Local History

Information, News, and features from Montauk Library’s local history collection.

Throwback Thursday — Potholes to Parkways

Throwback Thursday — Potholes to Parkways

There wasn’t much going on here, road-wise, before Carl Fisher and Robert Moses got their hands on Montauk. Only really tough vehicles could navigate a cart track built from one end of Montauk to the other. And the laying of a new road from Amagansett to Montauk, using cinders donated by the railroad, was a… Read more »

Life-Saving Heritage on Display

Life-Saving Heritage on Display

Life-saving service history is linked to early Chinese practices, like the Chinkiang Association for the Saving of Life established in 1708. It was the first life-saving station institution in the world, consisting of a complex series of stations dotting the coastlines of rivers, bays, and oceans. Chinese benevolent societies and the Imperial Chinese government also… Read more »

Throwback Thursday — Early Workforce Housing

Throwback Thursday — Early Workforce Housing

Montauk’s earliest proprietors were fully aware that its workers would need places to live. The original First House was built in 1744, Second House in 1746, and Third House in 1747, all to accommodate the keepers who tended livestock driven annually from East Hampton to Montauk to graze. It was also understood that the keeper… Read more »

Throwback Thursday – A Ship’s Log

Throwback Thursday – A Ship’s Log

A logbook, or ship’s log, is an official record of events, conditions, and observations documented during the voyage of a ship, generally kept by captains or first mates. Historical logbooks provide information about the ship’s position, weather, ports visited, and daily life aboard the vessel. The engineer’s log of the steamship “George Appold” chronicles the… Read more »

Throwback Thursday — Gather Ye Wild Grapes

Throwback Thursday — Gather Ye Wild Grapes

“Gather wild grapes in early September,” Jean Fischer advised in her recipe for Wild Grape Jam with Lime in Montauk Cooks with Friends.  “Many vines will not have fruit. The heady rich aroma of ripe grapes and your nose will help you find them.” It’s true that only the female vines of wild fox grapes… Read more »

The Walking Dunes

The Walking Dunes

By taking just a short jaunt from the parking area on Napeague Harbor Road through a maritime forest of gnarled oaks and knotted pitch pines, one can travel back in time to an ancient forest and duneland resembling a far-off desert destination. The Walking Dunes, as they are aptly named for their ever-shifting voyage southward… Read more »

Throwback Thursday — ‘Kids Are Kids’

Throwback Thursday — ‘Kids Are Kids’

September 5 will be Day 1 for Montauk School students – a Thursday, which should give them a soft landing after summer vacation. For the second September in a row, Jack Perna, the school’s longtime superintendent and principal, will still be on vacation, however, having retired in 2023 after more than 50 years. Hired by… Read more »

Throwback Thursday — Remembering the ‘Amistad’

Throwback Thursday — Remembering the ‘Amistad’

On that day, August 25, they wandered from one isolated dwelling to another, frightening most residents but managing to purchase two dogs, a bottle of gin, and some sweet potatoes with the Spanish gold doubloons they had found aboard the ‘Amistad.’ — Mutiny on the Amistad In August of 1839, nine Africans came ashore at… Read more »

Throwback Thursday – Art on the Green

Throwback Thursday – Art on the Green

The Montauk Art Show on the village green is a cornerstone event of the vibrant art scene on the East End. The Montauk Artists’ Association was founded as the Montauk Artists in 1995 by Percy Heath, an artist, jazz musician, and avid fisherman who brought together local artists to share and showcase their work. What… Read more »

Throwback Thursday — Wish You Were Here

Throwback Thursday — Wish You Were Here

  Robert G. Lamparter Postcard Collection, Montauk Library Archives At 228 years of age, the Montauk Lighthouse is one very old lady, but she’s been photographed more times than any runway full of models. Heaven knows how many postcards have been graced with her image, and the Montauk Library has the good fortune of possessing… Read more »