The poor little island you can see from here has had a long and difficult history. It has been used as a military staging area for British troop during the siege of Buffalo. It has been a dumping ground for rubble from both the Erie canal and the Black Rock Lock. Originally about 100 acres it was once as large as 205 acres. After being mined for gravel more than once and suffering from uncontroled erosion it is now only a shell of its former self.