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LONG ISLAND

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Originally appearing in Volume V16, Page 984 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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LONG See also:ISLAND , an island, 118 m.'long and 12 to 23 M. wide, with its See also:axis E.N.E. and W.S.W., roughly parallel with the S. See also:shore of Connectictit, U.S.A., from which it is separated by Long Island See also:Sound (115 m. long and 20-25 M. wide) and lying S.E. of the mainland of New See also:York See also:state,' of which it is a See also:part, and immediately E. of Manhattan Island. See also:Area, 1682 sq. m. The See also:east end is divided into two narrow peninsulas (the .See also:northern culminating in Orient Point ' about 25 M. long, the See also:southern ending in Montauk Point, the eastern extremity of the island, about 40 M. long) by the three bays, See also:Great Peconic, Little Peconic (in which lies Shelter Island), and Gardiners (in which lies Gar-diners Island). The N. shore is broken in its western See also:half by the fjords of See also:Flushing See also:Bay, Little See also:Neck Bay, Manhasset Bay, See also:Cold See also:Spring Harbor, See also:Huntington Bay (nearly landlocked), Smithtown Bay and See also:Port See also:Jefferson Harbor, which also is nearly landlocked. East of Port Jefferson the N. shore is comparatively unbroken. The S. shore has two bays; See also:Jamaica Bay with many See also:low islands and nearly cut off from the ocean by the narrow See also:spur of Rockaway See also:Beach; and the See also:ill-defined Great See also:South Bay, which is separated from the See also:Atlantic by the narrow Long Beach, See also:Jones Beach and See also:Oak Island Beach, and by-the long See also:peninsula (35 or 40 m.), called See also:Fire Island or Great South Beach. Still farther E. and immediately S. of Great Peconic-Bay is Shinnecock Bay, about to m. long and cut off from the ocean by a narrow beach. The N. See also:side of the island was largely built by deposits along the' front of the See also:continental See also:glacier, and its See also:peculiar See also:surface is due to suchdeposits. At See also:Astoria the dark See also:gneiss See also:bed See also:rock is visible. The S. half of the island is mostly built of a See also:light sandy or loamy See also:soil and is . low, except for the hills (140-195 ft.) of Montauk peninsula, which are a part of the " back-See also:bone " of the island elsewhere See also:running through the centre from E. to W. and reaching its highest point in its western extremity, Oakley's High See also:Hill (384 ft.) and Hempstead H'Lrbor Hill, W. of which are the See also:flat and fertile Hempstead Plains. See also:North of the back-bone or central See also:ridge the See also:country is hilly with glacial See also:drift and many boulders along the See also:coast and with soil stonier and more fertile than that of the" South Side." There is See also:good See also:clay at Whitestoneand at See also:Lloyd's Point on the north side. This north shore is comparatively well wooded; the See also:middle of the island is covered with stunted oaks and scrubby pines; the south side is a floral mean between the other divisions.

It is cut in its middle part by a few creeks and tidal See also:

rivers ' flowing into the Great South Bay. Another " See also:river," the Peconic, about 15 m. long, runs E. into Peconic Bay. On the north side there are few waterways See also:save Nissequoge river, partly tidal, which runs N. into Smithtown Bay. Near the centre of the island is See also:Lake Ronkonkoma, which is well below the level of the surrounding country, and whose deep cold See also:waters with their unexplained ebb and flow are said to have been so feared by the See also:Indians that they would not See also:fish there. There are See also:salt marshes (probably See also:loo sq. m. in all), on the shore of the Sound and of the Great South Bay. As regards its See also:fauna Long Island is a See also:meeting-See also:place for See also:equatorial and See also:arctic See also:species of birds and fish ; in See also:winter it is visited occasion-ally by the See also:auk and in summer sometimes by the See also:turkey See also:buzzard. See also:James E. DeKay in his botanical and zoological survey (1842-1849) of New York state estimated that on Long Island there were representatives of two-thirds of the species of See also:land birds of the See also:United States and seven-eighths of the See also:water birds-probably an exaggerated estimate for the See also:time and certainly not true now. There is See also:snipe and See also:duck See also:shooting, especially on the shores of the Great South Bay; there is good See also:deer See also:hunting, especially in See also:Islip See also:town; and there are several private preserves, some stocked with See also:English See also:game birds, within 50 m. of New York See also:City. There are many excellent See also:trout streams and the island was known in aboriginal times for its fresh and salt water fish. See also:Indian names referring to fishing places are discussed in Wm. W.

Tooker's Some Indian Fishing Stations upon Long Island. Long Island See also:

wampum was singularly good—the Indian name, Seawanhacky (Seawanhaka, &c.), of the island has been interpreted to mean " See also:shell See also:treasury "—and See also:black wampum was' made from the See also:purple part of the shell of the quahaug. Soft clams are dug on the north shore at low See also:tide and hard clams are found along the southern shore, where (at Islip) they were first sucdessfully canned; scallops and other small shell fish are taken, especially at the E. end of the island. But the most important shell See also:fishery is that of oysters. The famous See also:Blue Points grow in the Great South Bay, particularly at Sayville and Bellport, where See also:seed oysters planted from Long Island Sound develop into the Blue Points with characteristics of no other variety of See also:oyster. Farther See also:west; on the S. shore are grown the well-known Rockaway oysters. The New York State Fish See also:Commission has a hatchery at Cold Spring Harbor on the N. shore. The largest commercial See also:fisheries are on the. south side, in the ocean off Fire Island Beach, where there are great' " pounds " in which captured fish are kept alive before shipment to See also:market. Sag Harbor and East See also:Hampton on the E. end of the island were important whaling ports in the 18th See also:century and the first part of the , 19th, and they and other fishing villages afterward did a large business in the See also:capture of See also:menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus), a small See also:shad-like fish, which, following the See also:custom of the Indians, they manufactured into fertilizer. At Glen See also:Cove there are now great See also:starch factories. The west end of the island has been called New York's market, See also:garden. On the Hempstead Plains and immediately E. of them along the north shore great quantities of See also:cabbage and cucumbers are grown and manufactured into sauerkraut and pickles.

There are large See also:

cranberry See also:fields near the See also:village of Calverton, immediately W. of Riverhead. There are a few large farms on Long Island, mostly on the north side, but it is becoming more and more a place of suburban See also:residence. This See also:change is due in part to cool summer and warm winter winds from the ocean, which makes the See also:July mean temperature 68° to 7o° F. at the east end and the south side, and 72° on the north shore, as contrasted with 74° for the west end and New York City. The range of temperature is said to be less than in any other place in the United States with the exception of Corpus Christi (Tex.), See also:Eureka (See also:California), See also:Galveston (See also:Texas)., and See also:Key West (See also:Florida). Even on the south shore the humidity for See also:August and See also:September is less than that of any location on the Atlantic coast, or Los Angeles and See also:San Diego on the Pacific, according to Dr Le See also:Grand N. Denslow in a See also:paper, " The See also:Climate of Long Island " (1901). Surf-bathing on the south shore, G. K. See also:Gilbert, in an See also:article, " The Deflection of Streams " in the See also:American See also:Journal of See also:Science (See also:xxvii. 427-432), points' out that each of these streams is " bounded on the west or right side by a See also:bluff' 10 to 20 ft. high." 162o by James I. to the See also:Plymouth See also:Company and in 1635 was conveyed to See also:William See also:Alexander, See also:earl of See also:Stirling. The conflicting claims of English and Dutch were the subject of the treaty concluded at See also:Hartford, See also:Connecticut, in 1650, by which the Dutch were to hold everything west of Oyster Bay, the English every-thing east—a See also:provision which accomplished no agreement, since Oyster Bay itself was the See also:matter of contention, and English settlers on what the Dutch called the west side of Oyster Bay refused to remove. Long Island was included in the territory assigned to the See also:duke of York in 1663–1664, when the New See also:England towns on the island objected to separation from Connecticut.

On the recovery of New York by the Dutch in 1673 the eastern towns refused to submit to the Dutch See also:

governor. In 1674 by the treaty of See also:Westminster Long Island became a part of the See also:British See also:colony of New York. The Dutch settlements were more important ethnically than historically; on the west end of the Island the Dutch Reformed See also:Church is still strong and there are many Dutch names; at West Sayville, on the " south side," about 5o M. from New York, in a See also:settlement made about 1786 by Gustav Tukker, who did much to develop the oyster fisheries, See also:Holland Dutch was the See also:common speech until the last See also:quarter of the 19th century. The " Five Dutch Towns " were: Nieuw Amersfoord (after 18ot officially called Flatlands), on Jamaica Bay, where the first settlement was made about 1623 and the first See also:grant in 1636; Midwout (later Vlackte-See also:Bosch and Flat-See also:bush), settled between 1645 and 165o and having in 1654 the first Dutch church; Nieuw See also:Utrecht, settled soon after r6so and incorporated in 166o; Breuckelen (now See also:Brooklyn), which was settled a little before its organization as a town in 1646; and Boswijck (Bushwick), first settled by Swedes and Norwegians and incorporated in 166o. These five towns became one administrative See also:district in 1661. Apparently the earliest English settlement was at Hempstead in 164o by colonists from See also:Lynn, See also:Massachusetts, who based their claim on the patent (1621) of Nova See also:Scotia to See also:Lord Stirling, but were almost immediately driven out by the Dutch. In 1643 another English settlement was made at Hempstead by men from See also:Stamford, Connecticut, who in 1644 secured a patent from Governor Kieft of New Netherland. In 1645 Kieft granted land at , See also:Gravesend to See also:Lady See also:Deborah See also:Moody, who had settled there about 1643, when she had See also:left Lynn and the See also:Salem church because of her See also:anti-pedobaptist views. At Gravesend in 1664 See also:Colonel See also:Richard See also:Nicolls first landed the English troops which occupied the island; and in 1693 it became one of its three ports of entry. The Connecticut towns on Long Island were as follows: See also:Southampton was settled in 164o by the Lynn men driven out of Hempstead by the Dutch, and in 1644–1664 was in the Connecticut See also:jurisdiction. See also:Southold (the " South Hold of New Haven "), called from 1640 until 1644 by the Indian name Yennicock, had a church in 164o, and a See also:court based on the Levitical See also:law, which was abolished in 1643 upon the remonstrance of the authorities of New Haven. The Southold settlers were from See also:Hingham, See also:Norfolk and New Haven, and the colony joined New Haven in 1648, in which See also:year the colony of Forrett's (now Shelter) Island also submitted to New Haven.

See also:

Easthampton was settled in 1648 from Lynn. Oyster Bay was also settled by Lynn men in 164o and contested by the Dutch and English. New-town, officially called Middleburgh, was settled in 1652, See also:purchased from the Indians in 1656, " annexed to the other side of the Sound " in 1662, in the same year took the name of See also:Hastings, in 1706 was the See also:scene of the See also:arrest of the Presbyterian itinerants See also:Francis Mackemie and See also:John Hampton, and in 1766 was the site of the Methodist Episcopal Society at Middle Village, the second See also:oldest of that See also:denomination in See also:America. Huntington was settled in 1653 from New Haven, Hempstead, Southold and Southampton. Other See also:early settlements were: Jamaica, about 1657; Brookhaven,'first settled at See also:Ashford (now Setauket) from See also:Boston in 1655, and Smithtown, patented in 1677 to Richard See also:Smith of Setauket, who was said to be a soldier of See also:Cromwell, and of whom there is a See also:story that having bargained with the Indians for as much land as a See also:bull could See also:cover in a See also:day he rode his trained bull in a great See also:circuit about the land he coveted and See also:yachting and boating on the Sound, the Great South Bay and the Ocean, and hunting and fishing are attractions. At Garden City, See also:Nassau (Glen Cove), Great River and Shinnecock Hills are well-known See also:golf links; there are several See also:hunt clubs; and at Southampton are some of the best See also:turf See also:tennis-courts in the United States. Few parts of the island are summer resorts in the See also:ordinary use of the word; there are large hotels hardly anywhere save on Coney Island, at Far Rockaway, on Long Beach and on Shelter Island; and a large part of the summer See also:population lives in private mansions. Some Long Island " country places " are huge estates with game and fish preserves and luxurious " chateaux." The roads are good. The course of the See also:Vanderbilt automobile races is along the roads of the See also:Hemp-See also:stead Plains. Also on the Hempstead Plains are the Creedmoor See also:Rifle Range, where, in an Interstate See also:Park, E. of Jamaica, See also:annual See also:international rifle shooting tournaments for the championship of America were held until 19o9; Garden City, which was founded by A. T. See also:Stewart for the purpose of providing comfort-able homes at low cost to his employes and others, and where are the See also:Protestant Episcopal See also:Cathedral of the Incarnation, St See also:Paul's School for Boys and St See also:Mary's School for Girls; and, near Hempstead, the grounds of the Meadowbrook (hunt and See also:polo) See also:Club and those of the See also:Farm See also:Kennel Club.

The only railway is the Long Island Railroad (owned by the See also:

Pennsylvania See also:Rail-road) with western termini on Manhattan and in Long Island City and Brooklyn, whence lines meet at Jamaica, and thence three See also:principal lines See also:branch, the north shore to Wading River, the See also:main Iine to Greenport, and the south side to Montauk. Long Island is a part of New York State, its western third forming Brooklyn and Queens boroughs of New York City—these boroughs were formed respectively from See also:Kings See also:county and from the W. half of Queens county upon the erection of Greater New York. What was formerly the E. half of Queens county then became Nassau county (area 252 sq. m.; pop., in 19oo, 55,448, in 1905, 69,477), whose county-seat is Mineola. The eastern and the larger part of the island is the less thickly settled See also:Suffolk county with an area of 918 sq. m. and a population in 'goo of 77,582 and in 1905 of 81,653. The county-seat of Suffolk county is Riverhead, so named from its position at the See also:head of the Peconic river on the W. end of Great Peconic Bay. The ten townships of Suffolk county are large govern-See also:mental See also:units, showing, by their similarity to the towns of New England, the relation of the early settlers to New England. The largest in area is Brookhaven, which reaches all the way across the island near its central part. The townships of Suffolk county with their population in 1905 were: Huntington (10,236). See also:Babylon (7919), Smithtown (3325), Islip (13,721), Brookhaven (16,o5o), Riverhead (4950), Shelter Island (1105), Easthampton (4303), Southold (8989) and Southampton (11,024). The See also:total population of Long Island was 1,452,611 in 1900, and 1,718, 056 in 1905 (state See also:census), the population of the See also:borough of Brooklyn alone for these years being 1,166,582 and 1,358,686. See also:History.—The principal Indian tribes on Long Island at the time of the first settlement by the whites were the Montauk, on the eastern end of the island, where they gave their name to the " point " and where their last " See also:king," See also:David Pharoah, died in 1785; the Shinnecock, who, much admixed with See also:negro See also:blood, now live on the See also:reservation between See also:Canoe Place and Shinnecock Hills; the Manhasset, on what is now Shelter Island; the Patchogue, near the See also:present village of that name; the See also:Massa- pequa, between the Hempstead Plains and what is now Islip, who were defeated and practically exterminated in 1653 by John Underhill; the Canarsie, who lived near the present Jamaica; and on the north side the Nessaquague or Nissequoge (in the present town of Smithtown), and the Sealtocot who gave their name to Setauket in Brookhaven town. The first pastor of the church (Presbyterian-Congregational) at Easthampton, See also:Thomas James (c.

162o-1696), is supposed to have translated a See also:

catechism and parts of the See also:Bible into the See also:dialect of the Montauk, among whom See also:Samson Occum had a school between 1755 and 1765. The territory of Long Island was included in the grant of was thereafter known as " Bull " Smith. Almost all these English settlements were made by Presbyterians and from Jamaica east this was the prevailing denomination. During the See also:War of See also:Independence the See also:battle of Long Island (see below) was fought within what is now the borough of Brooklyn. Battle of Long Island, 1776.-The See also:interest of this battle lies in the fact that it was the first engagement in the See also:campaign of 1776 (see AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE) and was expected in England to be decisive of the contest in the colonies. After the evacuation of Boston (See also:March 1776), Lord See also:Howe moved against New York City, which he thought would afford a better See also:base of operations for the future. The Americans undertook its See also:defence although recognizing the difficulties in the See also:case, as the bay and rivers adjoining would enable the British See also:fleet to co-operate effectively with the See also:army. To protect his left flank See also:Washington was forced to throw a portion of his troops over to the Long Island side of the East river; they fortified themselves there on the site of the present Borough of Brooklyn. Lord Howe, who had encamped on Staten Island at the entrance to the See also:harbour, determined to attack this isolated left wing, and on the 22nd of August landed at Gravesend Bay, Long Island, with about 20,000 men. The Americans maintained strong outposts in the wooded hills in advance of their fortified lines. On the See also:morning of the 27th Howe, after four days' See also:reconnaissance, attacked these posts with three columns, the left and centre delivering the holding attack, and the right and strongest See also:column turning the enemy's left by a detour. Howe himself, accompanied by Generals (See also:Sir H.) See also:Clinton and Lord See also:Cornwallis, led the turning See also:movement, which came upon the See also:rear of the enemy at the moment when they were engaged with the two other columns.

By See also:

noon the Americans had been driven back into the Brooklyn lines in considerable confusion, and with the loss of about half their number. This constituted the battle. The completeness of the English victory was due to the neglect of the Americans in guarding the left of their outposts. Howe has been criticized for not immediately assaulting the American See also:works which he might have carried on the evening of the battle. In view of the fact that he had only defeated a small portion of the American forces, and that the works were of considerable strength, he decided to make a formal See also:siege, and Washington took See also:advantage of the delay in operations to See also:retreat across the river to New York on the See also:night of the 29th. This successful movement repaired to some extent the See also:bad moral effect of the defeat of the 27th in the American See also:camp. In the engagement of Long Island Washington lost about 1200 prisoners and 30 guns, and 400 killed and wounded; of the latter the British lost nearly the same number. (C. F.

End of Article: LONG ISLAND

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