Changing Long Island There have been many factors that have changed the look and feel of Long Island over the course of time. The water that surrounds us has changed the physical landscape through erosion and severe weather events like hurricanes that created inlets. There are also changes that came about through modernization; the change from an agricultural society to a suburban culture, for instance. In addition, man-made structures and inventions have changed the look and feel of our island. Inventions like automobiles, the railroad, and the airplane have all impacted the landscape. Long Island, surrounded by water, had originally been inhabited by indigenous people and then New Englanders came by boat and settled in Suffolk County first. Long Island‘s flat landscape created a good venue for windmills and wind energy which allowed early settlers to grind corn and other grains. Where rivers and streams were located, watermills were also used. The first windmill on Long Island was built in Southold. See Appendix A to learn more about the Town of Southold. Montauk Point with windmill in an early photograph. See Appendix B to learn more about windmills. Watermills were common on Long Island, this one located in Oyster Bay. See Appendix C to learn more about watermills. Along the south shore of Long Island, in the towns of Islip and Brookhaven, boats were built to harvest bushels of shellfish. Other settlers found drift whales on the shores and soon realized that hunting whales could be profitable. The Hempstead Plains, located in the middle of Long Island was a large grassy common land that early Long Islanders used for grazing cattle and other livestock. According to the 1850 census farmers grew corn, wheat, hay, barley, cucumbers, pumpkins and cauliflower. The Rushmore farm harvested many crops including pumpkins, photograph, 1916. Livestock, such as cows and sheep were a staple on Long Island. Photograph of cows on Block Island, 1954. There were many duck farms and the Long Island duck reached its peak in the 1960’s when farms here produced 7.5 million ducks a year for restaurants. Photograph of duck farm located in Quogue. See Appendix D to learn more about duck farms. By about 1850 in the town of Hempstead, the common lands started to be sold off. In 1866, the town gave 40 acres of land to Queens County Agricultural Society “for the promotion of agriculture.” This land was used as the Mineola Fair Grounds until 1937. Other land began to be used for housing. Real estate prospectus for Hempstead, 1908. Early Long Islanders used horses and carriages to get around. Bridges were not wide enough for cars. Pedestrians or horse and buggies were all that could pass on this iteration of the Bayville Bridge, completed in 1898. As early as 1840 railroads came to Long Island. This was a convenient way for farmers to get their produce to market in New York City and beyond. By 1900 it was also a good way for people to move around. This photograph from 1899. These homes in Garden City were built to house workers who would commute by train into the city to work at A. T. Stewart’s Department Store. Stewart incorporated the Central Railroad of Long Island and in 1873 it ran from New York City through Garden City to a brickyard in Bethpage and docks in Babylon. Massapequa station, c.1901. Central Islip station, 1910 – people wait for the first train from Penn Station. LIRR to Greenport, c.1920’s. East Hampton train, 1920’s. See Appendix E to learn more about Long Island Rail Road history. Many towns originally developed near water as it was both convenient for travel as well as a source of energy for mills. It also served as a place of recreation. The use of water on Long Island became controversial when the Brooklyn Water Works began buying rights to ponds and streams for use by the residents of Brooklyn. Photograph of Roslyn Harbor. See Appendix F to learn more about the Brooklyn Water Works. By the 1900 census, the population on Long Island was 133,000 and there were still more individuals who lived in Suffolk Co. than Nassau by over 20,000 people. Beach communities were initially built as resort areas for the wealthy. Links to the railroad were extremely important to bolster this tourist trade. In about 1880, the Long Beach Association had begun to develop land so that people could enjoy the ocean. The property on Long Beach was sold to William H. Reynolds, who had developed Miami Beach, Florida as a resort city. By 1909, Reynolds wanted to make further developments to the property on Long Beach. Photograph of Long Beach Hotel, 1909. South Oyster Bay Various shores around Long Island became sites for relaxation and escape. Much of Long Island in the 19th century was made up of small clusters of homes, farms, and fishing villages. As the towns became more populated, main streets featured retail businesses and restaurants. As large estates, like the Mackay estate pictured here, were sold, large developments with smaller suburban homes and streets were created. This home, known as Harbor Hill was built by Stanford White and was completed in1902. By 1948 the house was dynamited and sold off for residential development. Long Islanders liked their recreational sports as well, here at the Locust Valley Piping Rock Club spectators watch a horse race. Bayville ice boating for recreational purposes. One of the most visited beaches on Long Island is Jones Beach. The park was completed in 1929 and has the Art Deco style of that time period. It remains popular with both residents and visitors alike. Photograph of Jones Beach roadways and water tower, the tower was completed in 1930. Boardwalk and Central Mall at Jones Beach. Luncheon Terrace at Jones Beach. Entrance to Zach’s Bay. Jones Beach swimming pool, August 1964. Beach and boardwalk at Long Beach, 1930’s. Shelter Island beach, July 1953. Robert Moses Causeway Inlet Bridge, 1964. The car soon became LI’s preferred mode of transportation. Because of the car, the towns in between the railway stations developed at breakneck speed. Good roads were a selling point for real estate developers. The original roads were not made of macadam or packed dirt, but were covered in Oyster shells. Soon, cars became more affordable and people with more modest incomes could travel around Long Island. Built for the Vanderbilt Races, Motor Parkway officially opened in 1908 as a toll road and closed by NY State in 1938 for non payment of taxes. Sunken Meadow roadway. Northern State Parkway, 1949. Southern State Parkway, Exit 32 North Amityville, late 1950’s. LIE under construction in Roslyn Heights, 1957. See Appendix G to learn more about Long Island Roads. In 1910 the Sperry Corporation began on Long Island and the aviation industry was founded. First seaplanes took off from the waters surrounding our shores. Later, airstrips were built and Long Island was known as the “cradle of aviation.” Photograph of seaplane with Beacon Towers, Sands Point in center. By the 1900’s a good portion of the Hempstead Plains had been used for the newly developed aviation industry. Roosevelt Field was first a field for flying. It was where Charles Lindbergh and other early pilots took off. In the 1950’s, Roosevelt Field Shopping Center was built on the site of the former runways and hangars. See Appendix H to learn more about the aviation industry on Long Island. Other businesses sprang up on Long Island – many related to the auto industry. This included car salesrooms, repair shops and gas stations. Smithtown Chevrolet Garage, 1943. Nassau County was deemed the fastest growing county in the US in the years between 1920 and 1930. After World War II, however, a new crop of residents needed housing. Returning GI’s started a new boom for housing. By 1947 the construction of Levittown changed America’s notion of suburbs. Veterans of World War II received a better deal, as well as, government backed loans. The suburban movement spread from west to east across Long Island – this was opposite to the original settling of Long Island when Suffolk County had been populated first. Almost all the farm land in Nassau County was soon sold off and more homes were built for an ever-growing suburban- hungry population. By the 1940’s middle class African Americans were looking for homes in the suburbs. Unfortunately they were not given the same opportunities as their white counterparts. This development in Jamaica appealed to families of color who were looking for suburban living. Additional suburban communities were built to house families that had often been steered away from white suburban neighborhoods. Housing on Long Island soon took over what had been farmland and grazing areas. This photograph off of Southern State Parkway, South Farmingdale, late 1950’s, shows how suburban sprawl changed the landscape. By the middle of the 20th century, Long Island was home to over a million people and the suburbs were more than sleepy villages loosely connected by small roads. Major parkways, train lines and expressways, as well as major airports moved all these people in and out of New York City, as well as, around Long Island. The landscape of Long Island has been completely changed by all of those who live, work and play here. The island’s 7.8 million people have built structures like homes, roads and bridges; formed parks and protected sea shores; and used the resources that surround us. It is extremely important that future generations think sensibly about the impact of the use of our environment so that it will be here for generations to come.