– Throughout history, Dixonites have used various names for the island just above the Dixon dam, such as Van Arnam’s Island, Island Park and City Island. Those who daily drive by this massive natural landmark may have wondered, “Has anything ever happened over there?” A lot, actually. The first recorded story of the island hails back to when Father John Dixon began operating his ferry and trading post in 1830.
As the story goes, two wayward Indians retreated to the island for a three-day binge of drinking whiskey, which caused them to lose trading rights at Dixon’s trading post. The story illustrates the role of the island as a getaway, although its recreational use would be rather innocent for the next 100 years. A key event in the island’s history happened on May 1, 1843.
That’s when President John Tyler and the U.S. government granted a “patent” for the 63-acre island to one of Dixon’s new residents.
John Van Arnam arrived from Canada with his family in 1839. They built a home near the south bank of the river, and sought to own the island. For the next several decades, Dixonites called it “Van Arnam’s Island.
” John died in 1859, and apparently left the island to his son, James (1827-1886). In April 1861, James Van Arnam devised a novel way to repair the Dixon dam, which had suffered a breach. He tied a long rope to a tree on the lower point of his island and then lowered a boat loaded with stone to the breach point.
His strategy somehow worked, bu.
