by Julia Sweeney
The Shinnecock canal is the only canal in long island and connects the Great Peconic Bay and the north fork of Long Island with Shinnecock Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The canal stretches 4,700 feet and was opened to the public for use in 1892. Since then the canal has been used by a diverse range of people for a variety of different reasons.
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| Fig 1. Melton, Tom. “SHINNECOCK CANAL, NY.” TheFisherman.com, www.thefisherman.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=90&ParentCat=8. |
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Figure 2. Taken by me
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| Figure 3S, Ray. “Shinnecock Locks.” Foursquare, 22 May 2013, foursquare.com/v/shinnecock-locks/4c001bdb369476b056e08e1f?openPhotoId=519d453a498ef688fd6bce32. |
Orient Yourself: Location Matters
by Kristi Flanigan
Amongst the first major points to be learned from day one of MAR355 is this: one of the most important things to do on the water is to become spatially oriented. Having a sense of where you are, and the history of that place, can and should inform you of how those waters might act, and what uses or challenges that may create. Whether you’re standing on the shore or in a boat, you’re also standing on the past and, simultaneously, on the dynamic present. That’s the heart of what we discussed in our first day of MAR355 – the importance of environmental context, first in terms of geography determining how waters move and what that means for the environment, and second in terms of Southampton’s history. Thinking about how an environment shapes a culture and also about how the environment shapes its environmental challenges really gives you a better understanding of how and why nature and humankind unfold the way they do in a given area.
Paying attention to the geography of Shinnecock Bay is very informative. First, a tiny note – on a boat, what looks like a map is called a chart. On the chart, we learn about how the geography of Shinnecock Bay actually means that the side of the bay near Quogue and feeding into Tiana Bay experiences more water stagnation than the side of Shinnecock Bay that touches the Shinnecock Nation reserve. This is because an inlet is positioned in such a way that part of the bay receives a more direct influx of water, making that half less prone to all of the problems that come with less water movement – harmful algal blooms being a main concern to that effect.
Another concept we discuss is how the geography of an area also lends itself to the way people make use of it. In Southampton, the beaches and bays have lent themselves historically to a variety of uses including vacationing, luxury homes, and trade and distribution of goods like seafood and alcohol. Luxury homes on the water in particular is an interesting concept, one rooted in wealth and the idea of private property. As we took the boat through the Shinnecock Locks (much smaller than those of the Erie Canal), private property “keep out” signs popped up on some of the beaches. But really, building a house along the coast makes no sense – coastal erosion and natural disaster make the lifespan of a coastal home rather short. And, looking at the Shinnecock Nation coastline, there are trees instead of houses. It’s a visible cultural contrast, a difference in the way land is utilized, but it all ties back to the geography of the land and the ways in which people inhabit it.
References
All concepts and facts presented here were learned from MAR355 as taught by Dr. Rider and Dr. Bretsch through the Semester by the Sea program at Stony Brook Southampton.
Rum Runners Debut on the Coast
by Katelyn Castler
The 1920’s was an important time in Long Island’s history. The 1920’s is when the National Prohibition Act was placed over the early American colonists. The National Prohibition Act prohibited importation and consumption of alcohol. However, American’s had a problem with this act due to its high demand. American’s then resorted to making homemade alcohols and smuggling. The European, Canadian, and Caribbean colonies were happy to assist in the importation of alcohol, but they needed people to retrieve it once it got to America. Thus, Rumrunners became some of the most important people during the time period.
Rumrunners aided in the smuggling of alcohol into American. They mainly subsided in the beaches of Long Island. Long Island was important due to over 1,180 miles of beaches that stretched around the coast. The vast length made smuggling alcohol easier because the coast guard could not possibly oversee every inch of the beach. The rumrunners would run out along the beach and gather the alcohol to smuggle into Long Island. Long Island was also perfect because due to the proximity of the area to other colonies. It was the perfect distribution site to transport alcohol.
Some interesting places and artifacts that aided Rumrunners in their pursuit was boats and The Canoe Inn. The boats were a contribution from society by the Freeport Point Boatyard. They were against the act, along with many other people. They helped rumrunners in their acts by providing ships to collect the shipments from other over sea’s colonists. The Canoe Inn was also an important place associated with rumrunners. The Inn was connected to a tunnel that was easily accessible to Rumrunners. The tunnel ran from the coast to the basement of the inn. Rumrunners would use these tunnels to help smuggle alcohol in which provided a perfect hiding place. The Inn soon became a popular place for tourists from all over due to the fact their shelves were always heavily stocked with the imported alcohol. It also helped distribute the alcohol due their close proximity with the railroads.
