East Hampton Maritime Museum: Sunken Treasures
by Makenzie Conover
Our second outing for the Coastal Cultural Experience left our handful of students a closely-knit crew as we left our lives in the hands of Dr. Rider, Dr. Bretsch, and the trusty Southampton Chevy vans to navigate through early morning Hamptons traffic. A sunny and scenic drive led us to the East Hampton Maritime Museum on September 8th, 2017. The museum contained numerous artifacts of different aspects of Long Island’s maritime history. One of the most interesting stories was unveiled in the lower level of the museum: a tribute to the sunken HMS Culloden. What makes the story so intriguing is the circumstances of the time period and specifically what happened the night the ship sank.
The HMS Culloden was a British man-of-war ship that sailed to Long Island in 1781 in lieu of the revolutionary war as an attempt to offset the French in the war and thus bring an end to the war. During this time period, there were no lighthouses for ships to know where land was, specifically Montauk in this instance. However, there would be bonfires instead that people on ships could see in time to turn their vessel in the direction they were headed, and avoid hitting land. The night that the HMS Culloden sank, there was no bonfire and the crew aboard did not know to turn their vessel before it was too late.
What makes the story so interesting is that it is unknown if the lack of bonfire was accidental or intentional. Dr. Rider explained to us that piracy and smuggling was common in this time period, especially on the shores of Long Island. In one story that Dr. Rider told us, there was a ‘disappearance’ of a ship in 1757 that was stocked with Calico, where the town records had reported that the ship had never been seen. Curiously enough, that summer was nicknamed the Calico Summer because everyone in town was wearing new calico. Coincidence? The most likely story is that the ship carrying it was intentionally sunk by people setting bonfires in locations that would lead to sinking or being grounded.
Dr. Rider also informed us that it is possible to see many shipwrecks by diving around Long Island, the Culloden included. A major multimillion dollar project was conducted a few years ago that brought some the artifacts from the Culloden up from the sunken ship, now on display in the East Hampton Maritime Museum. Artifacts like these are amazing because they allow us to see new things from time periods we have little information about. I personally love the unique qualities of historical artifacts because why read a textbook when you can have walking encyclopedias and storytellers like Dr. Rider and Dr. Bretsch, accompanied by physical pieces of history that you can see and gauge how they would have been used centuries ago? If you’re a history buff or an artistic connoisseur, I would highly recommend taking the scenic drive to East Hampton to see all aspects of this museum.
East Hampton Maritime Museum
by Amanda Dias
Our exploration of East Hampton was very informative and a fun experience. We started the day off at the East Hampton Maritime Museum where we talked extensively about the tedious process of whaling and its extensive effect on the people in the area. Whaling has been a part of the culture of East Hampton for so long and can be said to be the source of some of East Hamptons “old money”. Whaling was one of the more highly regarded professions as the oil produced made the men who took down the beast very rich.
Dr. Rider detailed the process by which the town hunted and killed these animals. First a whale must be spotted, usually by the children of the town, and from there the clock starts ticking. About 6-8 men jump into a boat and start to chase the whale. Once close enough, one man uses the harpoon to latch the boat to the whale. They ride alongside the whale to tired it out. The men are prepared to cut off their ties to the animal at a moment’s notice, in case the whale decides to dive to escape its captors. Once tired out the men taking to putting the giant beast out of its misery, having to stab through layers of tough skin, blubber, and other body parts. This whole scenario was in fact beautifully demonstrated by Dr. Rider and volunteer whale, Greg.
Once the men returned to shore covered in whale, they were seen as heroes, strolling around town, showing off the proof of their wealth and ability to provide for a family. However, on shore after the kill is where the real work begins, to process the animal into useable goods. This process started with the slicing of the whale into strips to be more easily transported. Dr. Rider was sure to point out the tools showcased on the walls of the museum, now no long sharp from dis-use and with a rusty look. From here the strips were processed further to making the melting into oil portion easier. Dr. Rider was eager to point out that this is where we start to see women of the time become involved with the whaling industry. Helping boiling and making the oil ready to be traded. The whole town was really involved and benefited from the whaling industry.
The museum featured a host of artifacts and pictures depicting the procedure of whaling. Each wall adorned with different things to help visitors imagine exactly what it would feel like to be a part of this whaling community. Although small it is definitely worth the ride out to experience the history of this beautiful town.
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| Figure 1: Personal Photo of harpoons used in the hunt for whales. The first harpoon used to latch then eventually to kill the animal. |
The Josephine
by Madeleine Keefe
Food is a huge contributors of a society’s dynamic, from location to jobs and much more. Long Island was a huge whaling colony in the 1800s. Men would venture out in the ocean on a small boat and go whale chasing. Right Whales were the common prey, and the communities learned to rely on them. The Maritime Museum in East Hampton gave an excellent display of the techniques they used to hunt these whales and how they used every bit of the animal for themselves. There was one exhibit that retold the stories of some tales of whaling from the 1800s. Some of these stories caught my eye and were very fascinating.
The Josephine was a ship that set out from Sag Harbor in 1846, just the beginning of a very long journey. This ship, captained by Hiram Baker Hedges, sailed past the Caribbean, to Chile, down to the Southern Sea, and onto Hong Kong and Russia. This trip was extremely long and successful, bringing home over 2,000 barrels of Whale oil (while 1 whale can yield about 60). Trips like this is was sustains the community and allows them to prosper.
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Figure 1. A map of the path the Josephine took that
yielded over 2,000 barrels of whale oil
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Another interesting fact that was included was the captain ran into problems with Huntington’s Disease, with him and his family. To see a disease that is still affecting people today on records from the 1800s is amazing. Some of the key doctors in researching this disease resided in East Hampton. George Huntington was the doctor who worked with this disease, and the inspiration for the name of the illness. Along with his Father and Grandfather, George and Able respectively, the Disease became well researched which helped with the diagnosis of future cases and knowledge about how it is inherited.
After the museum, we took a walk through the cemetery in East Hampton that has grave stones dating back to the 1700s. Many notable Long Island people are buried on this ground, including Able Huntington, one of the researchers of Huntington’s Disease. This trip taught us an incredible history of the people of 1800s long Island that gets omitted from American History.
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Figure 2. Able Huntington’s Grave in East Hampton. A few
other members of the Family are also buried here.
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Perseverance of East Hampton Culture
by Jay Panko
There’s something transcendent about visiting a museum centered in one’s own culture. Visiting the East Hampton Maritime Museum, for example, gives a much better understanding of life today on Long Island, and more specifically in the East Hampton area. Museums such as this really fill in the archival blanks, the “how” and “why” of so many things you see, especially as an outside observer driving past the old-money houses and cute oceanside stretches of shops in East Hampton. The most striking thing to notice is that the old-time whaling community was famously persistent in recycling and reusing everything they could, and over time that tendency hasn’t changed a bit. Nowadays whaling is no longer the cash crop of this settlement, and considering that we now are more cognizant of how barbaric and cruel the practice was, that’s a good thing. However, the tight-knit community that whaling required – after all, bonds get strongly forged in hunting down such giant beasts – hasn’t changed all that much.
It’s not uncommon for small towns and villages to hold fast to their histories, and East Hampton is no exception. Certain local intramural sports teams still bear names such as “Baymen” and “Bonackers,” the latter referencing the clam-fishing peoples of an earlier time. This term, bonacker, used to be almost derogatory, a dig at the lower class of residents who made their livings fishing for clams and scallops (until the latter mostly died out in the late 1900’s). Having repurposed the name, East Hampton shows its roots proudly – at least in the case of the sports team that sports the name.
Another trend that Tara pointed out to the class was the tendency of placing decorative lobster traps on one’s property. This used to be more of a practical practice, as every family in the area used to have a few lobster traps put out into the water near their homes in order to catch the crustaceans. However, like the scallops, the lobsters abruptly died out due to a number of factors. Among these factors were mass migrations to colder waters, disease, and the influx of pesticides which also affect lobsters (mosquitos and lobsters are both arthropods). Since the sudden drop-off in the lobster population, these traps were largely left unused, but still they adorn the yards and porches of the East Hampton area. There are many great examples of East Hampton’s ability to repurpose its history into current cultural quirks, too many for one short blog… It’s well worth the drive from anywhere else on the Island, and definitely a nice day trip for those who enjoy the maritime environment and culture.
