 Richard L. Howell purchased the island in 1909, and his daughter and son-in-law Percy D. Haughton inherited it along with the McKim, Mead, and White house.Percy Haughton was Harvard College's football coach, and he used the island for training the football team.In 1919, the U.S. Navy requisitioned the entire island from the Haughton family to expand its nearby torpedo station on Goat Island.