Creedmoor Rifle Range

Creedmoor Rifle Range

The grand international rifle-match at Creedmoor - second day shooting at a thousand yards / drawn by A.B Frost
Location	Long Island, New York
Coordinates	40°44′29″N 73°43′54″W
Type	Rifle range
Acreage	70
Construction
Built	1872
Opened	21 June 1873 (1873-06-21)

Creedmoor Rifle Range was sited on Long Island in what is now Queens Village, Queens, New York.[1]

History

The range was established after the New York Legislature and the newly formed National Rifle Association of America (NRA) collaborated in 1872 to acquire 70 acres of farmland from Bernardus Hendrickson Creed (1811–1889)[2] for long-distance rifle shooting and the holding of shooting competitions.[3][4][5]

The range officially opened on June 21, 1873.[6] The Central Railroad of Long Island established a railway station nearby, with trains running from Hunter's Point, with connecting boat service to 34th Street and the East River, allowing access from New York City.[7]

In 1873, the NRA and the Creedmoor range benefitted greatly from the substantial publicity created when the Irish Rifle team, in that year the British champions having won the Elcho Shield, challenged the 'Riflemen of America' to a match at Creedmoor the following year. The Amateur Club accepted the challenge and won by a small margin.[8]

In 1874, the Leech Cup was presented to the Amateur Rifle Club by Major Arthur Blennerhassett Leech, Captain of the visiting Irish Rifle Team and is thus the oldest trophy offered today in competitive target shooting in the United States.[9] It was presented to the NRA in 1901 and was then annually awarded for long distance shooting by any rifle.[10]

In 1875, the Wimbledon Cup was presented to the NRA by the British team on the occasion of the Americans shooting at Wimbledon, then the home of British rifle shooting. It was then annually awarded for 1000-yard shooting.[11]

International competitions, organized by the NRA, were held annually at the range until 1891, after which a decline in interest and support caused them to be moved to the range at the National Guard Camp, Sea Girt, New Jersey under the auspices of the New Jersey State Rifle Association.[12] The Creedmoor site reverted to the State of New York in 1907 and in 1912 became the Farm Colony of Brooklyn State Hospital.[5] Today it is the site of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center.

See also

• Von Kameke, George (1877). "Creedmoor Grand March". Op. 19. Brooklyn: George von Kameke. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Google Books (University of Michigan) → Dedicated to Major General Thomas Spencer. Dakin (1831–1878), 2nd Division, NGSNY. OCLC 1029112286 (all editions).

Bibliography

Inline

1. Whittaker, [Captain] Frederick (1838–1889) (August 1876). "The Story of Creedmoor". The Galaxy. 22 (2): 258–266. Retrieved September 29, 2021 – via Google Books (Princeton University).
2. Brooklyn Daily Times Supplement (May 4, 1889). "Bernardus Hendrickson Creed" (obituary). Vol. 42. p. 5 (column 3; middle). Retrieved October 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Israel, Fred L., PhD (1934–2019) (April 1961). "New York's Citizen Soldiers: The Militia and Their Armories". New York History. 42 (2). Fenimore Art Museum: 145–156. Retrieved October 26, 2021. JSTOR 23153774; ISSN 0146-437X (publication); OCLC 5543219208 (article).
   At the urging of Gen. Selden Erastus Marvin (1835–1892) (Adjutant General of New York) in 1867, "the Legislature appropriated $25,000 to purchase the Creedmoor rifle range."
4. Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of New York. Albany, New York: The Argus Company (printer). Retrieved October 21, 2021.
   1. 1872 Annual Report: Hoffman, John Thompson (1828–1888), Governor. "Target Practice" (PDF) ("Transmitted to the Legislature January 12th, 1872"). p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 12, 2015.
   2. 1873 Annual Report: Dix, John Adams (1798–1879), Governor. "Target Practice" (PDF) ("Transmitted to the Legislature January 14th, 1873"). pp. 6–7. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 12, 2015.
5. Laws of the State of New York. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
   1. 1866: Vol. 2. "Chapter 748" (89th Session: January 2 – April 20, 1866 → Passed April 21, 1866). Albany, New York: Lewis & Goodwin. pp. 1597–1621 (pp. 1607) – via Google Books (University of Iowa).
   2. 1867: Vol. 1. "Chapter 481" (89th Session: January 1 – April 20, 1867 → Passed April 22, 1867). Albany, New York: Banks & Brothers. pp. 1232–1260 – via Google Books (NYPL).
   3. 1869: Vol. 2. "Chapter 822" (92nd Session: January 5 – May 10, 1869 → May 10, 1869). Albany: C. Van Benthuysen & Sons (Charles Henry Van Benthuysen; 1842–1895). pp. 1907–1946 – via Google Books (NYPL).
   4. 1872: "Chapter 699" (95th Session: January 2 – May 14, 1872 → Passed May 14, 1872). Albany: V.W.M. Brown (publisher) (Vincent William M. Brown; 1833–1883). pp. 1657–1660 – via Google Books (University of California).
   5. 1874: "Chapter 268" (97th Session: January 6 – April 30, 1874 → Passed April 27, 1874). Albany: Hugh J. Hastings (publisher). pp. 323–326 – via Google Books (University of Iowa).
   6. 1889: "Chapter 540" (112th Session; January 1, 1889 – May 16, 1889 → approved by the Governor June 15, 1889). Albany: Banks & Brothers (publisher). pp. 736–737 – via Google Books (University of Iowa).
   7. 1903: Vol. 2. "Chapter 633" (126th Session; January 1, 1903 – April 23, 1889 → became law May 15, 1903). Albany: J.B. Lyon Company (publisher) → James B. Lyon (1858–1924). p. 1434 – via Google Books (University of Iowa).
   8. 1908: Vol. 2. "Chapter 473". Section 1 (131st Session; Regular Session: January 1, 1908 – April 3, 1908; Extraordinary Session: May 11, 1908 – June 11, 1908 → passed May 22, 1908). Albany: J.B. Lyon Company (publisher). p. 1679 – via Google Books (University of Iowa).
6. New-York Times, The (June 22, 1873). "America's Wimbledon: The Inauguration – The Military Celebrities Present – Details of the Shooting – The Winners" (PDF). → via TimesMachine. Vol. 22, no. 6789. p. 5 (column 4). Retrieved May 27, 2016. ProQuest 93350525 (Historical newspaper database)
   1. Alternative access 1 → link – via Newspapers.com.
   2. Alternative access 2 → permalink – via TimesMachine.
7. New-York Times, The (June 12, 1873). "The National Rifle Association" (PDF). → via TimesMachine. Vol. 22, no. 6781. p. 5 (columns 5 & 6). Retrieved May 27, 2016. ProQuest 93326235 (Historical newspaper database) (permalink – via TimesMachine) (link – via Newspapers.com).
8. David Minshall. "Creedmoor and the International Rifle Matches - Events". Research Press. Archived from the original on June 17, 2019. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
9. "The Leech Cup". NRA Shooting Sports USA. National Rifle Association of America. 18 February 2016. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
10. "Leech Cup" (PDF). National Rifle Association of America. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved 2010-11-17.
11. "Creedmoor". Harper's Weekly. 21 (1082): 740 (illustration), 741 (team portrait), 743 (article), 745 (team portraits). August 1876. Retrieved September 29, 2021.
12. New-York Times, The (July 18, 1889). "Creedmoor" (PDF). → via TimesMachine. Vol. 38, no. 11821. p. 4 (column 4; bottom). Retrieved October 28, 2021 
    1. Alternative access 1 → link (PDF). – via Fultonhistory.com..
    2. Alternative access 2 → link – via Newspapers.com..
    3. Alternative access 3 → permalink – via TimesMachine..

General

• "Queens Farm Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
• The National Rifle Association Annual Report, 1873. Henry K. Van Siclen (publisher) (Henry Kerr Van Siclen; 1842–1909). 1874. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via Google Books (NYPL). LCCN ca05001660; OCLC 993948300, 886934216.