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Long Island

A Long Island History of Alcohol

November 26, 2019 by Chris Kretz Leave a Comment

long island history project logoLong Island has a long and complicated history with alcohol stretching back to the first Dutch settlers. From early distilleries and breweries on the western end of the Island to the emergence of temeperance societies in Sag Harbor, alcohol has played a continuing role in the life of the people.

The culmination came in 1920 when Prohibition went into effect. For the next thirteen years, the manufacture, sale and distribution of intoxicating liquours was probibited. Until Prohibition was repealed in 1933, Long Island was in for a wild time as rum runners vied with the coast guard, police raided speakeasies, and every person had to decide for themselves how they would handle the challenges and opportunities that arose. [Read more…] about A Long Island History of Alcohol

Filed Under: History Tagged With: beer, Long Island, Podcasts, Prohibition

Sagamore Hill Fire Findings Released By Park Service

November 12, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

sagamore hill fire (2018)The National Park Service (NPS) has released findings and a follow-up corrective action plan for the December 2018 visitor center fire at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay, NY. The loss of the visitor center impacted the staff and operations at the park, as the building housed many aspects of park operations including staff, historic house tour ticket sales and a bookstore.

The NPS investigation into the cause of the fire was inconclusive, however they concluded that there did not appear to be any indications that it was intentionally caused. Several accidental causes of the fire were considered, including furnace malfunction, original equipment installation issues and storage practices. The report says the building had a monitored fire detection and alarm system and portable fire extinguishers and Park leadership and staff followed applicable NPS structural fire policies. [Read more…] about Sagamore Hill Fire Findings Released By Park Service

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Disaster Management, Fires, Long Island, National Park Service, Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt

A Long Islander’s Depictions of Unkechaug Women

October 29, 2019 by Erin Becker Leave a Comment

William Floyd EstateNative women in nineteenth century Long Island communities integrated work into the daily rhythms of their home. These women persisted – and in some cases, thrived – in the face of severe challenges and tragic conditions. They grew crops in gardens, raised chickens, took in washing, did reproductive labor, kept boarders, and performed vital cultural work.

While their labor is largely absent from census records, evidence can be gleaned from the childhood memoir of an elite white woman from a prominent landowning family. Sunny Memories of Mastic was written by Sarah “Sadie” Floyd Turner in 1886. In her memoir, Turner recounted childhood memories beginning with her arrival at her grandfather’s estate in 1843. [Read more…] about A Long Islander’s Depictions of Unkechaug Women

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Cultural History, Gender History, Long Island, Native American History, Social History

A Cemetery of Strangers: NYC’s Hart Island

October 29, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

new york citys hart islandMichael T. Keene’s new book New York City’s Hart Island: A Cemetery of Strangers takes a look at Hart Island, where more than one million bodies are buried in unmarked graves, just off the coast of the Bronx in Long Island Sound.

The islands first public use was as a Civil War prison and United States Colored Troops training site and later a psychiatric hospital. The island became the repository for New York City’s unclaimed dead. It’s mass graves are a microcosm of New York history, from the 1822 burial crisis to casualties of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire and victims of the AIDS epidemic. Important artists who died in poverty have been discovered buried there, including Disney star Bobby Driscol and playwright Leo Birinski. [Read more…] about A Cemetery of Strangers: NYC’s Hart Island

Filed Under: History, New Books Tagged With: Books, Cemeteries, Civil War, Long Island, Medical History, New York City, Public Health, The Bronx

Witchcraft Claims In East Hampton, Long Island

October 27, 2019 by Marie Williams 1 Comment

statue at Salem Witch Museum by Marie Williams

In the United States, the first witch trial is believed to have occurred in Springfield, Mass., in 1645.  A fervor for hunting witches led to an increase in prosecutions in New England, and New York, in the 1650s and 1666s.  Women would be accused of witchcraft within New York’s colonial borders into the mid-1700s. Some of these trials would have a lasting impact on the colony and the country.

The 1650s was not an easy time to be a woman, especially if a neighbor held a personal grudge. In East Hampton, Long Island in 1657 Elizabeth “Goody” Garlick was accused of witchcraft, after 16-year-old Elizabeth Gardiner Howell became ill and suffered fevered dreams and delusions.  [Read more…] about Witchcraft Claims In East Hampton, Long Island

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Halloween, Legal History, Long Island, Salem Witch Trials

‘Salt Water People’ Explores Baymen’s Lives on Long Island

October 27, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

salt water peopleThe Oyster Bay Historical Society has announced a staged reading of “Salt Water People” by American Lore Theater has been set for Sunday, November 3rd, at 2 pm. This event is part of the Waterfront Heroes exhibit, celebrating those who preserve New York’s maritime heritage.

The play, by Jake Rosenberg, loosely based on Peter Matthiessen’s book, Men’s Lives, focuses on the plight of the Baymen of Long Island, and of the Bonackers, descendants of one of the oldest European settlers on Long Island, and their unique and rapidly fading American English dialect. [Read more…] about ‘Salt Water People’ Explores Baymen’s Lives on Long Island

Filed Under: History, New Exhibits, Upcoming Events Tagged With: Long Island, Maritime History, Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Historical Society

Cove Neck: Oyster Bay’s Historic Enclave

October 27, 2019 by Editorial Staff 2 Comments

cove neckThe new book Cove Neck: Oyster Bay’s Historic Enclave (The History Press, 2019) by John E. Hammond and Elizabeth E. Roosevelt, looks at the village of Cove Neck in Long Island.

Looking out over the majestic waters of Oyster Bay, the village of Cove Neck has played an outsized role in the history of Long Island and the nation. [Read more…] about Cove Neck: Oyster Bay’s Historic Enclave

Filed Under: History, New Books Tagged With: Books, Long Island, Oyster Bay, Sagamore Hill, Theodore Roosevelt

Roosevelt’s Life, Legacy Focus of Long Island Conference

October 25, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Theodore Roosevelt portrait courtesy United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs divisionThe Theodore Roosevelt Institute’s Centenary Conference, where nationally recognized experts and scholars will discuss how Roosevelt’s diplomacy, foreign policy and reformism address current geopolitical issues, has been set for October 27th, through 30th, at the Long Island University.

The conference will be led by Tweed Roosevelt, Chairman of the Theodore Roosevelt Institute at Long Island University and great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt. [Read more…] about Roosevelt’s Life, Legacy Focus of Long Island Conference

Filed Under: Conferences, History Tagged With: Long Island, Long Island University, Theodore Roosevelt

Spooky Spirits at Rogers Mansion, Southampton, LI

September 29, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Rogers Mansion by Connor FlanaganThe history of the Rogers Mansion in Southampton starts in 1648 when it was a one room farm house built by the pioneering William Rogers family.

Hundreds of Rodger family descendants were born, raised and died on the property. [Read more…] about Spooky Spirits at Rogers Mansion, Southampton, LI

Filed Under: History, Upcoming Events Tagged With: Halloween, Long Island, Southampton

125 Years of Synagogues on Long Island

September 22, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

seeking sanctuaryBrad Kolodny’s new book Seeking Sanctuary: 125 Years of Synagogues on Long Island (Segula Publishing, 2019) provides an history, inventory, and photo archive of every synagogue, past and present, in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. [Read more…] about 125 Years of Synagogues on Long Island

Filed Under: History, New Books Tagged With: Books, Long Island, Photography, Religion, Religious History

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