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Prohibition agents examine barrels of booze found on a rumrunner seized by a Coast Guard cutter. Photo from the Library of Congress

On Saturday afternoon, Aug. 22, 1931, William Fillbach was sitting in his car, which was parked on the ferry dock at Port Jefferson, waiting to serve a warrant on a man due there at 5:30 p.m.

An investigator for the Suffolk County District Attorney, Fillbach was turning the pages of a newspaper when he caught a glimpse of a boat being hauled out of the water and on to the ways of the Port Jefferson (aka Long Island) Shipyard at the foot of Main Street.

The rumrunner Artemis was hauled out of the water and on to the ways of the Port Jefferson Shipyard shown at the foot of the village’s Main Street. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

All Fillbach could read on the vessel were the letters “Art,” but they were enough for him to identify the boat as the notorious Artemis, a rumrunner that had disappeared following her heated battle with a Coast Guard cutter.

Fillbach climbed aboard the now high and dry craft, which had been moved into a shed, and carefully observed the scene. There was no contraband on the battered booze boat, but the bullet-riddled vessel was strewn with broken glass and three planks on her port side were smashed inward.

Fillbach learned that the crippled Artemis had been towed to Port Jefferson by the swordfisher Evangeline, but workers at the Port Jefferson Shipyard claimed not to know who owned the disabled craft, which bore no registration numbers, or who gave the orders to make her seaworthy.

Fearing that the mysterious smugglers might attempt to spirit the stranded Artemis out of Port Jefferson, Fillbach and five deputy sheriffs guarded the fugitive vessel until Sunday, Aug. 23, when a Coast Guard cutter took over the watch.

Just days before, on Thursday evening, Aug. 20, CG-808 was patrolling Long Island Sound, searching for suspected rumrunners. The cutter had sighted the 53-foot Artemis about two miles east of the Cornfield Point Lightship and commanded her to stop.

Although loaded down with illicit liquor, the speedy rumrunner answered by racing off into the darkness, propelled by her powerful Liberty aircraft engines that had been converted for marine use.

The Coasties gave chase and fired hundreds of shots at the fleeing craft, many hitting the mark. During the thick of the running battle, the agile Artemis suddenly turned about and rammed the 45-foot CG-808, forcing the severely damaged cutter to stop the pursuit and limp back to the Operating Base in New London, Connecticut.

Known as a ‘Six Bitter,’ a 75-foot Coast Guard patrol boat is docked at Port Jefferson’s Bayles Landing. During Prohibition, the government’s patrol boats waged a relentless war against rumrunners operating in local waters. Photo from the Michael F. Lee Collection

The rumrunners then landed on the beach three miles west of Orient Point, where two badly wounded men were taken off the speedboat and driven to Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport while the vessel’s prized cargo was quickly unloaded by swarms of willing local residents. 

Angered by the attack on CG-808, and miffed by the escape of the Artemis, Coast Guard officials brought in a private airplane and dispatched two patrol boats to locate the infamous rumrunner. Despite their best efforts, the Artemis was secreted away, stopping briefly in Mattituck Harbor for some patchwork before moving on to Port Jefferson for major repairs.

In the aftermath of the incident, the two crewmen who were aboard the Artemis and severely injured by gunfire from CG-808 were discharged from the hospital, both refusing to talk with the authorities.

The Artemis was seized by the United States Marshal, who claimed that her owners had an outstanding debt at the Gaffga Engine Works in Greenport. After the dispute was settled, the Artemis posted bond and quietly left Port Jefferson, much to the dismay of the Coast Guard.

Over the ensuing years, the Artemis changed hands and home ports several times, but never lost her reputation as a lawbreaker. In May 1935, the Coast Guard captured the Artemis off Chesapeake Bay and brought her to New York Harbor on suspicion of rumrunning, but without any evidence of illegality, the speedboat and her crew were released by the government.

Cases of Scotch Whisky fill the hold of a rumrunner captured by the Coast Guard. Photo from the Library of Congress

With the end of prohibition, the Artemis began a new, but less exciting career, running as a ferry between Bay Shore and Fire Island.

In Port Jefferson, however, the Artemis will always be remembered for bringing the rum war directly to the village.

Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson Village Historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.     

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The Frank Brush Barn

The Smithtown Historical Society presents its annual Fall Lecture Series at the Frank Brush Barn, 211 E. Main St., Smithtown on Oct. 5, 12 and 19 at 7 p.m.  All events are free but registration is required by visiting www.smithtownhistorical.org.

October 5th—Smithtown During World War II with SHS Vice-President Maureen Smilow

Join the Smithtown Historical Society’s Vice President and former Smithtown Social Studies teacher Maureen Smilow as she takes us back in time to World War II era Smithtown.  Learn how the citizens  of our town responded as they were inescapably drawn into the horrific events of the day.  Blackened headlights, Victory Gardens and hometown heroes: Smithtowners did their part to make the world safe for democracy.

October 12th—George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring, with Historian Bill Bleyer

Bill Bleyer, former prize-winning staff writer for Newsday, has written extensively about Long Island history for newspapers, magazines, and numerous books. His latest book focuses on the impact of George Washington’s Long Island-based “Culper Spy Ring,” and identifies Revolutionary War sites that remain today.

October 19th—The Lost Boys of Montauk with Journalist Amanda M. Fairbanks

Amanda M. Fairbanks is a journalist who has worked with The New York Times, HuffPost, and at The East Hampton Star, where she wrote investigative stories, features and profiles. Her debut novel is an account of a March 1984 tragedy at sea, when the commercial fishing boat Wind Blown left Montauk Harbor on a routine offshore voyage. The fate of the Wind Blown—the second-worst nautical disaster suffered by a Montauk fishing vessel in over a hundred years—has become interwoven with the local folklore of the East End. The story is a universal tale of family and brotherhood; when the dreams and ambitions of social classes collide.

For further information, please call 631-265-6768.

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Photo from TVHS

On Friday, October 1st at 5:00 p.m., as part of the final day of the Three Village Farmers Market, the Three Village Historical Society (TVHS) will lead a fun, family friendly, interactive presentation on the United States Flag Code, led by former Regent of the Anna Smith Strong Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution and current Trustee of the TVHS Board Holly Brainard. Complimentary US Flag Code booklets will be available for guests and TVHS will raffle off a new flag kit for all guests that sign up, in person, at the Three Village Farmers Market.

Children and adults will learn why the flag is important and how to properly handle the flag. Guests will learn other fun facts like what it means to turn a flag upside down and how to properly dispose of a flag.

The new flag drop box, that will be unveiled, was generously painted and donated by BSA Troop 2019 and will be maintained by BSA Troop 355. In conjunction with BSA Troop 355, TVHS will collect any torn or tattered flags, throughout the year, to properly dispose of (according to the US Flag Code) at a later date. The retired flag drop box will be available and accessible to all on the grounds of TVHS at 93 N. Country Road in Setauket.

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Huntington Supervisor Chad Lupinacci in front of Town Hall in October, 2018. Photo from Town of Huntington
Guided tour explores Huntington’s haunted history

Huntington Town Clerk Andrew Raia dares fearless residents and visitors to be his “ghost” for a Halloween fright when he opens All Hallow’s Month at the “Hauntington” Town Clerk’s Archives with a guided tour exploring Huntington’s haunted history throughout October.

From left, Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci presents an Archives Month proclamation to Town Archivist Antonia Mattheou and Town Clerk Andrew P. Raia in 2020. Photo from Town of Huntington

The educational event will kick off Archives Month on Friday, October 1 at 1:30 p.m. in the Town of Huntington Jo-Ann Raia Archives at Huntington Town Hall, 100 Main Street, Huntington and continue on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1:30 to 4 p.m. except Monday, October 11, when Town Hall is closed in observance of Columbus Day. Visitors will enjoy live interpretations of stories taken out of the town’s manuscript collection such as: 

— The Legend of Peace and Plenty Inn, and the ghost of Asa Chichester. 

— Nathan Hale, who was executed by the British in 1776. 

— Charles Kelsey, tarred and feathered in 1872. 

— Richard Latting, who was expelled from the Town for turbulent behavior and went on to purchase land on what is now the hamlet of Lattingtown.

— Jacob Conklin, who sailed with pirate Captain Kidd in 1690’s. Conklin was later chosen Town Supervisor on May 7, 1728 and Suffolk County Sheriff in 1734. 

Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci with Angelica Dee Cunningham in 2018. Photo from Town of Huntington

The area outside the Archives vault will be transformed to resemble the interior of the Peace and Plenty Inn’s main gathering room. The Archives vault will be transformed into a mausoleum, ornate with gravestones and flameless candle lights. Town employees will take turns portraying the characters described and the manuscripts associated with the stories will be on display.  

Visitors will also have a chance to review the Town Clerk’s current exhibit, “Farming in Huntington,” and see the manuscript collection housed in the repository. 

The Town Board ceremoniously renamed the Town of Huntington the Town of Hauntington for Halloween in 2018, 2019, and 2020, after 7-year-old Angelica Dee Cunningham wrote a letter to Supervisor Chad A. Lupinacci suggesting the new tradition. A similar resolution will be introduced at the October 13, 2021 Town Board meeting.

For more information, contact Town Clerk Andrew Raia at 631-351-3216 or the Archivist, Antonia Mattheou, 631-351-3035 or email: [email protected].  

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The steamship Nonowantuc, which ran from Bridgeport to Port Jefferson, 1884-1902, is shown underway in Port Jefferson harbor. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

On July 4, 1840, the diarist George T. Strong arrived in Port Jefferson for the holiday, not on a packet or other sailing ship, but on the Sun, the first in a succession of steamboats to make regular runs between New York City and the village.

In his account of the trip, Strong wrote that the Sun had left Manhattan at 8 a.m., stopped at Cow Harbor (Northport) and arrived in Drowned Meadow (Port Jefferson) at 2:30 p.m., all in all “a comfortable voyage.”

Excursion ticket for the steamer Favorite which sailed the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson route. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

The vessel had carried about 100 passengers who were entertained by a “cotillion band” that, according to Strong, had “squeaked, twanged, and tooted Hail Columbia.”

The Sun, which began serving Port Jefferson in spring 1840, was replaced during the ensuing years by a series of steamers including the Mt. Pleasant, Suffolk, Island Belle, Golden Gate and John Faron.

The steamships typically ran for three seasons but discontinued service during the winter months. Over time, Huntington and Stony Brook were added to the ports of call. Stages were made available in Port Jefferson to convey travelers to Old Mans (Mount Sinai), Miller Place and other locations. The Mt. Pleasant charged 50 cents for passage from New York City to Port Jefferson while the Suffolk priced tickets at 75 cents and the John Faron at $1.00. 

Long at the mercy of outsiders who had monopolized steam navigation on the sound, a group of prominent businessmen from Port Jefferson and the vicinity began talks in 1858 to incorporate the Long Island Steamboat Company as a way to exercise more local control over routes, schedules and fares.

Engraving of the steamship Ocean Wave from an 1860 stock certificate issued by the Long Island Steamboat Company. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

Led by investors Thomas Ritch, Reuben Wilson and Thomas Strong, the company purchased the sidewheeler Ocean Wave which started its trips between New York City and Port Jefferson in summer 1859.

In July 1860, the Ocean Wave struck a rock off Crane Neck, beached but safely landed her passengers. Although the steamer was repaired and returned to service the following month, low ridership led to the company’s bankruptcy and the sale of the Ocean Wave in a December 1861 auction.

Beginning with the Pioneer, a succession of steamboats followed the Ocean Wave. Often cited in the diary of Azariah H. Davis, the Sunbeam made the New York City run from 1867-1868 and the Mattano from 1868-1869, both sidewheelers stopping at Stony Brook. 

With the coming of the Long Island Rail Road to Port Jefferson in 1873, the public had a convenient means of traveling between the village and New York City other than on a steamboat. As business opportunities in one market came to an end, attention shifted to developing a steam ferry link between Port Jefferson and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The June 1860 schedule for the sidewheeler Ocean Wave which ran from New York City to Port Jefferson with a stop at Stony Brook. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

The steamer Brookhaven, known locally as the “Little Bedbug,” ran the Port Jefferson to Bridgeport route from 1872-1881 except for 1873-1874 when it was covered by the Spitfire. Besides carrying passengers, the steamships transported strawberries and other produce from then agricultural Long Island to industrial New England. 

Succeeding the Brookhaven, the 115-foot Favorite crossed the Sound from 1882-1883 and became well known for her special excursions to visit P.T. Barnum’s circus in Bridgeport and to see Jumbo the Elephant. 

The incorporation of the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company in 1883, followed by the beginning of ferry operations on the 120-foot steamer Nonowantuc in 1884, brought order, consistency and dependability to cross-Sound travel, a tradition of service which continues today. 

Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson Village Historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.     

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John Broven, left, celebrating the book’s launch with Larry Simon in Brooklyn. Image courtesy of John Broven

By John Broven

New York has been at the heart of international musical activity ever since the far-off days of Tin Pan Alley, from Broadway show songs through Brill Building pop to jazz, folk, mambo, doo wop, rock, disco, punk, rap/hip hop and other styles in between.

There was also a neighborhood blues scene. It has remained little known and scantily documented until now, with the publication of New York City Blues: Postwar Portraits From Harlem to the Village and Beyond by Larry Simon (University Press of Mississippi) which I have had the pleasure of editing. The period covered is from the 1940s through the 1990s.

The book’s cover (with guitarist Jimmy Spruill). Image courtesy of John Broven

For too long, New York has been under the shadow of major blues conurbations such as Chicago, Memphis and the West Coast. Many of the local artists made a familiar trek up the Eastern Seaboard, particularly from the Carolinas, as they escaped the segregated South looking for the bright lights of the big city.  

Simon, a Brooklyn-born guitarist, became interested in New York blues musicians in the 1980s after reading articles in Juke Blues, a highly respected British magazine. In search of new material, Paul Harris and Richard Tapp made trips with myself from England to the Big Apple in the mid-1980s through early ‘90s. The people we interviewed were hardly household names, certainly not to the public at large: Bob Gaddy, Larry Dale, Jimmy Spruill, Harlem record man Bobby Robinson, even songwriters Rose Marie McCoy and Doc Pomus — both of whom wrote hits for Elvis Presley.

Yet the Juke Blues stories struck a chord with Simon, so much so that he initiated a New York blues revival movement with Gaddy, Dale and Spruill, also Rosco Gordon (a famous Memphis R&B artist) and Dr. Horse (Al Pittman, who had been singing with the Ink Spots). Besides playing clubs in Manhattan and the Bronx, they even traveled to Europe to ecstatic reaction.

Realizing the importance of these artists and the stories they had to tell, Simon had the idea to write this first-ever book on the subject. “I had the foresight to interview the guys and have my photographer friend, Robert Schaffer, take pictures,” he said. “Thus began a 35-year odyssey that resulted in our just-published book, not to mention all our wonderful years of performing and touring.”

After I agreed to edit the book, which includes my scene-setting introduction, Harris and Tapp were brought on board. Harris contributed many photos mainly taken in the Harlem of the 1980s, while Tapp interviewed Bob Malenky, a guitarist with a fascinating story of New York’s underground blues activity. 

Larry Dale outside the Apollo Theatre, Harlem, 1986. Photo by Paul Harris.

At the last minute, we felt we needed a chapter on Tarheel Slim — another talented but overlooked East Coast blues guitarist. Step forward Val Wilmer, a noted U.K. jazz photographer and writer, who contributed her 1973 interview with Slim and his wife Little Ann, plus photographs. Then Wilmer came up with features on classic blues singer Victoria Spivey and country blues guitarist Larry Johnson.

Simon conducted last-minute interviews with important bluesmen Paul Oscher and John Hammond Jr., and with a location map designed by Debbi Scott Price, of Stony Brook, the book was ready to go.

While much of the New York blues activity was centered on Harlem, flowing out to Greenwich Village, the Bronx and Brooklyn, there was a respectable Long Island contingent. Local interviewees included record men Hy Weiss from Woodbury and Jerry Wexler from East Hampton, ballad heartthrob Arthur Prysock from Searington and Doc Pomus from Lynbrook. 

As a matter of interest, there is a Prysock exhibit on permanent display at The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook. Also featured in the book are no less than three photographs of the Celebrity Club in Freeport, a somewhat forgotten harbor of Black entertainment in the 1950s and ’60s. 

Said Tapp of his Malenky interview, “In the early ‘70s, Bob was a member of blues singer Charles Walker’s band. It was a hand-to-mouth existence with gigs being played in small Black neighborhood clubs in areas like the South Bronx and out onto Long Island where Malenky recalled clubs in Roslyn, Wyandanch and Huntington Station. They were tough times but, looking back, Malenky said he was proud of his association with Walker and I’m pleased that the story has now been told.”

Other people covered include saxophonist Noble “Thin Man” Watts and his wife June Bateman (a supremely soulful singer), the Rev. Gary Davis (the guitar maestro), Billy Bland (hit recorder of “Let The Little Girl Dance”) and Billy Butler (a master guitarist of “Honky Tonk” fame, an instrumental known to almost every working band). 

Sadly, time has caught up with almost every interviewee in the book, except Hammond and Malenky, so New York City Blues champions their memory rather than attempts to revive a long-gone scene. Moreover, Oscher, who once played harmonica with the famed Muddy Waters blues band, and photographer Harris both sadly died in April just prior to the book’s publication.

It is hoped that musicians of all ages will find suitable inspiration from the trendsetting artists who operated in the different and difficult social circumstances that bred the blues. Others can immerse themselves in YouTube to discover yet another stylistic element of the many timeless sounds of New York as they devour the words of pioneering blues people, record men and songwriters.  

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New York City Blues by Larry Simon, edited by John Broven, is available from usual book sources including Amazon.com. Broven is a member of the TBR News Media editorial staff and lives in East Setauket.

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Event will feature Newsman and TV Host John Quiñones, Chicana Author and Poet Angelica Maria.

Suffolk County Community College will celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month to recognize the achievements and contributions of Hispanic Americans with a robust schedule of guest speakers and events across the college’s three campuses.

“Our community and our nation are strengthened by the contributions of our Hispanic leaders and citizens,” said Suffolk County Community College President Edward T. Bonahue. “Everyone at Suffolk is proud to join in celebrating and honoring the heritage of our Hispanic communities.”

“These programs and activities provide the opportunity to learn about the richness of the Latinx community through the arts and sharing important traditions. Suffolk is proud to bring the community together to celebrate the many cultures that Hispanic Heritage Month represents,” said Suffolk County Community College Chief Diversity Officer/Title IX Coordinator Christina Vargas.

Second-generation Chicana writer, poet and internationally touring artist Anjelica Maria will highlight the beauty and struggles of the Latinx culture through storytelling, poetry and music, share her journey and show others how to manifest their dreams into reality. The California artist’s presentation will be in person and livestreamed from Suffolk’s Van Nostrand Theater on the Michael J. Grant Campus in Brentwood on Monday October 4 at 12:30 p.m.

John Quiñones, the Mexican-American newsman and television host of What Would You Do? will share his journey about how he turned disadvantages into assets and achieved his ambitions. John views a greater, stronger America built upon our dynamic cultural diversity. With a call to “build bridges, not walls,” he celebrates our differences as a powerful force and a proud part of our shared American character. Quiñones’ virtual presentation will be on Tuesday, October 5.

On Tuesday October 26, Taino-Borikua writer Ra Ruiz Leon and Weyhan Smith from Long Island’s Shinnecock Tribe present Healing Through our Heritage.  The program will present the similarities between the Latinx and Native American people.

About Hispanic Heritage Month

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 15, by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.

The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. In addition, Mexico and Chile celebrate their independence days on September 16 and September18, respectively. Also, Columbus Day or Día de la Raza, which is October 12, falls within this 30-day period. – Source: https://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about/

Latinx Hispanic Heritage Month Events

  • Week of September 27th- Bienvenidos y Celebramos! (Welcome and Let’s Celebrate)

o   A display celebrating and honoring Latinx contributions, voices, dreams, and successes will be featured in the Nook of the Babylon Student Center on the Ammerman Campus, Selden.

  • Monday, October 4th – My People, My Power: Celebrating Latinx Heritage

12:30pm, Van Nostrand Theater

Angelica Maria, second-generation Chicana writer, poet and internationally touring artist from Los Angeles, CA will highlight the beauty and struggles of the Latinx culture. Through storytelling, poetry, and music, Angelica will share her journey and show others how to manifest their dreams into reality.

  • Tuesday, October 5th – 4:30 p.m. (virtual)
    Tri Campus Multicultural Featured Speaker-John” Quiñones 

John” Quiñones is an American ABC News correspondent and the current host of “What Would You Do?”  “What Would You Do” Uses hidden cameras, to explore how ordinary people behave when they are confronted with dilemmas that require them to take action or walk by and mind their own business.

  • Wednesday, October 6th – Tri Campus Multicultural Affairs and Campus Activities Board Collaboration presents Loteria –

Loteria is the Spanish word for lottery, a favorite pastime across Mexico and Latin communities for generations and growing in popularity all over the world. Students are invited to tune-in to a Zoom live-stream with a professional comedian host. Every Loteria game includes four chances to win and $200 in cash prizes! Winners receive their prize money directly to their PayPal accounts. Zoom information is forthcoming from artist/agency.

  • Wednesday, October 13th – The Who Am I Series Features: Café Con Las Tias

2 p.m., Conference Room 319 of the William Lindsay Building on the Ammerman Campus, Selden.

Engage in discussion and have some café with your Ammerman Tias, Deans Tania Velazquez and Katherine Aguirre. Discussion with students will include transitioning back to campus and how the College can support you. Light refreshments will be served. Space is limited. Registration is required. For more information, please contact Malika Batchie Lockhart at [email protected]

  • Thursday, October 21st – Representando!- Exploring and Celebrating Authenticity Through Latinx Culture 6-7:30 p.m. (virtually)

This celebration of Latinx/ Hispanic heritage will feature author Sulma Arzu-Brown and Afro Cuban Dance Company Echualaibode.

Sulma is the author of several books including the bilingual book Bad Hair Does Not Exist/Pelo Malo No Existe! Sulma is also an entrepreneur, executive director of the Garifuna Coalition, and vice president of operations for the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. This program will feature an in-depth look about how to effectively and courageously dive into one’s own culture. This session dives into Sulma’s unique cultural journey as a Garifuna and Afro-Latina.  Discussion how authenticity is tied to one’s career advancement will also be explored. This celebration will also feature dance instruction from acclaimed Afro Cuban dancer Hansell Echualaibode.

All students who attend will receive a gift and have a chance to win copies of Sulma Arzu Browns books- Bad Hair Does Not Exist/Pelo Malo No Existe and My Hair Comes With Me..: shifting the Paradigm of What Success Looks like (No Pelo Malo Collection)

Zoom Meeting ID: 839 5442 2069
Passcode: represent

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Walt Whitman Birthplace
Join the Huntington Historical Society for its virtual October Lunch & Learn event on Thursday, Oct. 7 at noon as Walt Whitman Birthplace Association Executive Director Cynthia Shor and Docent Iris Jumper offers a virtual tour of the home where Walt Whitman was born in 1819. Afterwards, they will offer a virtual presentation of the permanent exhibit in the Interpretive Center by commenting on the panels which depict Walt’s life in his later years. The presentation will last 45 minutes with time for commentary and Q&A from participants.
Suggested donation is $10.
Your donations will help the Society continue to preserve and share the history of Huntington!

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The Long Island Museum, 1200 Route 25A, Stony Brook welcomes Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Bill Bleyer on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. for a discusses the true story of the Culper Spy Ring that helped to win the Revolutionary War and George Washington’s earlier attempts at gathering intelligence including Nathan Hale as detailed in his newly released book “George Washington’s Long Island Spy Ring: A History and Tour Guide.” (The History Press, 2021)

After the book discussion, enjoy a final opportunity to see the newly discovered Culper Spy letter while it is still on vie. The handwritten letter that is dated November 8, 1779, and is from Benjamin Tallmadge (using his alias, John Bolton) to Robert Townsend (alias, Samuel Culper Jr.) is the only known surviving letter between the two.

The program, which will take place in the Carriage Museum’s Gillespie Room, is free with museum admission, but pre-registration is strongly recommended due to capacity limits.

Please note: Your spot will not be guaranteed until you are contacted by the education department to confirm your registration. All attendees are required to be fully vaccinated to attend this live program. Based upon current health determinations, the program may need to switch to a virtual format if needed. For more information, call 631-751-0066 or visit www.longislandmuseum.org.

Register Here!

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A trolley from the Suffolk Traction Company is shown in Patchogue. Although track was laid along Port Jefferson’s Main Street, Suffolk Traction never ran a streetcar in the village. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

Port Jefferson was not immune to the trolley fever that swept the United States during the late 19th century.

Orange T. Fanning, Thomas O’Donnell, Charles E. Tooker and other prominent village businessmen met in 1895 and called for the construction of an electric trolley line that would cross Long Island from Port Jefferson on the Sound to Patchogue on the Great South Bay.

According to its supporters, the proposed trolley would provide a connection with the Port Jefferson ferry that sailed to Bridgeport, Connecticut; increase tourism among day-trippers; and carry passengers from the Sound to the Bay in less than one hour.

The project’s cheerleaders also claimed the trolley would enrich property owners along the line and improve transportation by intersecting with the LIRR’s stations at Patchogue, Waverly (Holtsville) and Port Jefferson.

Note the trolley tracks. A procession leaves Athena Hall, crosses Port Jefferson’s Main Street and marches up Spring Street for the 1914 cornerstone laying ceremonies at Port Jefferson High School. Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

Seeing enormous profits in the trolley venture, parties from Long Island, New York City and Bridgeport organized the Patchogue and Port Jefferson Traction Company on Jan. 29, 1896.

Port Jefferson Traction announced that its 14-mile trolley road would be finished and in operation by April 1, 1903, but several factors kept the project from moving ahead.

Confronted by the high costs of equipment and materials, the corporation delayed work waiting for prices to fall. Word that New Haven, Connecticut, might run a steamboat to Port Jefferson and link with the trolley worried investors in Bridgeport who had backed Port Jefferson Traction’s scheme. 

Arguments also arose over the trolley’s hours of operation, rate of speed, type of roadbed and method of power. The streetcar’s proponents quarreled over whether the line should be built from Patchogue to Port Jefferson or vice versa. 

Mired in endless trolley talk, Port Jefferson Traction was acquired by the Central Long Island Electric Light and Railroad Company. Chartered on Dec. 17, 1903, the new corporation amended the proposed Patchogue-Port Jefferson route to include a Setauket-Stony Brook branch line. The organization also sought to build a power plant in Port Jefferson and develop land in an envisioned “Jefferson Manor” section of Echo.

Notwithstanding its glowing prospectus, Central Long Island never ran a streetcar in Port Jefferson, opening the door for the Suffolk Traction Company and its plans for a Cross Island trolley road.

Incorporated on June 27, 1906, Suffolk Traction soon became embroiled in legal disputes with its competitors over franchises, the LIRR over grade crossings and property owners over condemnation proceedings.

When the court battles finally ended and construction actually began, Suffolk Traction diverted resources that had been earmarked for Port Jefferson to expanding service on the South Shore. As a result, track was not laid along Port Jefferson’s Main Street (Route 25A) until 1909-13, but by then it was too late. Even discounting the years lost to inactivity and sporadic work, the trolley plan was already doomed in the village.

A self-propelled crane enters Port Jefferson’s Bayles Shipyard, East Broadway, April 1918. The crane arrived by the LIRR and then steamed down to the waterfront traveling on the Suffolk Traction Company’s trolley rails and temporary tracks. Photo by Arthur S. Greene; Photo from the Kenneth C. Brady Digital Archive

Automobiles were revolutionizing travel, giving Long Islanders the freedom to explore the open road and making them less dependent on public transit. In addition, Suffolk Traction was facing competition from faster buses that carried passengers between Port Jefferson and Patchogue on the “Auto Trolley Line.”

While managing to run a battery-powered streetcar between Patchogue and Holtsville, a bankrupt Suffolk Traction ceased operations in 1919.

Although the trolley never ran in Port Jefferson, the existing tracks were supplemented by temporary rails and used during World War I to move a self-propelled crane downhill from Port Jefferson’s LIRR station to Bayles Shipyard on the village’s waterfront. 

The rusting trolley tracks, viewed as a nuisance by Port Jefferson’s motorists and pedestrians, were torn up as improvements were made along Route 25A, although rails were still visible at the foot of the village’s Main Street as late as September 1956.

Kenneth Brady has served as the Port Jefferson Village Historian and president of the Port Jefferson Conservancy, as well as on the boards of the Suffolk County Historical Society, Greater Port Jefferson Arts Council and Port Jefferson Historical Society. He is a longtime resident of Port Jefferson.     

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