Strange Facts – Sawing Manhattan
In the summer of 1824, a man only known as “Lozier” claimed he had identified one of the world’s most pressing problems: the island of Manhattan was about to sink into the ocean from the weight of all the new buildings.
Lozier’s solution? – Saw off the tip of the island.
Lozier supposedly had the blessings of the mayor and with the nearing completion of the Erie Canal, the public became interested in the plan. Lozier and his accomplice, “Uncle” John Devoe described how they planned to remove the tip of Manhattan with giant saws manned by hundreds of workers. The land would then be floated out to open sea, turned around, then reattached to the rest of the island for a more stable arrangement.
Incredibly, hundreds of laborers and thousands of dollars worth of supplies were arranged as planning progressed and prices and wages skyrocketed. By August, it was said, work was about to begin. At the groundbreaking ceremony, a huge crowd assembled along with the carpenters, oarsmen, contractors and various craftsmen. A band was even on site to inspire the labor…
Everyone was present except for Lozier and Devoe who had fled to Brooklyn with their handsome profits…
Oh, how odd! I can’t believe that many people actually believed that floating and rotating the “island” would be possible.
Thanks for this fascinating bit of history (so why have I never heard this before?).
Fascinating! I had never heard this story!
That is so funny!
this is the ultimate urban legend!
it can’t be true. no way. not even nyc is this mercilessly gullible.
Oh this is strange interesting news Art and so sad that they have conned so many people at that time.
Oh I always wanted to ask you this Art. Is your full name really Art as in ART??? I find your name interesting too
That’s too funny. What an interesting story.
I don’t know that the story is true or not. It’s referenced in several places on the ‘net and has a full page in Reader’s Digest’s “Strange Stories and Amazing Facts of America’s Past” – which was my main source. It was just for fun so please do not cite my work in your dissertation
And my real name is “Arthur”. Every male in my direct paternal lineage has had “Arthur” as a first or second name going back about five generations… and my son Tad’s middle name is, of course, Arthur as well.
Please don’t call me “Arthur” though. For one thing, it conjures up images of Dudley Moore or of knights and round tables and stuff. It also confuses my dad, who’s name is, well take a guess… And, only two people in the known universe have ever called me “Arthur”: One was a great uncle by marriage who is now dead and the other is a person who I’d rather not even think about…
So, call me “Art”
Will do, Arth…er, Art.
It seems I read about this before, but not in such detail. Boy, people can be so silly and gullible.
We almost broke the Arthur tradition with Tad. We discussed names for him when I was pregnant and I almost got Art to go with something different, but since we were naming Tad after my father, it was only fitting that he be named after his own father (and grandfather, and great grandfather and so on and so on). I’m glad we did.
Snopes says that the hoax wasn’t real. If that makes sense.
Stacie, I vaguely recall that… it seems so long ago! But, for the life of me, I can’t remember what the other choices were!
John, so what you’re saying is that the hoax was a hoax? But what if the hoax of a hoax is actually a hoax… where does that leave us? Hoax infinitum?