John Starin

John Starin. , Today, Glen Island is a Westchester County Park just off the shore of New Rochelle. From 1879 to 1904 it was known as Starin's Glen Island , the brain child of shipping magnet John H. Staring. Starin's purpose was to make the island the most popular resort in the country. He was soon drawing over 15,000 visitors daily who were bought to Glen Island by his steamships from Manhattan., Actually, Starin's Glen Island comprised six islands connected by walking bridges. Among the numerous attractions were a zoo, an aviary, a natural history museum, dining and bathing pavilions, picnic grounds, a dairy, a Chinese Pagoda Tower, bowling alleys, a seal pond and tropical gardens., Starin also billed Glen Island as a "New York World Fair" and it is considered to be America's first theme park. It included a Hindu Village imported from India; "Little Japan," featuring a teahouse with Geisha girls; a Filipino Village, a Puerto Rican Colony, a band of Sioux Indians living in tepees; a Dutch windmill (imported from Long Island) and, most famously, "Little Germany" , a replica of a Rhineland castle used as a beer garden that still stands today.
, John Henry Starin and the founder and president of the Starin City, River and Harbor Transportation Line that at one time handled most of the freight and excursion business in New York Harbor. He was considered to be the largest owner of steamships, tugboats and barges in the country and was contracted by the U.S. Government to transport troops and supplies during the Civil War. Starin served as a U.S. Congressman from 1877 to 1881, and was once considered as a candidate for governor. He was a founding member of the New York City Rapid Transit Commission, organized in 1891 to build New York City Subway., Staring maintained a residence on Glen Island once named Locust Island. He renamed it Glen Island after the town of Glen in upstate New York where he also lived.