Captain John Seaman

 John Seaman emigrated to America with the Winthrop's Fleet in 1630. He was one of the original purchasers of the town of Stamford, Connecticut, where he settled in 1641. During the Pequod War in 1646, he was given to be command of one of the companies.

He was one of the 62 original signers of the Hempstead compact of land, and in 1647 he settled in Hempstead, New York where he became one of the most prominent men for half a century.

In 1665, he became Captain of Queen County Troop Province of New York, and served on a Grand Jury in Hempstead.

After obtaining the patent for the area from the Massapequa Indians, he oversaw the creation of Jerusalem South, the first European name given to the town which was to become Seaford where he founded. It was also widely referred to as Seaman's Neck.

In 1644, he built a house nicknamed "Cherrywood" on the intersection of Jerusalem and Wantagh Avenues in Jerusalem where he was a pioneer settler and patentee of Hempstead Purchase.

He was a staunch defender of religious liberty. He moved to Hempstead where he died. Captain John Seaman was twice married. He married first in 1644, Elizabeth Strickland. Captain John and Elizabeth had four sons and one daughter. Seaman’s second wife was Martha Moore.  They had four sons and seven daughters

He was interred at Seaman Family Burying Ground in Hempstead that was obliterated some years later. His body and gravesite are lost, but his descendants are still going on.

 

Sources:

“Capt. John Seaman (1613-1695).” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/136406587/john-seaman

“John Seaman.” WikiTree, 22 Dec. 2022, https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Seaman-10 

A Brief History of Jones Beach

Before there was Jones Beach, there was High Hill Beach. This small community comprised of 100 cottages with a boardinghouse, hotel, and a post office. It was only accessible by boat. Robert Moses wanted to make beaches more accessible to the public.  He noted undeveloped tracts of land and once he discovered they had been purchased by the City of Brooklyn, he had them transferred to the Long Island State Park Commission. As head of the LISPC and the State Council of Parks, he had legislation drafted to create the Westchester Parks Commission and oversaw the building of routes to Long Island’s State Parks. It was not an easy task. When the LISPC attempted to secure Jones Island in 1924, the Towns of Oyster Bay and Babylon both turned him down. In 1926, the Town of Hempstead supported the bill to give the land to New York State. Construction of the causeway began soon after. Its projected cost at the time was $400,000. In 1927, the Town of Oyster Bay gave its part of Jones Beach to the stat and then the Town of Babylon.

To help create the beach, 40 million cubic yards of sand were dredged to raise the beach 14 feet. In the meantime, the Jones Beach Causeway and Southern State Parkway were being created. The beach opened August 4, 1929. The East Bathhouse was the only building present when the beach opened in 1929. It had over 10,000 lockers with dressing rooms, a snack bar, mini-hospital, and stations for umbrella rentals. The West Bathhouse opened in 1931 with two pools attached, with one reserved just for children.  This pool offered free swimming lessons. At that time, the mile-long Boardwalk was built, connecting the two bathhouses. Two pools were built for the East Bathhouse in the 1960s.

The houses at High Hill beach were all moved to what is now West Gilgo Beach where the houses were renovated and expanded. In 1964, a fire destroyed the Boardwalk Café, A restaurant called The Boardwalk Restaurant was built in its place. That was torn down in 2004.  The beach offered many activities such as archery, roller skating, and shuffleboard. Its famed 18 hold golf course was closed in 2013 due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy.

Moses wanted the now well-known water tower to resemble the Campanile, a tower in Venice. This tower is capable of holding 315,000 gallons of water to run the bathrooms of Jones Beach. Jones Beach expanded in 1960 with the development of West End I. The final pieces of the West End expansion opened in 1962. West End I was closed in 1991 due to budget cuts. In 2000, the Theodore Roosevelt Nature Center opened in its spot.

The first theater, the Jones Beach Marine Stadium was built in 1930. It was torn down in 1952 to build a bigger theater. For two decades, Guy Lombardo and his brothers offered a wide range of Broadway shows at the theater. The theater has been renovated twice and hosts a variety of concerts every summer.

 

Sources:

Hanc, John. Jones Beach: An Illustrated History. John Hanc, 2010

Theodosiou, Constantine. Jones Beach. Arcadia Publishing, 2018

 

Lands End

Designed in 1902, Lands End was made famous by newspaper baron Herbert Bayard Swope, who threw lavish parties, often lasting for days. Guests and party-goers came from the top strata of Hollywood, Broadway, business, and politics. One of these guests, F. Scott Fitzgerald, was said to have attended a great many of these parties, often staying for days to write. It was said that he drew upon these experiences when writing The Great Gatsby and that Sands Point was his fabled "East Egg."

The house and 13-acre property passed to several new owners throughout the 20th century. In the 1980s, Lands End was purchased by Charles Shipman Payson and Virginia Kraft Payson.  In 2001, Virginia, then widowed, tried to sell the Estate for $50 Million.  With no luck, the price was cut in half and later sent to the auction block.  Bert Brodsky, the founder and chairman of a healthcare technology company, bought the Colonial Revival-style mansion in 2004 from Virginia. She wanted $50 million; he paid $17.5 million. Brodsky had hoped to move into the 21,000-square-foot property with its two dozen or so rooms but his family thought otherwise.

Brodsky then began seeking permission to divide up the 13 acres of property on which the mansion sits and build five houses. The process took several years -- and the mansion stayed on the market the whole time -- but local authorities finally granted permission. They said the building was not landmarked and public hearings on the planned demolition produced little outcry. The demolition was completed in April 2011

 

Sources:

Allen, Jonathan. “Mansion That May Have Inspired the Great Gatsby Torn Down.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 19 Apr. 2011, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mansion-gatsby/mansion-that-may-have-inspired-the-great-gatsby-torn-down-idUSTRE73H75M20110419.

Bain, Chris. “Lands End: The Sands Point Gatsby Connection.” Port Washington, NY Patch, Patch, 3 May 2021, https://patch.com/new-york/portwashington/lands-end-the-sands-point-gatsby-connection.

Cal, Mitchell. “'Great Gatsby' Mansion Facing Demolition.” Pricey Pads, 30 May 2011, https://www.priceypads.com/great-gatsby-mansion-facing-demolition/. 

Farmingdale Firemen's Carnival

 Before there was the Columbus Day Fair and the Hardscrabble Fair. Farmingdale held an annual Firemen’s Carnival. It was held over a 10 day period in 1922. There were booths, games of chance, and fortune wheels. For the children, the carnival offered a Ferris Wheel, merry-go-round, and a shooting gallery. Nightly dances were hosted. One lucky ticket holder won a prize daily which were donated by local stores.

A contest was held for the King and Queen of the Carnival, which was decided by popular vote. It cost one cent to cast a vote and envelopes for people to cast their votes were placed at all local stores. The King & Queen were chosen on the closing evening which included a parade and fireworks. The King would then choose where his “headquarters” would be & the royals spent the night singing & dancing. Prizes were given out at the parade including best decorated car and best float.

There was a “Bluebird” booth that gave away a 100-piece dinner set that also sold handmade items, novelties, and homemade cakes. The firemen canvassed each house for donations or the many different booths. There were booths of many types, including one that sold canaries. The carnival even raffled off a cow!

Sources:

"Decks Cleared for Fire Carnival.” Farmingdale Post. August 4, 1922

“Firemen’s Carnival to Be Biggest Ever.” Farmingdale Post. August 18, 1922

“King-Queen Fete One of Acclaim”. Farmingdale Post. September 14, 1923

Osterby House

Moses Rogers was born in 1793 and was one of the first Methodist ministers in Huntington.  Rogers purchased the property in 1854. The property included a large eighteenth century house.  Bernard Osterby purchased the four-acre property in March 1890 from the heirs of Moses Rogers for $450.

In 1888 year, Jacob Jacobson had filed a complaint against Bernard Osterby for selling liquor without a license.  A trial on the complaint was set to begin, but Jacobson did not appear. The case was dismissed, but Osterby was immediately re-arrested on a previous charge of disturbing the peace. Osterby continued to sell liquor illegally.  After a trial before Justice Strawson in Northport, he was convicted on that charge in 1890 and fined $50.  

On January 15, 1900, the entire house was destroyed by fire and one of the boarders did not make it out of the house.  The fire may have started when a gas lamp exploded.  Fifteen people were staying in the house at the time, including two children.  The Osterbys lost all their belongings except for a small box of papers.

The existing brick house was built to replace the house destroyed in the fire in 1900.  Bernard Osterby died in May 1910.  His widow re-married by 1920.  Mary Osterby sold the property in 1921 to Raymond Bloomer. In 1948, Jane Bloomer Goverts inherited the property from her uncle Raymond Royce Kent, who died in Florida.  It is unclear who Raymond Royce Kent was or how he acquired the property from Raymond Bloomer.   Eugene Mudge purchased the house with one acre in 1957.  

Mudge remodeled and expanded the house in the 1970s.  The current owners acquired it in 2000 and expanded the kitchen. The small brick house remains intact and distinct, a relic of the property’s colorful past. The Town of Huntington placed a historical marker at the house in 2011.

Source: 

Hughes, Robert C. “The Osterby House. Fort Salonga.” Huntington History, 23 Mar. 2011, https://huntingtonhistory.com/2011/03/23/the-osterby-house-fort-salonga

Raynham Hall

In 1740, Samuel Townsend purchased the property now known as Raynham Hall. His move to Oyster Bay allowed him easier access to the waterfront and his shipping business. Samuel’s property consisted originally of a four-room frame house, an apple orchard, pasture and woodlands for his livestock, and a meadow leading down to the harbor. He enlarged the house to eight rooms by building a lean-to addition on the north side, creating a saltbox-style house. This property, was known simply as “The Homestead.”

In addition to the shipping business, Townsend operated a general store. He was Oyster Bay’s Justice of the Peace and Town Clerk, a member of the New York Provincial Congress from 1774 to 1777, and a New York State Senator from 1786 to 1790.

In September of 1776, British soldiers came to Townsend’s home in Oyster Bay to arrest him for his outspoken Patriotic beliefs, and to imprison him on one of the notorious prison ships in New York Harbor. For a six-month period from 1778 to 1779, the Townsend home served as headquarters for a regiment of over 300 British troops called the Queen’s Rangers, and their commander, Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe, who quartered himself in the house, alongside the family.

Samuel’s son Robert operated a merchant shipping form in Manhattan. Under the code name “Culper Junior,” Robert formed the first link in a chain of agents who came to be known as the Culper Spy Ring. The spies supplied Washington with critical information about New York City and Long Island.  Raynham Hall is home to the first documented Valentine in the United States, addressed to the Townsends’ daughter Sarah by occupying officer John Graves Simcoe, and presented to her on February 14^th, 1779.

In 1851, Solomon Townsend II, Samuel’s grandson, purchased the Townsend Homestead. He then remodeled and enlarged the dwelling, bringing the number of rooms from eight to twenty-two. He named the home Raynham Hall. By 1912, the house had passed into the ownership of Edward Nicoll Townsend, Jr., grandson of Solomon II. He held the house for two years before selling it to a cousin, Julia Weekes Coles. Julia owned the Townsend home between 1914 and 1933, and though she apparently never lived there, she and her sister, Sarah Townsend Coles Halstead, maintained the home and operated a tea room there for a time. In 1933, Ms. Coles sold it for $10 to the Oyster Bay chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Daughters of the American Revolution, donated the property to the Town of Oyster Bay in 1947. The Hall is now a museum open to the public.

 

Source:

“About.” Raynham Hall Museum, 18 Sept. 1970, http://www.raynhamhallmuseum.org

Elizabeth "Goody" Garlick Witch Trial

Elizabeth “Goody” Garlick, wife of Joshua Garlick lived in East Hampton. She once worked on Gardiner Island. In February 1657, sixteen-year old Elizabeth Gardiner Howell became sick shortly after childbirth. When her husband came home, she began screaming about a witch. She ran a fever and became delirious. She described a black thing at the foot of her bed and Goody Garlick at the other. Though they tried to cure her, Elizabeth died a few days later.

Magistrates were called to the meeting house. Goody Garlick was brought before them. She did not speak a word in her defense. There were eleven witnesses testifying against her. The magistrates ruled that Elizabeth’s death was caused by witchcraft and Goody Garlick was responsible. In addition, she was connected to four other deaths via witchcraft. She supposedly cast evil eyes and sent animal familiars out to do her bidding. Someone claimed that she picked up a baby and after putting it down, the child took sick and died. She was blamed for illnesses, disappearances, the injuries and death of livestock.

The only person that defended Goody Garlick was her husband Joshua Garlick. At the last moment, Lionel Gardiner, Elizabeth’s father defended her. The magistrates agreed to send the accused to the General Court of Connecticut. At the time, East Hampton was a colony of Connecticut.

Luckily for her, there was John Winthrop Jr., the newly appointed sheriff. Winthrop was dubious that your average farmer’s wife could perform the kinds of magical acts attributed to witches. In May of 1658, the General Court declared Goody Garlick not guilty. Lionel Gardiner decided Goody and Joshua Garlick should move back to Gardiner Island, which they did for the rest of their lives.

 

Sources:

 

“Before Salem, There Was the Not-So-Wicked Witch of the Hamptons.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 25 Oct. 2012, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/before-salem-there-was-the-not-so-wicked-witch-of-the-hamptons-95603019

 

Rattiner, Dan. “Goody Garlick: The True Story of the Woman Tried for Witchcraft in East Hampton.” Dan's Papers, 3 May 2018, https://www.danspapers.com/2012/11/goody-garlick-the-true-story-of-the-woman-tried-for-witchcraft-in-east-hampton

Old Grace Church

 Local Episcopalian families living in South Oyster Bay began discussing the need for a church in 1844. Thomas Floyd-Jones donate the land to build the church. The exterior was made of clapboard with diamond shaped leaded glass windows. It cost $1300 to build at the time. In September of 1844 plans were approved to erect the first church building.  It was only 24 feet wide, 36 feet long, 16 feet ceilings and a brick foundation.

The first rector of the church was William A. Curtis at a salary of $300.00 a year. Grace Church was closed from Christmas to Easter of each year, as the handful of people who attended services went to New York or elsewhere during that time.  On July 9, 1846, the church was first used for services and the building was consecrated on April 13, 1847. In 1880, a gift of seven acres of land for a parsonage was given by John D. Jones in memory of his wife. What we call the Floyd-Jones House was built and placed where the new church now stands; the building was moved to its present location in the summer of 1957. The small building next to the old church was built a couple of years later. This building is called Wiley Hall in honor of Dr. William Wiley who was a Rector from 1890 until 1926. The church was enlarged in the early 1900s to fit 150 people. The clapboard was replaced with shingles and trim was added. 

In 1960, Grace Episcopal Church was built across the street and the Historical Society of the Massapequas rescued the Church. The Church was deconsecrated and retired in 1981. The church’s original Tiffany windows were removed and re-installed across the street. It was granted National Landmark Status in 1983.  

Old Grace Church is surrounded by the Floyd-Jones family cemetery and two other historical buildings; The Delancey Floyd-Jones Free Library and the Elbert Floyd-Jones Servants Cottage. Old Grace is open to the public on the third Sunday of each month from May through October from 11am through 1pm.

Sources:

Boyle, Chris. “Massapequa's Old Grace Church: A Long Island Landmark.” LongIsland.com, LongIsland.com, 9 Oct. 2019, https://www.longisland.com/news/10-09-19/massapequas-old-grace-church-a-long-island-landmark.html

“Grace Episcopal Church - Massapequa, NY: History.” Headerphoto, http://www.gracechurchmassapequa.org/about/history 

“Massapequa Historical Society - Historian's Message - History of Grace Church.” Historical Society of the Massapequas, https://www.massapequahistoricalsociety.org/history-of-grace-church.html

Kessler Glass

 In the mid 30's Warren Kessler had a store on West 23 Street where he assembled lamps. The business was known as Warlou, for Warren Louis Kessler. In 1938 he expanded the operation to manufacturing glass and relocated in Bethpage.

Warren was the eldest son of Austrian Immigrants. He brought many skilled craftsman from Czechoslovakia to produce the same high quality of glass that was the pride of Europe. Many of these craftsmen were housed in a home on Central Avenue and Broadway. In 1941 the factory was in full operation.

The manufacturing took place in Bethpage, while Warren lived in New York City, where the showroom was located on 57th Street near 3rd Avenue. Here Warren conducted business and entertained customers.

Herman Kessler was the genius behind the crafting of the intricate molds. Herman settled with his family in Bethpage and had "hands on" running of the business.

Kessler glass, not only adorned the embassies around the world, they were also purchased for Bloomingdales, Marshal Fields in Chicago, large hotels, movie companies and colleges. They were in full production for the demand of new home owners after World War II, for families needing traditional lamps. In 1960, a Kessler lamp would sell for $300.00.

Kessler closed its doors in the early 1980's.

 

Source:

“Kessler Glass Works.” Kessler Glass Works - Central Park Historical Society Encyclopedia, http://www.bethpagehistory.org/wiki/index.php?title=Kessler_Glass_Works

Garden City Hotel

 The Garden City Hotel was built by Alexander Turney Stewart and opened on July 30, 1874. It was a 20-room hotel at the time and cost $125,000. He managed the hotel until his death in 1876. His wife Cornelia inherited the hotel and ran it until her death in 1886. Her family created the Garden City Company to facilitate operations at the hotel. Corrnelia’s brother in-law was architect Stanford White and his firm McKim, Mead, and White were hired to redesign the hotel in the Dutch Colonial style. A cupola was built and the east and west wings were added at this time. This new version of the hotel opened in 1895 with rooms for 200 guests.

They built a nine-hole golf course in 1897. It eventually became the Garden City Golf Club. On September 7, 1899, the hotel burned to the ground. The hotel was rebuilt in the Georgian Revival Style and opened in 1901. In 1911, the hotel was expanded by adding to each wing.

The Knott Hotel Corporation purchased the hotel in 1948 and expanded and redecorated it. In 1965, the hotel was bought by builder Michael Forte for $2.6 million. When Forte purchased it, he planned to raze the hotel and build an apartment-hotel complex. This plan was rejected by the Village due to opposition from the residents. His other plan of a $35 million hotel and office complex was also rejected by the residents.

The hotel was closed down in 1971 due to lack of finances to keep it open. The hotel was torn down in 1973. The land was once more re-purchased and rebuilt. It opened on May 20, 1983. The Nelkin family owned the hotel from 1983 to 2012. The Fortuna Realty Group purchased the hotel in 2012. All the guest rooms and suites were redesigned at the time. It features 269 rooms with 16 suites and a private club.

 

Sources:

“Hotel in Long Island NY: About Us: The Garden City Hotel.” Garden City Hotel, https://www.gardencityhotel.com/our-hotel

Silver, Roy R. “Famed Garden City Hotel is Closing.” New York Times. July 16, 1971

Joseph Lloyd Manor

 Joseph Lloyd Manor was completed in 1767 in Lloyd Neck. It was a 3,000-acre provisioning plantation. The Manor supplied the Boston-based merchant family with cider, cordwood, and clay among other inventory. It wasn't until 1711 that the first Lloyd, Henry, took up residence. The interior elements of the house were designed by Connecticut born carpenter Abner Osborn.  He was recommended by Joseph's brother James and worked on the project with four apprentices.  They completed the exterior sheathing of the house as well as the doors, windows and interior paneling and molding

Jupiter Hammon, one of the first published African American writers, was one of the many people of African descent enslaved at the site. With the encouragement of the Lloyd family, Hammon learned to read and write and at the age of forty-nine, authored his first published poem in 1760. During his lifetime, Hammon authored numerous essays and poems that reflect his intelligence, deep Christian faith, and views concerning the social and moral conflicts of slavery and freedom in the early United States. The British occupied Joseph Lloyd Manor during the Revolutionary War and it is where Hammon authored his most significant works about the moral conflicts of slavery and freedom in the early United States.

Henry Lloyd IV would be the last member of the Lloyd family to own Joseph Lloyd Manor. He struggled financially, and in 1876, sold the house to James C. Townsend of Oyster Bay to pay off debts. In 1882, Anne Coleman Alden purchased the house. Alden's estate was sold in 1900 to William John Matheson. His daughter Anna and her husband Willis D. Wood moved into Joseph Lloyd Manor in 1905. Mrs. Wood rented the Joseph Lloyd Manor house to a number of tenants, among them Charles Lindbergh, who lived there with his family from February 1940 until August 1941. Finally, Mrs. Anna Matheson Wood gifted Joseph Lloyd Manor to the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities in 1968. Today, the Society is known as Preservation Long Island and continues to steward the house. The house was recognized as a Literary Landmark in 2020.

Sources:

“Joseph Lloyd House.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 June 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Lloyd_House

 “Joseph Lloyd Manor.” Preservation Long Island, 13 May 2022, https://preservationlongisland.org/joseph-lloyd-manor

O'Connor-Arena, Melissa. “A New View - Lloyd Family Series (The Joseph Lloyd Manor).” Huntington, NY Patch, Patch, 12 Apr. 2010, https://patch.com/new-york/huntington/a-new-view-lloyd-family-series-the-joseph-lloyd-manor

Fitzmaurice Flying Field

Fitzmaurice Flying Field was open from 1929 to 1953 in Massapequa. Brady, Cryan, and Colleran bought large tracts of land north and south of the Long Island Rail Road east of the preserve. They advertised throughout Irish neighborhoods in New York City, enticing customers with inexpensive land and houses, open spaces, and easy access to New York City. The airfield was an added enticement to purchase homes in that area.

They settled on a location for their airfield, relying on the recommendations of famous aviatrix Elinor Smith, who selected the area bounded by Second Avenue on the east, Roosevelt Avenue on the west, Spruce Street on the north, and Smith Street on the south. The 21-acre field had two runways, the longer one only 1800 feet in length, which made it one of the smallest fields on Long Island.

The airfield was named after James Fitzmaurice, who had achieved fame as the commander of the Irish Air Corps after World War I and as one of the three-man crew that crossed the Atlantic from east to west in 1928, the first to perform that arduous feat.

Sometime during World War II, Ken Tyler, a Hollywood stunt pilot, bought the field and operated Tyler Flying Services. He sold it in 1947 to Tom Murphy Jr., who ran the Skywriting Corporation of America.

Massapequa Park developed quickly after World War II and the proximity of houses to the airfield spurred concern among its new neighbors, who became fearful of crashes and felt inconvenienced by planes taking off and landing so close to their backyards. The School Board also needed to build schools and the Field was a perfect location. After several months of negotiation, they signed a contract with Murphy, who agreed in April 1953 to accept $600,000 in exchange for the property. The board built Hawthorn School in 1954 at the southeast end of the field and McKenna Junior High School at the north end in 1958.

The Historical Society of the Massapequas highlighted Fitzmaurice Flying Field's importance by erecting a marker on Spruce Street, just east of Roosevelt Avenue, in 1995.

Sources:

-, George Kirchmann, et al. “Fitzmaurice Flying Field: Pt. 2.” Massapequa Observer, 23 Sept. 2015, https://nassauobserver.com/fitzmaurice-flying-field-pt-2/

Kirchmann, George. “Fitzmaurice Flying Field.” Massapequa, NY Patch, Patch, 8 Aug. 2013, https://patch.com/new-york/massapequa/fitzmaurice-flying-field

Benson House

 Benson House, now part of the Episcopal Church, was home to FBI agents and radio technicians who, posing as German spies, broadcast false intelligence to Germany from January 1942 to June 1945.   It was built in 1912 by Dr. Gabriel S. Owen as a summer house. Weeks after the Dec. 7 attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese, the FBI began using Benson House as a top-secret radio site transmitting and receiving encoded messages with German intelligence agents. The Germans believed they were communicating with their espionage agents operating in New York.  As cover for the operation, the FBI moved one of its agents, Donworth Johnson, and his family, into the house. Mrs. Johnson cooked meals for her husband and the other agents who worked on the second and third floors.

A cover story was developed that Johnson suffered from tuberculosis and was, therefore, deferred from military service. The house was outfitted by FBI technicians with several large shortwave radios and supporting equipment. Antennae were hidden in nearby trees and intruders were discouraged by Clifford, the agent’s german shepherd. The radio equipment drew enormous amounts of electricity and not wanting to attract undue attention from the local utility companies, agents powered their equipment using the engine from a Buick which they bolted to the basement floor. The car’s muffler was also used to dampen the sound of the engine.

In the summer of 1943, FBI transmissions from Benson House gave the Germans bogus information designed to freeze German forces in northwest Europe to prevent their redeployment to strengthen the Italian and Eastern Fronts. In 1944 and 1945, radio transmissions from Benson House fed the Germans a steady stream of truthful and false information to confuse the German military about the size and disposition of Allied forces in Great Britain, along with the time and place of the D-Day invasion The most significant World War II contributions was the receipt of a German message in April 1942 instructing its spies to obtain information about American atomic bomb development; an order that helped influence President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to pursue an atomic weapon.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

 

Sources:

Campdewolfe. “Benson House Listed on National Registry of Historic Places.” Camp DeWolfe, https://campdewolfe.org/wading-river-radio-station-at-benson-house-listed-on-national-register-of-historic-places

Phillips, Ted. “Benson House's Wartime Role as Li Espionage Post Remembered.” Newsday, Newsday, 8 June 2014, https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/benson-house-s-wartime-role-as-li-espionage-post-remembered-t81293

Valiquette, Joe. “Long Island Home's Secret Role in WWII Espionage Revealed.” NBC New York, NBC New York, 6 June 2014, https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/benson-house-long-island-fbi-wwii-intelligence-spying/2002799

Aviatrix Elinor Smith

 Elinor Smith was born on August 17, 1911 in Freeport.

In 1928, Elinor Smith, then 16, earned national recognition as the youngest pilot to receive a license from the Federal Aviation Administration. Orville Wright signed her license.  On a dare that year, she flew a Waco 10 under all four of New York City's East River bridges; according to the Cradle of Aviation Museum, she is the only person ever to do so. That same year, Smith set a light plane altitude record of 11,889 feet, the first of many records she was to set during her career. In 1929 alone she set four world records.

In 1930, Elinor Smith was voted, "best female pilot" by her peers, a group that included Amelia Earhart. That same year, Smith set the women’s solo endurance record spending thirteen hours, sixteen minutes flying an open cockpit Brunner Winkle Bird over Roosevelt Field. In 1932, she set a straight-course speed record for women by zooming 229 mph.

She would become the first female test pilot for Fairchild Aviation Corp. and Bellanca Aircraft Corp., and as the first woman executive pilot for Irvin Air Chute Co., she demonstrated parachute drops. There were endorsements for motor oil and goggles, even a job with NBC Radio to cover air races

In October 1931, Smith attempting to stand in the cockpit while descending into Brooklyn’s Floyd Bennett Field fell from the plane and was knocked unconscious. In September 1933, Smith nearly caused a collision after a sharp turn over Governors Island put her in the path of two planes. So, at 29, Smith retired to raise a family.  In 1934, she became the first woman to appear on a Wheaties cereal box.

In 2000, she was still breaking records at NASA's Ames Research Center with an all-woman crew. She took on NASA's Space Shuttle vertical motion simulator, and became the oldest pilot to succeed in a simulated shuttle landing. Her final cockpit time was spent in April, 2001, when, at 89, she flew a four-passenger plane while visiting NASA's Langley Research Center.

Smith died at the age of 98 in 2010.

Sources:

 Dunbar, Brian. “Elinor Smith: Born to Fly.” NASA, NASA, https://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/elinor-smith.html

“Elinor Smith.” Cradle of Aviation Museum, https://www.cradleofaviation.org/history/history/women-in-aviation/elinor_smith.html

Kussin, Zachary. “How This Badass Pilot Paved the Way for Female Aviators.” New York Post, New York Post, 9 Oct. 2018, https://nypost.com/2018/10/08/how-this-badass-pilot-paved-the-way-for-female-aviators

Idle Hour

Idle Hour is the former 900-acre estate of railroad mogul and financier William Kissam Vanderbilt. It was completed in 1901. Architect Richard Morris Hunt designed the home, which continued to grow until an 1899 fire.  Costing $6 million, it contained 110-rooms which included 45-bathrooms and a garage large enough to hold 100-cars. Covering 70,000-square feet, it is purported to be the 15th largest house in the United States. After the fire, Idle Hour was rebuilt using red brick and gray stone and was designed by Hunt’s son Richard Howland Hunt. The estate was also once part of Dowling College. Vanderbilt liked the area as it was nearby the Southside Sportsmen’s Club (now Connetquot River State Park Preserve).

When Vanderbilt died in 1920, the estate was subdivided, but the buildings remained. In later years it was home to an artist's community and then a cult before its leader was jailed. The Idle Hour Artists Community was established by Mrs. Lucy Pritchard Thompson, her son William A. Thompson III, and architect Betty Miller. They divided the stables into apartments and sold them to those who joined their community along with a piece of land. In 1937, the mansion and carriage house were acquired by the Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians and Idle Hour was rechristened "Peace Haven". The Fraternity was a front for a cult led by James Bernard Schafer. He was convicted of stealing from one of his followers and in 1942 was jailed at Sing-Sing.

In 1947, the mansion, carriage house and 23-acres were purchased by National Dairy Research Labs. In 1963, they were bought by Adelphi University of Garden City and the estate became its Suffolk campus. In 1968, this became Dowling College, but just six years later (1974) the house Vanderbilt had tried so hard to make fireproof suffered another devastating fire: 

Unfortunately, when Dowling College closed in 2016-7, the Town of Islip had yet to officially recognize these buildings as local landmarks, leaving many of Idle Hour’s most important structures, including the mansion, vulnerable to demolition. In August 2017, the mansion and other Idle Hour properties were purchased by Mercury International LLC of Delaware. Many of the outbuildings have since become residential homes and the old tea house overlooking the river is now a restaurant called Riverview.

 

Sources:

“Idle Hour.” House Histree, https://househistree.com/houses/idle-hour

 “Idle Hour Archives.” Preservation Long Island, https://preservationlongisland.org/tag/idle-hour

Rodriguez, Arantxa, et al. “The Vanderbilt Houses and Mansions in New York - Page 21 of 24.” Untapped New York, 9 Feb. 2022, https://untappedcities.com/2021/09/20/vanderbilt-houses-mansions-new-york/21/

Cedar Island Lighthouse

Cedar Island Lighthouse stands at the end of a sand spit that protrudes from Cedar Point State Park and guards the entrance to Sag Harbor Bay. When originally built, the lighthouse was on Cedar Island, named for the small stand of trees on the otherwise barren island, but the Great Hurricane of 1938 filled in the 200-yard gap between the island and the shore, turning it into a peninsula now known as Cedar Point.  The light’s purpose was to guide whalers and other ships into Northwest Bay and the port of Sag Harbor. Sag Harbor was once one of the most important ports on the East Coast.

The town’s whaling fleet began to place stake lights around Sag Harbor as early as 1810, and in 1838, the federal government purchased Cedar Island from the town of East Hampton for a new lighthouse. After Congress provided $1,000 in 1837 and another $2,500 in 1838, the original Cedar Island Lighthouse was built in 1839 in the form of a one-and-a-half-story keeper’s dwelling with a small tower centered on its pitched roof. The beacon in the lantern room was made of nine Winslow Lewis lamps with fourteen-inch reflectors, shining at thirty-two feet above sea level and having a range of 12.5 nautical miles. In 1855, a sixth-order Fresnel lens, illuminated by an Argand lamp, replaced the lamps and reflectors. 

Since the Cedar Island Lighthouse was decommissioned in 1934, it has passed through private hands until it became part of Suffolk County’s Cedar Point Park in the late 1960’s. Vandalism and weather have taken their toll on the Cedar Island Lighthouse. Its construction of granite from New England has withstood the test of time, but in 1974 a fire gutted the interior of the Lighthouse. At that time the building was sealed up and it continues to be to this day.

In the early 2000’s the Long Island Chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society raised the funds to restore the Cedar Island Oil House, the small structure next to the Lighthouse where oil to light the original beacon was stored. The Long Island chapter of the United States Lighthouse Society has been authorized by Suffolk County Parks to restore and “Relight the Lighthouse”.

 

Sources:

“Cedar Island Lighthouse.” LighthouseFriends, https://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=737

“History.” Cedar Island Lighthouse, 10 Feb. 2021, https://www.cedarislandlighthouse.org/history/

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum

The Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum first opened on February 11, 1972 with a game between the New York Nets and the Pittsburgh Condors. With an initial capacity of 15,000, the arena occupied 63 acres of Mitchel Field, a former Army/Air Force base, and was built at a cost of $32 million. The Coliseum was considered state-of-the-art at the time, featuring a digital scoreboard, the first of its kind in an indoor arena, instant replay technology, unobstructed sightlines and affordable tickets, starting as low as $4.50 in 1972.

The arena closed for renovations on August 4, 2015. Following an 18-month, $180 million renovation, the Coliseum re-opened on April 5, 2017. Guest enhancements included refreshed concourses, a redesigned main entrance, all new seating, improved bowl circulation, and revamped bathrooms and concessions. There are plans to to build housing, offices, biotech research space, "experiential retail," and parking garages around the arena, but nothing has bene verified.

The New York Nets called the Coliseum home from 1972 until 1977. The New York Islanders played their first game on October 7, 1972 and their final game on April 25, 2015. The Coliseum has hosted several WWE Raw and Smackdown Events over a period of over 30 years.

The Coliseum was originally intended as a cog in a grand vision for the Uniondale property, along with a concert hall, museum, library and gallery. Those plans  never came to fruition.

 

Sources:

“About Us.” Nassau Coliseum, https://nassaulivecenter.com/about-us

Brodsky, Robert. “Nassau Coliseum at 50: Memories of the 'Old Barn'.” Newsday, Newsday, 7 Feb. 2022, https://www.newsday.com/entertainment/nassau-coliseum/nassau-coliseum-islanders-concerts-anniversary-1.50500279

 “The Storied History of Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.” The Disability Guys - Markhoff & Mittman, P.C. - New York Injury Attorneys, 16 Nov. 2018, https://thedisabilityguys.com/storied-history-nassau-veterans-memorial-coliseum 

Bulova Watchcase Factory

 When its last whaling boat, the Myra, departed in 1871, Sag Harbor’s heroic whaling period officially ended. The Bulova Factory was developed in 1850 as a cotton mill. A fire destroyed the cotton mill in 1879. Watchcase manufacturer Joseph Fahys constructed a new factory on the site of the former mill in 1881. The Fahys Watchcase Factory operated until 1931, and then sat vacant for six years.

In 1937, the Village leased part of the second floor to a subsidiary of the Bulova Watch Company. Local citizens formed a committee to raise money for renovations and new machinery for the watchcase industry. Once production increased to around 30,000 watchcases per week, many new jobs became available, and Bulova occupied the entire building. The Bulova plant was the biggest of Sag Harbor's factories. Generations of local men and women worked there. By World War II the Bulova factory had over 500 employees and was producing 30,000 watch cases per week, as well as telescope parts and aircraft instruments as part of the war effort. 

Bulova closed its operation there in 1981. For over 30 years the building sat abandoned and uncared for, left to fall slowly into ruin. In 2006, however, the property was purchased by New York developers Cape Advisors, Inc. with a bold and controversial plan to convert the old factory into luxury apartments and townhouses. The condominiums opened in 2016.

Sources:

Boody, Peter. “Sag Harbor Factory's Toxic Legacy Lingers.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 21 Oct. 2001, https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/21/nyregion/sag-harbor-factory-s-toxic-legacy-lingers.html

“The Watchcase Factory in the Whaling Village.” Beyer Blinder Belle, https://www.beyerblinderbelle.com/stories/13_the_watchcase_factory_in_the_whaling_village

“Watchcase - The Story of a Rebirth by Michael Heller.” Blurb, https://www.blurb.com/b/6909516-watchcase-the-story-of-a-rebirth