The Marine Hospital

In the late 1860s the ownership of the peninsula changed hands. From the time Erie became incorporated in 1805 the peninsula had been jointly owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Erie. The City assumed the right to regulate the use of the peninsula, and forbade the logging of trees and the harvesting of wild cranberries, with the intent to make the peninsula a nature preserve.

In 1867 the Pennsylvania Legislature granted the Marine Hospital of Pennsylvania a very large piece of land on Presque Isle known as the Garrison Tract, and appropriated funds for the construction of a hospital on the site. In 1869, taking it a step further, the legislature granted the Marine Hospital complete control and supervision of the entire peninsula. The State claimed that the Town Council of Erie had neglected management and supervision of Presque Isle by limiting the generation of revenue from the land. The city fathers and citizens of Erie were outraged about this. However, there was little they could immediately do to rectify the situation.

In the following two years, with the park under the control of the Marine Hospital, many strange and damaging actions began to take place. One of the strangest was when the commander of the Marine Hospital sent 12 men into the woods of the peninsula with the sole purpose of harvesting 100% of the Red Cedar trees growing on Presque Isle. It has been reported that over 1,200 trees were cut down during a single summer. They were turned into cedar fence posts and shipped to Philadelphia. The records of the Marine Hospital show it never received any income from this misadventure. Today the park has just 12 to 15 Red Cedar trees still growing there. This misguided program nearly cleared the park of what could have been a wonderful natural resource, and would have provided great habitat for the park’s animals.

During the two years that the peninsula was controlled by the Marine Hospital, it became a central issue in Erie politics, resulting in the election of W.L. Scott, who advocated local control, as Mayor of Erie in 1871. Shortly after the mayoral election in Erie, the Pennsylvania legislature repealed the 1869 act, and conveyed all that had been granted to the Marine Hospital to the United States Federal Government, to promote national defense and protection of the harbor. The Federal government though did not acknowledge or accept official ownership until August 5, 1886, some fifteen years later.