On a bluff overlooking Cold Spring Harbor and Long Island Sound, a sprawling Gold Coast mansion occupies the site of Fort Franklin, a British military […]
Author: Crazy Facts About Long Island
New York’s First Drive-In Opened in Valley Stream and Helped Build CBS and Paramount’s Media Empire
The family business that eventually controlled CBS, Paramount Pictures and Viacom had an early connection to a drive-in movie theater in Valley Stream. The Sunrise […]
Baldwin’s Grand Railroad Station Opened in 1917 and Was Demolished 40 Years Later
An archival photograph in the New York Public Library’s collection carries the rather unhelpful title “A Rural Station on Long Island.” The building, with its […]
The True Story of Captain Kidd’s Buried Treasure on Gardiners Island
In June 1699, Captain William Kidd stopped at Gardiners Island, between Long Island’s North and South forks, and left behind gold, silver, jewels and other […]
Indian Rock: The Giant Boulder That May Have Given Rocky Point Its Name
On Sam’s Path near Hallock Landing Road in Rocky Point stands an enormous boulder known as Indian Rock, a geological landmark with an estimated age […]
Historic Cold Spring Harbor Lighthouse Was Sold for $1 in 1965 and Moved to a Backyard
Cold Spring Harbor Lighthouse spent 75 years guiding ships around a dangerous shoal on Long Island’s North Shore before being retired in 1965. The wooden […]
Long Island Once Had an Electric Trolley That Connected the North and South Shores
Long Island once had an electric trolley that carried passengers from Huntington Harbor to the Great South Bay, connecting the North and South Shores along […]
A 1908 Oyster House in West Sayville Is One of Long Island’s Most Unusual Historic Landmarks
A small wooden building on the grounds of the Long Island Maritime Museum in West Sayville is one of the few surviving examples of the […]
The First Nonstop Flight Across America Took Off From Long Island in 1923
On May 2, 1923, two U.S. Army pilots took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island and completed the first nonstop flight across the continental […]
Crazy Facts About the Early Days of Long Island’s Railroads
The Long Island Rail Road dates to 1834, but the railroad system that developed across Long Island during the 19th century was considerably more complicated […]