Davids' Island is a small island at the western end of Long Island Sound. It is part of New Rochelle, New York. Currently uninhabited, in the past it was the site of Fort Slocum.

The name is often given as David Hawk's or David Hawk, but neither is correct. The island is named after its next-to-last civilian owner before the Army acquired it; New York City ink manufacturer and Westchester County resident Thaddeus Davids. It was first leased (1861-1867), then owned (1867-1965), by the U.S. Government, and was known as Davids' Island Military Reservation until it was named Fort Slocum on July 1st, 1896. Previously it had been named after other owners, and was called successively: Bouteillier's, Rodman's, Myer's, Treadwell's, Hewlett's, Allen's, and Morse's Island. Among recent owners, Donald Trump wished to rename it for himself, but this never happened.

The island was known to have been inhabited by Native Americans and then used by French settlers from New Rochelle as grazing land for farm animals. It began its military use during the American Civil War as a hospital center and detention site for Confederate prisoners of war. By 1876 it had earned the name Fort Slocum.

During World War I Fort Slocum was the busiest recruiting station in the northeast, processing 100,000 soldiers per year. The island served as an embarkation point during World War II and was a home for Army chaplains. Later it became Slocum Air Force Base and finally a Nike missile site before it was deactivated in 1965 and sold to New Rochelle in 1967. Plans for Davids Island now include housing and parkland. It is not legal to land at the island.


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