The Long Island Historical Journal
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THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL JOURNAL United States Army Barracks at Camp Upton, Yaphank, New York c. 1917 Fall 2003/ Spring 2004 Volume 16, Nos. 1-2 Starting from fish-shape Paumanok where I was born… Walt Whitman Fall 2003/ Spring 2004 Volume 16, Numbers 1-2 Published by the Department of History and The Center for Regional Policy Studies Stony Brook University Copyright 2004 by the Long Island Historical Journal ISSN 0898-7084 All rights reserved Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: History and Life The editors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Office of the Provost and of the Dean of Social and Behavioral Science, Stony Brook University (SBU). We thank the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education, SBU, and the Long Island Studies Council for their generous assistance. We appreciate the unstinting cooperation of Ned C. Landsman, Chair, Department of History, SBU, and of past chairpersons Gary J. Marker, Wilbur R. Miller, and Joel T. Rosenthal. The work and support of Ms. Susan Grumet of the SBU History Department has been indispensable. Beginning this year the Center for Regional Policy Studies at SBU became co-publisher of the Long Island Historical Journal. Continued publication would not have been possible without this support. The editors thank Dr. Lee E. Koppelman, Executive Director, and Ms. Edy Jones, Ms. Jennifer Jones, and Ms. Melissa Jones, of the Center’s staff. Special thanks to former editor Marsha Hamilton for the continuous help and guidance she has provided to the new editor. The Long Island Historical Journal is published annually in the spring. Annual subscriptions are $20.00, single copies $20.00. Address articles, correspondence, books for review, and subscriptions to: The Editor, LIHJ Department of History Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York 11794-4348 [email protected] We publish original studies of any aspect of Long Island history. Submit manuscripts in duplicate on 8 ½” x 11” paper, double spaced with generous margins and on an IBM-compatible disk. We also accept e-mail submissions in either Word or WordPerfect format. Notes should be numbered consecutively, assembled at the end of the text and modeled on examples in the Chicago Manual of Style. Stony Brook University is an affirmative action/ equal opportunity educator and employer. THE LONG ISLAND HISTORICAL JOURNAL Editor: Seth Forman, Stony Brook University Assistant Editor: Ann M. Becker, Stony Brook University Associate Editor: Richard P. Harmond, St. John’s University Book Review Editor: Marilyn Weigold, Pace University Founding Editor: Roger Wunderlich Editorial Board: Charles F. Howlett, Molloy College; Wilbur R. Miller, SBU; Joel T. Rosenthal, SBU; Eli Seifman, Center for Excellence and Innovation in Education (CEIE), SBU; Christine McCormick, CEIE, SBU; Donald E. Simon, Monroe College; Gaynell Stone, Suffolk County Archaeological Society; John A. Strong, Long Island University (Emeritus), Southampton Campus; Natalie A. Naylor, Hofstra University (Emerita); Marilyn Weigold, Pace University; Ned C. Landsman, SBU; Ann Sandford, Regis College (ret.); Stacey Horstmann Gatti, Long Island University; Kristen Nyitray, SBU Special Collections; Floris Cash, SBU; Barbara Kelly, Hofstra University; R. L. Swanson, Marine Sciences Research Center, SBU. Cover: First Long Island Rail Road train from Penn Station to arrive at Patchogue, September 8, 1910. Courtesy of the Queens Borough Public Library, Long Island Division, Howard Conklin Collection. EDITORIAL COMMENT As the new editor I am happy to report that the journal, after several years of transition, appears to be on stable footing. Interest in writing for the journal is strong and the subscription base is growing. We have accumulated, for the first time since founding editor Roger Wunderlich’s passing, a solid backlog of articles for future journal issues. This has been made possible primarily by the Stony Brook History Department’s continuing commitment to the journal, generous staff and financial support from the Center for Regional Policy Studies at Stony Brook, and financial support from the Gardiner Foundation. The editorial board hopes to revive our twice a year publication schedule, but we are at this point unable to establish a firm date for this event. I appreciate the opportunity that the editorial board, the Center for Regional Policy Studies, and the History Department gave me when they asked me to take over the journal. It has been a rich and exciting experience so far. The journal will continue to make a significant contribution to our understanding of Long Island history, and to the people, places, institutions, and events that constitute that history. In this issue we have adopted a new format in which each feature article is given a brief introduction. We have also incorporated two columns we hope to feature regularly. One is a “Place Names” column, the brainchild of associate editor Dick Harmond, in which the history of the names of communities on Long Island will be exp lored. We are also continuing with our “Lost and Found” column, which seeks to revisit important books, historical documents, and artifacts from Long Island’s past. Please note that the journal now has a special interest in policy related history. In this issue we feature one article on the Central Suffolk Pine Barrens as well as one on the history of the Nassau Hub. We welcome submissions and ideas in these areas, as well as in the broader field of Long Island history. On behalf of the Editorial Board, we hope you enjoy this issue of the journal. Thank you for your continued support. Seth Forman Editor, Long Island Historical Journal TABLE OF CONTENTS CROSSING THE SOUND: THE RISE OF ATLANTIC AMERICAN COMMUNITIES ON EASTERN LONG ISLAND DURING THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY By Faren R. Siminoff — 1 SHIFTING SANDS: LONG ISLAND’S BARRIER BEACHES By Marsha L. Hamilton —15 CENTRAL SUFFOLK PINE BARRENS PRESERVATION – PART ONE By Lee E. Koppelman — 35 MILITARY TRAINING AT CAMP UPTON DURING THE GREAT WAR: THE DIARY OF OSCAR I. OSTROW Edited by Margery Cohen-Willard Introduction by Charles F. Howlett — 55 A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE NASSAU HUB: THE EVOLUTION OF AN “OLD LINE” SUBURB By Bill Jensen and Seth Forman — 104 A LONG ISLAND YANKEE IN KING GEORGE’S COURT: ELIZABETH SHERMAN LINDSAY AND THE 1939 BRITISH ROYAL VISIT TO THE UNITED STATES By Tim Barrett — 112 CONRAD POPPENHUSEN: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE “BENEFACTOR OF COLLEGE POINT” EMPHASIZING THE CIVIL WAR YEARS By James E. Haas — 135 LONG ISLAND PLACE NAMES INTRODUCTION: AMERICAN STATE NAMES By Richard P. Harmond — 145 WILLIAM WALLACE TOOKER By John A. Strong — 149 LOST AND FOUND WILLIAM H. MOORE’S HISTORY OF ST. GEORGE’S CHURCH By Beverly C. Tyler — 153 SECONDARY SCHOOL ESSAY CONTEST MICHAEL GLYNN’S THEATER: THE MAKING OF A CULTURAL INSTITUTION IN PATCHOGUE, NEW YORK By Daniel Winkler and Crystal Vagnier — 155 SOCIAL AND SPATIAL MOBILITY OF IRISH AND GERMAN IMMIGRANTS IN BROOKLYN IN THE LATE NINET EENTH CENTURY By Vikram Chabra — 160 AN OVERVIEW OF PLUM ISLAND: HISTORY, RESEARCH, AND EFFECTS ON LONG ISLA ND By Alexandra Cella — 176 THE HOME OF AN AMERICAN POET: THE STORY OF WALT WHITMAN’S BIRTHPLACE By Rachel Brandstadter — 182 BOOK REVIEWS Natalie Aurucci Stiefle. Looking Back at Rocky Point: In the Shadow of the Radio Towers Vol. 1. and Robert F. Sisler. Long Island’s Contribution to the Development of Radio & Television. By Barbara Kelly — 190 Marilee Foster. Dirt Under My Nails: An American Farmer and Her Changing Land. By Ann Sandford — 192 Louisa Thomas Hargrave. The Vineyard: The Pleasures and Perils of Creating an American Family Winery. By Marilyn E. Weigold — 194 Ann M. Becker. Images of America: Mount Sinai. Antonia Booth and Thomas Monsell. Images of America: Greenport. Geoffrey K. Fleming. Images of America: Bridgehampton. By Richard I. Barons — 196 Tom Andersen. This Fine Piece of Water: An Environmental History of Long Island Sound. By Michelle Land — 200 Sylvie Murray. The Progressive Housewife: Community Activism in Suburban Queens, 1945-1965. By Barbara Kelly — 203 EDITOR’S NOTE AND LETTERS —206 CONTRIBUTORS Faren R. Siminoff is an Assistant Professor of History at Nassau County Community College and received her Ph.D. in American History from New York University. Marsha L. Hamilton is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of South Alabama and a former editor of the Long Island Historical Journal. Dr. Hamilton taught Long Island history at Stony Brook and worked for the Suffolk County Historical Society. Lee E. Koppelman is a Leading Professor of Political Science at Stony Brook University. He is also the Executive Director of the Center for Regional Policy Studies at Stony Brook Dr. Charles F. Howlett is coordinator of social studies at Amityville Memorial High School and Adjunct Professor of History at Adelphi University. He has authored and co-authored seven books and over 100 articles in scholarly and popular journals. Margery Cohen-Willard teaches English at Amityville Memorial High School. Oscar Ostrow was her grandfather, the subject of the diary published in this issue. A few years ago Margery discovered her grandfather’s diary detailing his World War One experiences. Bill Jensen is the managing editor of the Long Island Press. He has written for Newsday, The New York Times and The Village Voice. Seth Forman is Research Associate Professor at Stony Brook University’s Center for Regional Policy Studies and the editor of the Long Island Historical Journal. Tim Barrett is tutor in twentieth century Anglo-American relations at the University of Keele, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. James E. Haas has written ten books and numerous articles on a wide range of topics. His most recent book, This Gunner at His Piece: College Point, New York, and the Civil War, was reviewed in this journal Fall 2002/Spring 2003.