by muscle power in the fierce tropical heat, combined with general disgruntlement with conditions on the island, eventually contributed to a riot in 1889, in which five supervisors died. A U.S. warship returned 18 of the workers to Baltimore for three separate trials on murder charges. A black fraternal society,

6392-406: The raw materials. A group of about 85 men were employed, one-third of whom were engaged in loading and unloading wharf-work, one-third in manufacture, and one-third in packing for shipment. At one time, as many as 125 men were employed, but the introduction of labor-saving machinery rendered a considerable reduction of the force practicable, while at the same time, the working capacity of the factory

6486-463: The sand. However, the perishable nature of the wooden materials and the lack of beadwork in Polynesia suggests these materials are historical. The presence of the kou tree ( Cordia subcordata ) and Polynesian rats ( Rattus exulans ) on the island is also considered a possible indicator of early Polynesian visits to Howland. However, the only modern archaeological survey of Howland, conducted by

6580-728: The session of the United States circuit court in New Haven, Judge Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff granted an injunction to restrain the defendant from manufacturing manure from fish at his works in Norwalk Harbor , on the ground that the same created a nuisance. In 1872, the Shelter Island Camp-meeting Association made an effort to have the factories on Shelter Island closed, on the same grounds. People interested in building up Woods Holl as

6674-607: The strength of the transmission signals from Earhart, the Coast Guard concluded that the plane ran out of fuel north of Howland. Many later studies came to the same conclusion; however, an alternative hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan may have landed the plane on Gardner Island (now called Nikumaroro ) and died as castaways has been considered. A Japanese air attack on December 8, 1941 , by 14 twin-engined Mitsubishi G3M "Nell" bombers of Chitose Kōkūtai , from Kwajalein islands, killed colonists Richard "Dicky" Kanani Whaley and Joseph Kealoha Keliʻihananui. The raid came one day after

6768-400: The subject of visits to honor or look for the lost aviator, Earhart. Sparse remnants of trails and other surface features indicate a possible early Polynesian presence, including excavations and mounds, stacked rocks, and a footpath made of long, flat stones. In the 1860s, James Duncan Hague noted discovering the remains of a hut, canoe fragments, a blue bead, and a human skeleton buried in

6862-481: The sulphuric acid having been forced into a reservoir near by, by pneumatic pressure, the process of mixing was easily carried on. For this work, two of Poole & Hunt 's patent mixers were employed. These were larger basins of iron, each of which contained about a ton of the mixed material. In these the ingredients were placed in the proportion of 1,000 pounds of phosphate, 900 of scrap, and from 300 to 450 pounds of sulphuric acid. The basins then revolved rapidly, while

6956-487: The trial and otherwise came to me such evidences of the bad treatment of the men that in consideration of this and of the fact that the men had no access to any public officer or tribunal for protection or the redress of their wrongs I commuted the death sentences that had been passed by the court upon three of them." Guano mining resumed on Navassa at a much-reduced level. In 1898, during the Spanish–American War ,

7050-480: The two survivors, later recounted his experience during the incident in a March 9, 1942 edition of Life . Howland was occupied by a battalion of the United States Marine Corps in September   1943 and was known as Howland Naval Air Station until May   1944. All attempts at habitation were abandoned after 1944. Colonization projects on the other four islands, also disrupted by

7144-473: The war, were abandoned. No aircraft is known to have landed on the island, though anchorages nearby were used by float planes and flying boats during World War II. For example, on July 10, 1944 , a U.S. Navy Martin PBM-3-D Mariner flying boat (BuNo 48199), piloted by William Hines, had an engine fire and made a forced landing in the ocean off Howland. Hines beached the aircraft, and though it burned,

7238-555: The wire screen. Residue of this kind was subjected to the action of the Carr's disintegrator , which consisted of two wheels revolving in opposite directions at the rate of 600 revolutions to the minute. The offensive odor of the factories rendered them disagreeable to persons residing in the neighborhood, and legal measures were taken in one or two instances to prevent the manufacturers from carrying on their business. In Connecticut vs. Enoch Coe , of Brooklyn , New York , on May 5, 1871, at

7332-465: The year before. The cats proved destructive to bird species and were eliminated by 1985. Pacific crabgrass continues to compete with local plants. Public entry to the island is allowed with a special use permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and it is generally restricted to scientists and educators. Representatives from the agency visit the island on average once every two years, often coordinating transportation with amateur radio operators or

7426-760: Was a dispute between mining companies. Captain Geo. E. Netcher of the Isabella informed Captain Taylor of its discovery. As Taylor had discovered another guano island in the Indian Ocean, they agreed to share the benefits of the guano on the two islands. Taylor put Netcher in communication with Alfred G. Benson, president of the American Guano Company, which was incorporated in 1857. Other entrepreneurs were approached as George and Matthew Howland, who later became United States Guano Company members, engaged Mr. Stetson to visit

7520-414: Was a precaution necessary to prevent fermentation and putrefaction. Common salt was formerly used fer this purpose. The phosphate, as needed, was crushed in a stone-crushing machine, and ground between millstones to the consistency of fine flour. An arrangement of hoppers and elevators facilitated this part of the work. The scrap having been stored in one wing of the factory, the ground phosphate in another,

7614-438: Was about the same. That at Woods Hole, which was considered to be the representative establishment, was situated on Long Neck peninsula (now known as Penzance Point), about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) northwest of the village. The factory buildings were very extensive, covering nearly 2 acres (0.81 ha) of land, and were used exclusively in the manufacture of the guano, and sulphuric acid used in its development, and for storing

7708-541: Was at last named on September 9, 1842 after a lookout who sighted it from the whaleship Isabella under Captain Geo. E. Netcher of New Bedford . Captain William Bligh of HMS Bounty , in his diary after the mutiny , described stopping at the island shortly after being set adrift by the mutineers in April 1789. He had 18 crew members who scoured the island for sustenance, such as oysters, water, and birds. Bligh

7802-548: Was brought up to a standard density indicated by 66 on the Baumé hydrometer , a specific gravity of 1.7674. The buildings used in this branch of the business were nearly as extensive as all the others. The three leaden tanks had a capacity of 185,000 cubic feet, the smaller containing 48,000 the others 2,000 and 6,500 respectively. In the early days of the business, the sulphuric acid was brought from Waltham, Massachusetts , and New Haven, Connecticut , in carboys , but from 1866, it

7896-433: Was claimed for the United States on September 19, 1857, by Peter Duncan, an American sea captain, under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, for the rich guano deposits found on the island and for not being within the lawful jurisdiction of any other government, nor occupied by another government's citizens. Haiti protested the annexation, but on July 7, 1858, U.S. President James Buchanan issued an Executive Order supporting

7990-462: Was grouped with the now-obsolete term United States Miscellaneous Caribbean Islands and is now grouped with other islands claimed by the U.S. under the Guano Islands Act as the United States Minor Outlying Islands . In 1997, an American salvager, Bill Warren, claimed Navassa to the Department of State based on the Guano Islands Act . On March 27, 1997, the Department of the Interior rejected

8084-430: Was largely increased. A steam-engine of 120 horse-power was used; also two small hoisting engines for loading and discharging cargoes. The ingredients of manufacture were few and simple, viz: fish-scrap, mineral phosphate of lime, sulphuric acid, and incidentally kainite , and sometimes common salt. The average annual purchase of scrap amounted to not far from 10,000 tons. It was stored in bulk in great wooden sheds, and

8178-403: Was later entirely discontinued, though for some years, it was the custom to add a small percentage of that substance. The mineral phosphates were found to supply its place satisfactorily. The Boston-based company had two factories: that at Woods Hole, Massachusetts and another near Charleston, South Carolina. The capacity of the latter was about two-thirds of the former, although the working force

8272-497: Was little difficulty in procuring the necessary supply of fish-serap from the oil-works on Narragansett Bay and Long Island Sound. About 1866, the supply of guano on Howland's Island having become nearly exhausted, its place was gradually supplied by the phosphate of lime brought from Swan Island, and two years later by the South Carolina phosphates. The use of the bird-guano, from which the company originally took its name,

8366-466: Was manufactured in Woods Holl at a large saving of expense. The Leopoldshall kainit, which averaged about 123 per cent potash , came from the mines at Leopoldshall, near Staßfurt , Germany. Its use was comparatively recent, having been impracticable to obtain it in any considerable quantity. Close to 500 tons were used annually. It took the place of the coarse salt formerly used, a refuse product from

8460-607: Was not listed, but also laid claim to "other adjacent islands", which Haiti maintains included Navassa. The U.S. claim to the island, first made in 1857, asserts that Navassa was not included among the unnamed "other adjacent islands" in the 1801 Haitian Constitution. Since the Haitian Constitution of 1874, Haiti has explicitly named "la Navase" as one of the territories it claims. It maintains that it has continuously been claimed as part of Haiti since 1801. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) code for

8554-505: Was ready for the market. About 600 bags could be filled in a day. Before the invention of the Poole & Hunt mixing machine, the guano was mixed with hoes in large wooden or stone tubs. This process was laborious and very expensive, and various machines were devised, but they proved failures because the materials caked, clogging the wheels and knives in a very short time. The guano often contained hard lumps which could not be pulverized by

8648-632: Was sometimes retained a long time before it could be used. By 1875, a large quantity remained over from the previous year. The storehouses covered an area of 16,640 square feet (1,546 m), and the scrap was stowed to the depth of 15 feet (4.6 m), giving a storage space of 159,600 cubic feet. The mineral phosphate was obtained chiefly from South Carolina, from the Ashley and Cooper Rivers and from Chisholm's Island in Bull River , near Saint Helena Sound . The company owned Swan Island , situated in

8742-601: Was transferred from the Office of Insular Affairs to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge protects coral reef ecosystems, native wildlife, and plants and provides opportunities for scientific research on and around Navassa Island. Navassa Island features large seabird colonies, including over 5,000 nesting red-footed booby ( Sula sula ). Navassa is home to four endemic lizard species. Two other endemic lizards, Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis and Leiocephalus eremitus , are extinct. Navassa Island NWR

8836-571: Was unsure of the island's name, but apparently, it was known to cartographers.  Bligh's account on Howland Island is open to question since his route in the boat began between Tonga and Tofua and ran more or less west directly to Timor . Howland Island was uninhabited when the United States took possession of it under the Guano Islands Act of 1856. The island was a known navigation hazard for decades, and several ships were wrecked there. Its guano deposits were mined by American companies from about 1857 until October   1878, although there

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