Piercings in Barnum Island

Previously called Hog Island, after the feral pigs introduced by early European explorers to the Native Americans, it was later renamed for Sarah Ann Baldwin Barnum. It was also sometimes called Jekyl Island, after the name of the development company that bought it from the county.

Between 1851 and 1870, Sarah Ann’s husband Peter owned large parcels of land on Long Island, though his primary business was a Manhattan clothier. Sarah Ann arranged the purchase of Hog Island for use as a “poor farm” – a self-supporting almshouse, a social innovation for that period, and the island was renamed in her honor.

Local lore connects the island’s name to P.T. Barnum, the circus impresario, but this is incorrect, and likely due to confusion between “PT” and “PC” (Peter C.).