page_title: Isla de Mona
section_title: 20th century
hierarchical_section_title: Isla de Mona / History / 20th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Mona Island Lighthouse, in Puerto Rico. Photo taken in 1913
context_page_description: Mona is the third-largest island of the Puerto Rican archipelago, after the main island of Puerto Rico and Vieques. It is the largest of three islands in the Mona Passage, a strait between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the others being Monito Island and Desecheo Island. It measures about 7 miles by 4 miles, and lies 41 mi west of Puerto Rico, of which it is administratively a part. It is one of two islands that make up the Isla de Mona e Islote Monito.
  The island is managed as the Reserva Natural Isla de Mona. There are no native inhabitants; only rangers and biologists from Puerto Rico's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources reside on the island, to manage visitors and take part in research projects.
context_section_description: With the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Isla de la Mona, along with the rest of Puerto Rico, was handed by Spain to the United States. The population of Mona Isla then was 6. Within two years of occupation, the Mona Island Light, left in an unfinished state since the beginning of the Spanish–American War, was completed and began operation. The lighthouse was not, as commonly believed, designed by Gustave Eiffel, but by the Spanish engineer Rafael Ravena in 1886. It was accessible by the Mona Island Tramway from the beach and remained in continuous operation until 1976 when it was replaced by a newer automated light near the centre of the island.
  On December 22, 1919, the island was declared an "Insular Forest of Puerto Rico", under the auspices of the U.S. Forest Law #22.
  During Prohibition the island had a history of smuggling, with its geographic location making it a prime location for rum runners to smuggle rum, bourbon, and other liquor. In 1923, a stash of liquor, drugs, and perfumes, reportedly from the French islands of Martinique and Saint Martin and worth US$75,000, was found in a cave by customs officials.
  In 1942, at the height of World War II, a German submarine bombarded the southern coast of the island. This was one of the few incidents of that war in the Caribbean. On June 4, 1942, the oil tanker MV C.O. Stillman was sunk by the German submarine U-68 41 nautical miles (76 km) southwest of Isla de Mona. From 1945 to 1955 Mona Island was leased to the U.S. Air Force as a military exercise area.
  Since 1941 the island has also been used for camping and hunting goats and wild boar. In 1960 a small ranger post was established to monitor the island, operated by the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources.
  In July 1972 the Environmental Quality Board of Puerto Rico, because of growing interest in the development of the islands, made a full scientific assessment of Mona and Monita using a local team of volunteer scientists. A two-volume report with maps of natural and historic features was produced.  It evaluated the climate, geology and mineral resources, soils, water resources, archaeology, vegetation, animals and insects, and pelagic life around the island. Shortly thereafter geotechnical and bathymetry studies were conducted by engineering firms to determine the feasibility of using Mona as a deepwater terminal for transferring oil from supertankers to smaller tankers which would continue to the mainland US; this plan was never implemented.
  In 1981, the Mona Island Lighthouse was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as "Faro de la Isla de la Mona".
  On February 15, 1985, the passenger-cargo ferry MV A Regina ran aground on a reef on the southeastern side of Mona Island. While there were no deaths nor serious injuries, 143 passengers and 72 crew members landed on Mona Island to await rescue. The wreck of the ship was removed from the reef in 1990.
  In 1993, the island (perhaps all of it), as "Isla de la Mona", was listed on the National Register.
caption: Mona Island Lighthouse and Mona Island Tramway, 1913
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