The Long Island History Project

We take a look back at the Revolutionary War on Long Island, courtesy of the Brentwood Public Library and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Peter Ward, the library's local history librarian, served as host. The Institute funded it; Peter Carmona, librarian trainee, recorded it. Historians Joanne Grasso of NYIT and Peter Bales of Queensboro Community College were the experts on the panel along with Chris Kretz, who mixed the whole thing down into bite sized pieces for your enjoyment. Further Research Revisiting the Founding Era Local History Room Dr. Peter Bales A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the 21st Century (2017) Dr. Joanne Grasso George Washington's 1790 Grand Tour of Long Island (2018) The American Revolution on Long Island (2016) Histories of Long Island (via WorldCat) British Prison Ships (podcast from the Bklyn Historical Society) Brentwood Public Library Average Brentwood Teens Podcast Brentwood Historical Society

We were saddened by the recent news of the passing of Gene Horton, Blue Point historian, former social studies teacher, tour guide, storyteller, friend and colleague. To honor Gene’s memory and his passion for Long Island history, we’re reposting here excerpts from two interviews we conducted with him over the years. One is from 2006 and the other from 2014. Our condolences go out to his family and all those who were lucky enough to know him. Links Books by Gene Horton (find in a library via WorldCat) The Sage of Blue Point (complete interview) Meadowcroft Estate (Bayport – Blue Point Heritage Association) Service details

Elaine Kiesling Whitehouse knows a good story when she sees it, and those stories often come from history. Writing from an early age, she was intrigued by the signs of the past all around her. There was a WWI era German radio transmitting station across the street and the decaying windmill of a former Gilded Age estate down the block. On today's episode, we discuss Elaine's writing history and how she has drawn on Long Island's past for inspiration. Her novel Hart's Tavern, set in Revolutionary War-era Patchogue, sprang from a roadside marker commemorating George Washington's trip through the area in 1790. She also relates the valuable lessons she learned as the editor of the Fire Island Tide as well as the writing career of her husband, Jack Whitehouse. Research Hart's Tavern (find in a library via WorldCat) 3 Legends of Fire Island and the Great South Bay (find in a library via WorldCat) Elaine Kiesling Whitehouse (LI Authors Group) Hart's Tavern Historical Marker Bourne Windmill The Radio Tower podcast Revisiting Telefunken (SCN) Audio Footnotes Truth Behind the Spies with Bev Tyler Terry Ketcham Inn Mark Rothenberg Mary Lou Cohalan Warren McDowell  

Imagine a world with a private airport around every corner and an airplane in every garage. Where your form of ID could just as easily be a pilot's license as a driver's license and your weekend is spent with people with names like "Red" and "Speed" and "Ace". That's the world Walt Winnicki grew up in, learning to fly on Long Island in the early 1950s. And that's the world that Bob Mott and the Bayport Aerodrome Society is trying to preserve. On this episode, both men relate their long history and love of flying. We also discuss the lost world of private airfields and the near miraculous survival of the Bayport Aerodrome, built by Curtis Davis out of his family's corn field right after World War II. Research Bayport Aerodrome Society Cradle of Aviation Museum Long Island Airports 50 Years Later, ‘Blind’ Flight is Routine (NYT) The Brunner Winkle Bird Biplane noise from Freesound.org (by Loveburd)  

David Morrison knows his railroads, from his six books on LIRR history and stations to his extensive research collection to his years overseeing thirty-nine stations.  With his seventh book due out from Arcadia Press on July 15th, we could think of no better time to sit down with David and get a crash course on the history of the Long Island Rail Road.  Books Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station: Statuary and Sculputres by David Morrison Books by David Morrison The Late, Great Pennsylvania Station by Lorraine B. Diehl Miles of Smiles: The Story of Roxey, the Long Island Rail Road Dog by Heather H. Worthington and Bill Farnsworth Websites Trains are Fun Oyster Bay Railroad Museum Railroad Museum of Long Island Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Wantagh Preservation Society and Wantagh Museum

The life of an actor is never easy, so it's not surprising that many early Broadway stars made a point of vacationing in solitude on Long Island whenever they could. You might be surprised, however, at the prevailing working conditions and labor strugles they were often performing under in early 20th-cenutry theater. While the fast-growing industry was lucrative for producers like the Shuberts and Belascos, it offered many hardships for those who worked in front of and behind the curtain. Caroline Propersi-Grossman, a PhD candidate in history at SUNY Stony Brook, walks us through these labor struggles and their culmination in the Actors' Equity strike of 1919. With scenes including Ethel Barrymore and W.C. Fields on the picket line to George M. Cohen in the role of strike-breaker, it's a story that encapsulates much of labory history and the greater turmoil of 1919. For Caroline, this is backdrop to her dissertation, The Creative Hands: Stagehands, Their Union, and the Backstage/Frontstage Divide, which is a gendered labor history that focuses on the relationship between work, culture, gender, and race in New York City’s entertainment industry between 1945 and 1995. Caroline served as the Stony Brook University chief steward for the Graduate Student Employees Union/Communications Workers of America Local 1104 and is currently organizing with Service Employees International Union 1199. Research Caroline Propersi-Grossman @carolinecprogro Women Also Know History One Hundred Years of Equity Strikes and Labor Solidarity All the World's a Stage! The Actors' Strike of 1919 History: Actors' Equity Long Island Scintilates with Stage Stars at Play (NYS Historic Newspapers)  

Every other year, Preservation Long Island compiles a list of endangered historic places in need of saving. Sarah Kautz, their Preservation Director, joins us to discuss the four sites chosen for 2019. From a family farm in East Patchogue to a life saving station on Fire Island, each of these sites presents a unique case study in Long Island's history and the many challenges involved in preserving historic structures.   

Islip Town Historian George Munkenbeck provides a look at the amazing Ludlows - the first family of Oakdale, veterans of the Civil War and beyond, and caretakers of St. John's Episcopal Church on Montauk Highway. Louisa, the matriarch, descended from the first Lord of the Manor. Her husband, William Handey Ludlow, was a leading figure in the Democratic Party. One son saved the Constitution, the other inspired the National Parks system. And today they are all but forgotten. This episode originally aired in two parts on the Dowling College Library Omnibus podcast back in 2010. We are bringing it out of the vault in a slightly condensed form to help celebrate the 335th anniversary of Islip Town.

Two hundred years ago, the man who broke American poetry forever was born in West Hills, Long Island. His house remains a shrine and place of pilgrimage for fans and poetry lovers from around the world.  Cynthia Shor is Executive Director of the Walt Whitman Birthplace Association. She's responsible for the programming and operations and most importantly, the bicentennial celebrations. On today's episode, we talk the history of the site, the life of Whitman, and the impact of his poetry. Further Research Walt Whitman Birthplace So We Bought a Poet's Shrine The Walt Whitman House (Camden) Walt Whitman (Poetry Foundation)  

Erin is the Visitor Services & Volunteer Coordinator at the Long Island Maritime Museum as well as the Museum Educator at the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum. As such she's perfectly situated to tell us about the current state of museums - and also the varied maritime histories of the North and South Shores. From whales to oysters, from field trips to date nights, there is much to discuss.