I read an article in the local paper today that the Museums at Stony Brook will be having a feature from May 15th through October 15th on the Lighthouses of Long Island to celebrate the 200th birthday of lighthouses in this area.
The showing will include the original architectural drawing of Eatons Neck as well as some info on the Shinnecock Canal LH which is long gone.
I'm doing this from memory so I will update this as I get more facts.


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Long Island BOB





[This message has been edited by rscroope (edited 04-30-99).]

Hi Bob,

I just E-mailed you about an hour ago.

Thanks for posting the info on the Museums @ Stony Brook. You can bet I'll be there at least twice!!

Hi LI Bob,

This sounds like an interesting program. MJ & I will have to take the ferry from New London this summer and see it.

I'll never forget the first time that we took the ferry over to Long Island (just a few years ago) for a friend's wedding. We were expecting to see a large city or urban area when the ferry docked. To our surprise we found beautiful farms and fields of grapes, pumpkins, potatos and fresh vegetables. Many roadside stands, wineries and gorgeous countryside.

We stayed overnight and had the good fortune of lighthousing on the island. The lighthouses are so varied in style and size. We visited Horton Point, Eatons Neck, Fire Island, Montauk and , of course, saw Orient Point (the Teapot) near where the ferry docks.

Thanks again Bob for the information on this program at The Museums at Stony Brook. I look forward to making the trip this summer. Maybe we'll see you there.

Ron

Here's the Museums at Stony Brook's website.
Not a lot of info yet but directions, etc.

http://www.museumsatstonybrook.org/exhibition.htm

Here's some special events:
(make sure you check the year-events in June and hopefully more added for July-October)
http://www.museumsatstonybrook.org/calendar.cfm

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Long Island BOB





[This message has been edited by rscroope (edited 05-04-99).]

Hi Folks,

Since I was fortunate enough to be invited to the opening of this exhibit, and know a little about the subject, I thought I'd atke the liberty of offering a few comments on the exhibit at Stony Brook.

If you don't know much about LI lights, this exhibit is a nice, albeit unbalanced, introduction. There are nice artifacts from several lights, mostly Montauk and Fire Island. George Washington's personal involvement in some of the lights is noted, and many original documents and plans are on exhibit. The knock is that some of the "lesser" lights haven't been treated as much as they should have been.

To the more interested LI lighthouse person, a few flaws scream out. First, the "fourth order" lens is a fifth order. Major oops. Second, the picture of the Race Rock is a drawing of the proposed light, not the actual one. The actual 1878 light, which still stands, is similar to the one at Stratford Shoal. While the original concept was a nifty-looking octagonal plan, it never was built (I believe I discuss this on the Race Rock page on my site). Another oops appeared in the tour we were given by the the exhibit's curator. It involves the female keeper at the Horton Point light. While I don't remember the exact circumstances offhand, this woman did not immediately succeed her father as keeper.

The Shinnecock light was treated fairly, including a nice painting and plans.

The Cedar Island light, one of my favorites, was practically ignored. This is a shame, and a missed opportunity, as that light is in desparate need of publicity if it is to be saved. Shame on the Museums for this one.

The Gardiner's Island light, which existed from 1854 to 1894, was only represented by a set of plans. Fortunately, they were the right plans. With a little more work, however, the Museums should have been able to get copies of the 1875 sketch from New Orleans, of which I have copies. These sketches are not on my web site, due to copyright considerations, but I do hope to have them in my book.

While my criticisms might seem harsh, keep in mind that I am nitpicking. I do heartily recommend visiting the exhibit. There are artifacts there that few will ever have the chance to view again. I plan on returning several times between now and its closing on October 31.

Keep in mind that the Stony Brook exhibit is not the only Long Island lighthouse activity on the island. There are others listed on my site. Thanks for tolerating my long-windedness. :-)

Bob Muller
Stony Brook, NY
wildbird99@aol.com
www.longislandlighthouses.com

To activate the URL...

[This message has been edited by JChidester (edited 05-31-99).]

Hi Bob,

Your Long Island site is really an exciting one. I really liked the info and pictures about the ferry around all the lights on Long Island. Would you please give information so that those interested can call and find out about 2000 trip.

I will go back to the site when I have longer to visit. Thanks for all your info.

Derith

Hi Derith,

The East End Seaport Annual Cruise was great. We saw the Orient Point, Plum Island, Little Gull, Race Rock, North Dumpling, Cedar Island and Long Beach Bar (Bug) lights. We also cruised past the site of the old Gardiner's Island light.

I think the narration went well. Dr. Wiggin had some interesting new information about US history to tell. He has found some evidence that the first battle of the American Revolution may have been at Plum Gut, and he told us a bit about that. And, of course, he is THE expert on the Bug Light. I read excerpts from the call for proposals for the original light at Plum Island (August, 1826) and excerpts from a journal written during the building of the wall at Little Gull in 1817. Neither of these documents is well-known, and you won't find them anywhere else at present (although I do hope to transcribe the journal later this year and put excerpts on my site). The interesting part about these two pieces is that they were written by the same man. The 1817 journal was written while a 21 year old Tom Dering was a member of the crew that built the wall. The call for proposals for the Plum Island light was written by Mr. Dering when he was the local Superintendent of Light-Houses.

I also spoke about the history of the Gardiner's Island light, and the involvement of the Gardiner family in LI lighthouse history, and the Cedar island light. I think the folks who went on the cruise got their money's worth. Especially when you add the free food and drink, the lovely weather and the raffling of great prizes.

After the cruise, a few folks joined me at the Horton Point light, where we discussed the history of that light and I showed them some documents from my personal files, such as surveys of Cedar Island and sketches of the Gardiner's Island light. The Horton Point light and museum were closed, but next year I intend to try to work out a deal with Cliff Benfield to see if we can have the light open late that day as a nice add-on for the cruise folks.

If you're interested in next year's cruise, call the East End Seaport at 516-477-2121. I don't know when they'll be taking reservations, but I'd call and find out if you're interested. Joining the foundation would probably enhance your chances of getting a spot.

And don't forget the July 31 cruise to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Orient Point light. It's not as extensive, but it should be fun.

Bob Muller
Stony Brook, NY
wildbird99@aol.com
www.longislandlighthouses.com

[This message has been edited by Wildbird99 (edited 06-10-99).]

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KRISTIN ERIN SCROOPE
kristin@scroope.net
http://www.scroope.net/lighthouses/lhlist.htm
http://www.LILighthouseSociety.org