Information, News, and features from Montauk Library’s local history collection.
Nellie Windsor is the woman standing underneath the pointing arrow, one of the women involved with the American Women’s Voluntary Service in Montauk. It was important to AWVS members, like other female volunteers in organizations such as the Red Cross and the Office for Civil Defense, to participate in the war effort. Throughout World War II, writes… Read more »
Photograph of sheep at Second House, John Van Siclen collection, donated by James Schwartz. For more than two centuries, sheep and cattle were driven to and from Montauk during the months of March and December. The keepers who tended the livestock in Montauk lived in three houses, two of which still exist today, Second House… Read more »
A before-and-after duo are the highlight of this week’s Throwback Thursday, in which we celebrate the newly restored tower of the Montauk Manor, its coppery roof glinting in the sun. Joseph Brensnan, Montauk resident and Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, shot that digital image. The Manor’s Tower, he says, is one of its characteristic… Read more »
This shot from Jane Leibell’s collection of photographs donated to the Montauk Library in 2005 says everything about seasonal celebrations in November: the Girl Scouts are at the Firehouse, and have just cooked a delicious Thanksgiving turkey! (Although “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” as they say). We know that a Boy… Read more »
Since 1994, Montauk library has offered a booklet titled A Short History of the McKim, Mead, & White Association Houses on The Montauk Bluffs. Now that booklet is available free in an online version. Anyone may read this right on our website or even download it for later reading. You may access this by simply… Read more »
By the time you read this, Montauk resident and WW II veteran Pat DeRosa will have been inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame for the year 2021. A saxophonist extraordinaire whose comprehensive talent includes mastery of other musical instruments like the oboe and clarinet, Pat DeRosa embraces music of every style and… Read more »
Pictorial maps enjoyed great popularity from the 1930s to the 1950s, and partnered beautifully with tourism and the travel industry. This gem was designed by Harry A. Chandler, a popular creator of bird’s eye views and pictorial maps whose ads could be found in NYC papers during the early part of the 20th century. This… Read more »
And now for little bit of Halloween fun … with spirit photography! This interior shot of the Shagwong Tavern from the Al Holden collection features a very happy threesome, one of whom is identified on the back of the photo as former Shagwong owner, Jimmy Hewitt. However, people who believe in ghost photography would claim… Read more »
Joan Lycke conducted an oral history in 1995 with Elizabeth Job, a Montauker who, along with her husband, became a caretaker for the Carl Fisher estate after the war. Job spoke of Fisher’s brilliant mind, overflowing with ideas to bring wealthy vacationers to Montauk. The carriage with white horses that strode down to the Montauk… Read more »
Ira M. Lewis was a Coast Guard chief who was in charge of the Montauk Lighthouse from February 1957 to August 1959. Chief Boatswain’s Mate (BMC) Lewis, who grew up in a “waterman” family on the east coast of North Carolina, was an accomplished swimmer and boatman, who became a Surfman at the age of… Read more »