Research

Scope and Content Note

The series consists of correspondence, minutes of meetings, exhibit materials, a few photographs, and copies of maps, plans, and legislation documenting work of the commission in acquiring and making improvements to land at Rockaway, Queens County, for defensive purposes during World War I.

The records include: correspondence; about a dozen maps, blueprints, and site plans showing boundaries and/or conditions of the property, proposed highway, etc.; minutes of committee meetings (February 26, 1917 to December 4, 1918) prepared by the commission's acting secretary, R.G. Finch; copies of pertinent legislative bills; copies of specifications on constructing the timber bulkhead protecting the highway adjacent to the site; statement and testimony of Mayor John Purroy Mitchel before the legislature on charges of contempt; and statement of facts on ceding lands or lands under water in Jamaica Bay by R.A.C. Smith.

The correspondence includes incoming and outgoing letters among federal, state, and local (New York City) officials. Major correspondents include members of the commission, Attorney General Merton E. Lewis, Comptroller Eugene M. Travis, various U.S. attorneys, officials of the Secretary of State and Queens County Clerk offices, and their various clerks and deputies.

Correspondence also pertains to: required certifications and notices by the commission; details about contracts with dredging companies or realtors volunteering appraisal services; plans and specifications about highway (and timber bulkhead) construction and letters about advertisements, bids, inspections, and payments for same; and scheduling meetings of the commission and transmitting its directions/decisions.