By Chance while canoeing on the Hudson, David Bannerman noted the island. The Bannermans purchased it from the Taft family in 1900 as a safe storage site. Mr. Bannerman began construction on a simulated Scottish castle and simple residence in 1901.

Equipment of every description as well as ammunition were shipped there for storage until sold. Although Frank Bannerman was a munitions dealer, he titled himself to be a man of peace. He wrote in his catalogues that he hoped that his collection of arms would someday be known as "The Museum of the Lost Arts". He was a devoted church goer, a member of the St. Andrews Society, founder of the Caledonian Hospital, and active in a boy's club - often taking them on trips to the island in the summer months. In W.W.I he contributed cannons; uniforms, and blankets, to the U.S. government. Frank and Helen Bannerman used the house on the island as a summer residence. Mrs. Bannerman, a successful gardener, enhanced the paths and terraces with wonderful flowers and shrubs, some which still exist today.

Many tales both serious and comic have been told about this place over the years, some recounted in a pamphlet by Frank's grandson Charles, who wrote prophetically in 1962 - five years before the island was sold to the Taconic Park Commission, and seven years before the great fire that caused such destruction -

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