This Day in History: Son of Wardenclyffe Developer Spends Night in Leaky Boat

According to a 1901 report in the New York Times, Randell Warden–son of the developer of Wardenclyffe, the property in Shoreham that became infamous for the construction of an electrical tower designed by Nikola Tesla–and three other young people were swimming in Port Jefferson on June 29 when they ended up drifting in a sailboat they found on the water until 4 a.m.

Warden, A. C. Wilson and Mary and Anna Beadle were “in bathing” as the report described it when they spied a sailboat a mile off shore. As kids do they threw caution to the wind (sailboat, wind, get it?) and swam out to retrieve the little boat only to get caught in strong breeze and blown of shore.

“The young people soon had reason to regret that they entered upon such a dangerous adventure,” the paper reported.

As the vessel took on water in the Sound, back on shore “the greatest anxiety was felt as to their safety.”

How did it all end up? Read the full report here to find out.

One interesting fact written in the paper is that the Young Warden was the son of the founder of Wardencliffe.  Sometimes spelled Wardenclyffe, this may refer to James S. Warden a man who invested in Tesla’s project to build a tower in Shoreham that could wirelessly transmit electricity through the air. One imagines a controlled lighting bolt. The project was never completed but the idea of Tesla’s abandoned tower has captivated the imaginations of many aficionados of science history.

Construction began on Tesla’s tower in 1901 so this could very well reference that same place. On the same site Warden also constructed a resort called Wardenclyffe-On-Sound.