Governor's Island is an island covering about 172 acres in New York harbour, USA. The island was called Pagganck or 'Nut Island' by the Indians and Nutten Island by its original European settlers, the Dutch West India Company in 1624, and received its present name from having been the property of Governor Wouter van Twiller who purchased the island from the Indians in June 1637 for two axe heads, a string of beads, and a handful of nails. It was fortified and occupied by the colonial troops during the American War of Independence. The island was owned by New York State until 1800, when the island was conveyed to the federal government through several transactions from 1800 to 1903 and was subsequently occupied and managed by the US Army and the US Coast Guard. Research Governor's Island