Things to do / Travel Guide
Native Americans on Long Island, New York
Thirteen native American tribes belonging to the Algonquian language group were the first inhabitants of the island they called “Paumonock,” meaning “fish-shaped island.” The Matinecock, Nesaquake, Setalcott, and Corchaug lived on the North Shore, while the South Shore was inhabited by the Canarsee, Rockaway, Merrick, Marsapeague, Secatogue, and Unkechaug. Residents of the east end of Long Island were the Shinnecock, Manhasset, and the Montauks.
The Long Island tribes were distinguished among other northeastern coastal tribes for the fine beads they fashioned from Northern quahog clam and whelk shells. When the first Dutch colonists arrived on the western banks of the region in the mid-1600s they used the wampum beads as currency in the money system they created. The Dutch called the region “Lange Eilandt,” which was later anglicized by the British.
When the Dutch colonists realized they were not expanding eastward fast enough, they invited Robert Fordham and John Carman to begin an eastern settlement on hundreds of thousands of acres purchased from the Native Americans.
The British on Long Island, New York
The Revolutionary Era brought turbulent times to Long Island. After losing the 1776 Battle of Long Island to the British, George Washington's men were forced back to Manhattan and British troops occupied the region for nearly 7 years. Long Island colonialists entertained small rebellions, however, by destroying British supply depots and forming active spy rings - the most famous Long Island spy, Connecticut-born Nathan Hale, was discovered and hanged by the British.
While British cultural influence on Long Island remained for many years after their occupation, Long Islanders retained their patriotic fervor. During the Civil War, western and eastern Long Islanders served in the infantry, artillery, cavalry, as well as the navy, and many supported the war efforts in other ways - by working in factories and hospitals.
From the time of the Civil War to WWII, Long Island burgeoned as a popular vacation spot among industrial and financial barrens. More than 900 estates were built on Long Island during this time, many of which were concentrated along the North Shore, earning the area its title as the Gold Coast. J.P. Morgan, William K. Vanderbilt, F.W. Woolworth, Otto Hahn, Jay Gould, and countless others built grandiose Long Island summer homes and, with their families, engaged in polo, fox hunting, golf, fishing, and yachting.
Aircraft and Long Island, New York
The late 1920s marked the beginning of Long Island's legacy of aircraft manufacturing and aeronautic engineering. In 1927 Charles Lindbergh chose Long Island's Roosevelt Field as the site to begin his first non-stop flight across the vast Atlantic Ocean to Paris.
Grumman Aircraft and Sperry Gyroscope, built their factories and headquarters near Bethpage. Gruman Aircraft, manufacturers of war planes, and Sperry Gyroscope, producers of high-tech aviation systems, flourished on Long Island during World War II and the steep economic growth brought an increase in population as well - Jewish and Italian immigrants came from New York City seeking quieter, more stable lives. In 1947, the nation's first suburbia, Levittown, was built on Long Island with construction of more than 17,000 factory-made, assembly-line tract houses. Between 1950 and 1960 Long Island's population nearly doubled to one million residents.
Today Long Island's reputation for technological advancements has evolved, making it one of the East Coast's largest concentrations of high-tech companies. Juxtaposed against this ever-growing technological industry is the fact that Suffolk County remains one of the largest agricultural region in the state of New York, and fishing remains important on Long Island's east end.
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