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The smallest island in the world, The Guinness Book of World Records once held, was Bishop Rock, an incredibly lonely lighthouse off the English Isles of Scilly. But the lighthouse was automated in 1982, so Bishop Rock is no longer inhabited. Where's the world's smallest island with someone actually on it?
There are almost 2,000 islands in the Thousand Islands.
The most likely claimant is the cozily named Just Room Enough Island off Alexandria Bay, New York. Just Room Enough is one of the Thousand Islands—actually 1,864, by official count—that dot the St. Lawrence River as it flows northeast out of Lake Ontario. Just five hundred feet away on the next island over is Boldt Castle, the iconic storybook mansion that hotel millionaire George Boldt began building in 1900.
Just room enough for one house and one tree.
By local convention, these sandy little dots between New York and Ontario only count as part of the Thousand Islands archipelago if they're (a) above the level of the river year-round, and (b) can sustain two trees or shrubs. In the 1950s, a family called Sizeland bought Hub Island, one of the tiniest islets in the channel, planted a tree, and built a little cottage that took up almost every leftover square inch of dry land. They renamed their new property Just Room Enough Island, for obvious reasons.
The island-house is a local landmark.
But the Sizelands' plan for a private little weekend getaway backfired. Their island-sized cottage on a cottage-sized island quickly became a popular attraction for tourists cruising the river. The Washington Post noted in 2010 that visiting the island leaves little room for error. "One misstep and you're swimming."
Just Room Enough Island is no bigger than a tennis court.
With the river level where it is on Google Earth, Just Room Enough Island appears to be about 3,300 square feet, about one-thirteenth of an acre. That would make it half the size of Bishop Rock at low tide—so even before the British lighthouse said farewell to its last keeper, Just Room Enough was probably the smallest inhabited island in the world. But either of these islands would be great buys if you're not crazy about yard work.
Explore the world's oddities every week with Ken Jennings, and check out his book Maphead for more geography trivia.