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Blount Island is an island of approximately on the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, nine nautical miles (16.7 km) west of the Atlantic Ocean. One of three public cargo facilities at the Port of Jacksonville is located there, and it is also the site of the United States Marine Corps Blount Island Command.〔("Blount Island" ) Jacksonville Port Authority, Seaports〕 ==History== Before the Port Authority obtained Blunt Island, the island was named Goat Island. The Bartchlett family lived on the island for over 35 years. They were there during World War II and observed ships coming through the channel on fire. The cut for Dames Point was signed off by George Bartchlett for the dredging to begin. He raised seven children and four grandchildren on this island when the only way to the island was by boat. The house once set on the Dames Point side of the island and they caught the bus at the end of Dames point road. There is a lot more history to this island that once was a family's home. The St. Johns River between Jacksonville and the Atlantic Ocean twists and turns. That was not a problem until shipping companies began using bigger and bigger freighters after World War II. The United States Army Corps of Engineers created the ''Dames Point Cut'', a straight channel that provided an alternative to the river's natural course, which contained several of the sharpest turns in the river. Four marsh islands received the dredging spoil and became Blount Island. The property was turned over to the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) for development.〔("Blount Island Command (BICmd)" ) Global Security, Military〕 The west side of the island was developed and used for freight operations after the Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT) was established in 1963. Railroad access to the site was added in the late 1960s.〔 ===Floating power=== (詳細はWestinghouse Electric and ship builder Tenneco. The company intended to manufacture and assemble floating nuclear power plants. The east half of the island was unused and mostly marsh until OPS obtained of land from JAXPORT, destroyed the marsh, and replaced it with sterile fill. Utilities, roads and other infrastructure were established and the world's largest crane, 38 stories tall and capable of lifting 990 metric tons, was purchased and installed for $15 million.〔("Across the State" ) ''Orlando Sentinel'', November 3, 1990〕 A total of $125 million was invested in development of the site and improvements, but no power plants were ever built and the company closed in 1984.〔("Westinghouse Electric Corp. to close Offshore Power Systems operation." ) PR Newswire, February 17, 1984〕 Westinghouse sold their Blount Island property to Gate Petroleum for $17 million in 1985.〔''Newboy: the Autobiography of Herbert Hill Peyton'', page 158, Herbert Hill Peyton, ISBN 0-9658277-0-4〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Blount Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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