Fort Schuyler

A United States military post, which forms one of the defenses to the northern entrance to the harbor of New York. The post was established in 1856, although the fortification was begun in 1833. The reservation comprises 62 acres, on Throg's Neck, Long Island Sound, 3 1/2 miles from Westchester, which is the post-office and telegraph station. There are quarters for 9 officers and 120 men.

Fort Totten

This post, for many years the headquarters of the United States Battalion of Engineers, was established in 1862, and was originally called Willets Point. The reservation comprises 136 acres on the East River at the western end of Long Island Sound, two and one-half miles from Whitestone. The post-office and telegraph station is Willets Point, N.Y. It is one of the defenses of the northern entrance to New York Harbor. There are quarters for five companies of artillery.

Fire Island, or Great South Beach

A low spit of sand, about 50 miles long but broken by inlets, almost 40 miles southeast of New York City (Map ; New York, G 5 ). It separates the Great South Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. On its western end is a lighthouse of the first order ; also a station from which transatlantic steamers bound for New York are first sighted. The beach is a popular summer resort. Margaret Fuller Ossoli, with her husband and child, perished by shipwreck on Fire Island in 1850.

Garden City

A village in Nassau County, N.Y., about 20 miles from New York, on the Long Island Railroad. It was projected by A.T. Stewart as a model suburban village and is the seat of the Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Long Island, with the cathedral schools of Saint Paul's and Saint Mary's. The Cathedral of the Incarnation is a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, erected by Mrs. Stewart in honor of her husband. It has a magnificent organ, one of the largest in the world, that cost $100,000.

Gardiner's Island

A portion of Suffolk County, N.Y., lying five miles off Long Island on the south side of the east entrance of Long Island Sound, in the bay formed by the two arms of Long Island. It has an area of 3300 acres. It has been the property of the Gardiner family ever since the white settlement of the country. It was on this island that the noted pirate (or privateer) Captain Kidd secreted much of his treasure, which was afterwards discovered and appropriated. There is a lighthouse on the north side of the island.

Oyster Bay

A town, popular both as a residence place and as a summer resort, in Nassau County, N.Y., 30 miles northeast of New York City, situated on the northern coast of Long Island, on a deep sheltered bay, opening into Long Island Sound. A line of steamboats and a branch of the Long Island Railroad connect Oyster Bay with New York. The town offers attractions of fine scenery, and facilities for boating, bathing, and fishing. It has many handsome residences and a public library. The principal industry is oyster cultivation. The government is administered by town meetings, held every two years. Population, in 1890, 13,870; in 1900, 16,334. Within the limits of Oyster Bay is the village of Sea Cliff. Population, in 1900, 1558. Oyster Bay is the home of President Roosevelt.

"Here the Seawanhaka Yacht club has it's handsome clubhouse." "About the year 1653 a company of 10 persons, mostly from Sandwich, Mass. purchased a tract of land from the Matinnicock Indians and began a settlement on the site of the present village." (NYT May 30, 1897)

Long Island City

Formerly a city in Queens County, N.Y. (in the district bordering East River and north of Newtown Creek), now included in the Borough of Queens, New York City. Long Island City was formed in 1870 by uniting the villages of Blissville, Hunter's Point, Astoria, Ravenswood, Dutch Kills, Steinway, and Middletown under one municipal charter. The first settlement within its limits was made by the Dutch as early as 1640. Consult: Kelsey, History of Long Island City (Long Island City, 1896).

Long Island Sound

A narrow arm of the Atlantic Ocean, separating Long Island from the mainland of New York and Connecticut. It is 110 miles long, and from 20 to 25 miles wide, narrowing at the west into the strait known as East River, separating Manhattan from Brooklyn and Queens boroughs, New York City, and opening into New York Bay. It opens into the Atlantic by a passage called the Race through a chain of islands running obliquely across from Long Island toward Rhode Island. The Connecticut, Housatonic, Thames, and Mystic rivers flow into Long Island Sound from the north. The Connecticut shore is rocky, skirted by reefs; that of Long Island is more easy of approach, and there are many moderately good and one or two excellent harbors. The narrow and rock-bound passage in the East River known as "Hell Gate" made this route unavailable for large vessels until the work of removing the rocks was completed by the United States Government in 1885. (see Hell Gate). The Sound is navigated by numerous coasting steamers and sailing vessels. The entrance to the East River is guarded by Fort Schuyler, on Throgg's Neck.

Hempstead

A village in Nassau County, N.Y., about 20 miles east of New York City; on the Long Island Railroad. Its principal interests are in farming and market gardening, though there are some manufacturing establishments. The village is a popular suburb of New York, and has the Hempstead Institute. Camp Black was established here during the war with Spain, as an encampment for State troops. The water-works are owned by the municipality. Hempstead was settled by New Englanders in 1643. The Presbyterian Church, organized the following year, claims to be the oldest Presbyterian society in the country. Population, in 1900, 3582. Consult: Onderdonk, The Annals of Hempstead, 1643-1832 (Hempstead, 1878).

Huntington

A town, including several villages in Suffolk County, N.Y., 30 miles east by north of New York City, on Long Island Sound and on the Long Island Railroad. It is in a fertile agricultural district and has manufactures of brick and pottery, but is primarily a residential suburb of New York and a popular summer resort. There are a public library of 3500 volumes and a monument marking the spot where Nathan Hale was captured. The government is administered by town meetings, which are held biennially. Population, in 1890, 8277; in 1900, 9483.

Islip

A town in Suffolk County, N.Y., 40 miles east of New York City, on Great South Bay, and on the Long Island Railroad. It is about 20 miles in length and 10 miles in width, comprising a number of villages. Islip is a summer resort with many costly residences. Great South Bay, attractive for sailing, is frequented also at other seasons for fishing and hunting. Within the limits of the town are the Manhattan State Hospital, Saint Joseph's Convent, and a fish hatchery. Another point of interest is the Fire Island Lighthouse, 166 feet high. Blue Point oysters are shipped in great quantities. The government is vested in a supervisor, elected biennially, and a town board, made up of the justices of the peace, town, clerk, and the supervisor. Population in 1890, 8783; in 1900, 12,545.

East Hampton

A town in Suffolk County, N.Y., at the eastern end of Long Island, on the Long Island Railroad, 102 miles from New York. It is noted for its picturesqueness, and is a popular summer resort. It was the home of John Howard Payne. Clinton Academy, incorporated in 1784, is situated here. At the neighboring Montauk Point, owing to the healthfulness of the situation, an army camp was established after the Spanish American War. The government is administered by town meetings, held every two years. The town, settled in 1649, came under the jurisdiction of Connecticut in 1657 and under that of New York in 1664. During the Revolution it was frequently pillaged by the English. Population (town including part of Sag Harbor village), in 1890, 2431; in 1900, 3746. Consult: Hedges, History of the Town of East Hampton (Sag Harbor, 1897); and Gardener, Records of East Hampton (4 vols., Sag Harbor, 1886-89).

Shelter Island

"There is historical authority for the statement that in olden times the Manhanset Indians, who occupied it called it Manhansack Ahaquashuwamock, or "island sheltered by islands," which fittingly describes its geographical position. The name of Shelter Island is commonly believed to commemorate the fact that it afforded shelter for the Quakers when they were driven from New England." (NYT May 30, 1897)