The final section of the Ocean Parkway Coastal Greenway on the southern shoreline of Long Island has opened to cyclists, runners, skaters and walkers. [Read more…] about Ocean Parkway Coastal Greenway Completed
Long Island
Long Island Migrant Labor Camps (Podcast)
Long Island has a rich agricultural history. One aspect of that past, often overlooked, is the toll exacted on those doing the actual labor.
Author Mark Torres’ new book shines a light on a chapter of that history. Long Island Migrant Labor Camps: Dust for Blood (History Press, 2021) tells the story of the migrant laborers who traveled to Long Island from the 1940s through the 1970s. The camps in which they lived were often little more than shacks and the plight of the migrants were a debated topic among journalists, officials, and the general public for years. [Read more…] about Long Island Migrant Labor Camps (Podcast)
British Forts on Long Island
David Griffin has turned his architectural eye to the landscape of Long Island and to the history of the Revolutionary War-era fortifications built by the British.
His book, Lost British Forts of Long Island (History Press, 2017), documents the painstaking results: twelve locations throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties with evidence of our occupied past. Using maps, eye-witness accounts, and present day research, Griffin has uncovered much of what has been hiding in plain sight. [Read more…] about British Forts on Long Island
Facing Slavery: Lloyd Family Portraits in Context
Preservation Long Island has announced the gift of a group of important early American portraits from descendants of the Nelson and Lloyd families of Boston and Long Island.
For over three hundred years, portraits of Elizabeth Tailer Nelson (1667–1734), John Nelson (1654–1734), Henry Lloyd I (1685–1763), and James Lloyd III (1769–1831) remained in the possession of the same family that commissioned them centuries ago. [Read more…] about Facing Slavery: Lloyd Family Portraits in Context
Land Preservation to Help Protect Long Island Aquifer
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Peconic Land Trust (PLT), and town of Brookhaven have announced the acquisition of a parcel of land in the hamlet of Moriches that will help protect Long Island’s groundwater, the sole drinking water source for millions of residents. [Read more…] about Land Preservation to Help Protect Long Island Aquifer
The Glacier That Made Long Island (Podcast)
The history of Long Island can be traced back to the advance (and retreat) of the massive glacier that covered much of North America near the end of the Pleistocene Era. Miranda Maliszka and Anthony Johnson, students at Hofstra University, join The Long Island History Project podcast to shed more light on this deep history. Their research, including GIS data and a Digital Elevation Model, looked at the melting of that glacier and other factors that affected the formation of Long Island. [Read more…] about The Glacier That Made Long Island (Podcast)
Long Island’s Bellport Bay Dolphin Sticking Around
According to a press release issued by DEC, on January 10th, ECOs Bobseine and Doroski assisted the Riverhead Foundation with locating a dolphin in Bellport Bay. [Read more…] about Long Island’s Bellport Bay Dolphin Sticking Around
A Haven of Immigrant Creativity In Long Island
In fiction and research, the history of an estate is often used to throw light on the lives of former residents and the cultural environment in which they acted. The monumental white mansion now known as Bevin House, Long Island, hides an intriguing tale that offers a snapshot of New York’s cosmopolitan past. [Read more…] about A Haven of Immigrant Creativity In Long Island
Francis ‘Two Gun’ Crowley’s 1931 Killing Spree
Francis “Two Gun” Crowley earned his nickname during a mad spree in 1931 that included murder on a Long Island country lane and a chaotic battle with police on 90th St. in Manhattan. It ended in Crowley’s death in the electric chair less than a year later. [Read more…] about Francis ‘Two Gun’ Crowley’s 1931 Killing Spree
Mary Booth: Writer, Translator, and Founding Editor of Harper’s Bazzar
It’s never been easy to make your way as an independent, career-minded woman in New York City. Mary L. Booth did it in the 19th century, forging a career and establishing a reputation as a writer, translator, and the founding editor of Harper’s Bazzar.
Learn more about this Long Island native as we talk to Tricia Foley, author of Mary L. Booth: The Story of an Extraordinary 19th-Century Woman, on the lastest episode of the Long Island History Project. [Read more…] about Mary Booth: Writer, Translator, and Founding Editor of Harper’s Bazzar