Coastal Cultural Experience Explores Canoes and Canals
by Molly Showers
As a welcome into the Coastal Cultural Experience, we toured around the Shinnecock and Peconic Bays. The two are connected through a canal that was constructed in the late 17th century. Before that point, the local Native American tribes in the area, such as the Shinnecock (and possibly the Montaukets, who were nearby) would have to lug their canoes from the Shinnecock Bay to the Peconic Bay. Over time, they had cleared a path, which is where the canal would be placed in 1690, fifty years after the English settlers would first arrive on Long Island to form Southampton.
As we traveled into the canal from Shinnecock Bay (Image 1), I found it surprisingly easy to forget about the heat and humidity from the 90° day and imagine the settlers and Native Americans alike traveling from one bay to another. Although it is just a glorified man-made ditch, it is valuable for travel and economic purposes. For example, fishermen in the Peconic Bay (Image 2) have access to the Atlantic and Native Americans could reach other tribes in the North much easier. It was interesting to think about just how many people have used this canal for the hundreds of years it has existed (Image 3). Such a simple idea of a ditch has had a revolutionary impact in the area of Southampton.
From a scientific standpoint, I found this canal to be a marvel as well. As someone who is much more accustomed to freshwater canals, since I am from Upstate New York, I had never taken the time to think about the impacts of canals in saltwater systems. I just had assumed that water simply moved from one section to another, accounting for the differences in depth. However, I learned that there is a tangible difference in salinity between the two bays, with the Shinnecock Bay being saltier than the Peconic Bay. To move boats through the canal without too much damage from the different salinity levels, water can only flow from the Peconic Bay to the Shinnecock Bay.
Just from this one canal, I had learned so much about Long Island’s history and ecology. Perhaps during my Semester by the Sea, I should take a small trip to the canal and fish along it’s edges, basking in its historical significance.
Image 1: This is Shinnecock Bay, which faces the Atlantic Ocean. This is important for the placement of the canal, since the fishermen and other baymen could have direct access to the ocean for their industries. The coast of Shinnecock Bay housed the Shinnecock Native Americans as well. This phenomenon of naming places and towns after Native American tribes and important figures is common on Long Island, I have come to find out.
Image 2: This is Peconic Bay, which resides in between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island. Since this houses the mouth of the Peconic River, this water is much fresher than the Shinnecock Bay. We sat along the jetty of the Peconic Bay, which was erected to stop the longshore drift of sand westward through the bay.
Image 3: This is the canal that connects the Shinnecock Bay and the Peconic Bays. It was very cool to see the water change in the canal lock as the level evened out to the bay in which we were entering. In this picture, one can see the Peconic Bay.
The Geographical Effects of The Great Hurricane of 1938
by Cyd Bloomfield
Hurricanes often are destructive, they can destroy homes and crops, some even taking peoples’ lives. This was definitely the case during The Great Hurricane of 1938. This hurricane started forming off the West coast of Africa, travelling towards Cuba before sharply turning North to hit New England. It made landfall near Bellport, Long Island with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. During this event approximately 700 lives were lost, as well as hundreds of injuries. Damage to the Hamptons alone was equivalent to around five trillion dollars (2021 USD). In addition to this, income from the fishing industry and many land crops were lost. Needless to say, all of the facts listed here are tragic, and cost many people great amounts of suffering. However, I’d like to talk about the long-lasting geographical changes that were made, and the ways people tried to control them.
Our world is constantly changing. Both in terms of our own personal worlds and the physical planet we live on. During The Great Hurricane of 1938, at least ten new inlets were created on eastern Long Island. One of the major inlets created was that which connects Shinnecock Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, now called Shinnecock Inlet. All created inlets, aside from Shinnecock Inlet, have since been closed. There was a very heavy public interest in keeping Shinnecock Inlet open: For one thing, it allowed people living in The Hamptons to get to the ocean by boat much quicker. They may not have known it at the time, but the opening of inlet would also allow more water flow within Shinnecock Bay, in turn leading to more biological diversity.
The opening of this inlet was not all positives, as you might imagine. In order to stabilize inlets, the use of jetties is commonly employed. This is exactly what was done at Shinnecock Inlet, but a problem is introduced when considering natural coastal erosion. Due to the angle at which water flows into the southern shore of Long Island, sand is gradually moved from east to west. This is called longshore drift. If an inlet is created, it becomes a sand trap, pulling in sand that was meant to continue its journey west. This opening had another non-obvious consequence: weaker water flow in another inlet further west called Moriches Inlet. This weaker water pressure induced the building of more jetties, further inhibiting longshore currents. All this culminating in rapid erosion of beaches west of Moriches Inlet that would have been naturally replaced by sediment moving from the east to the west due to longshore drift.
I think the takeaway from the eighty-three years since The Great Hurricane is that humans cannot control nature on as great a scale as we might like to think. People decided to find a silver lining in the hurricane the destroyed their homes by making a faster route from Shinnecock Bay to the Atlantic Ocean, however, we are ending up paying for it with the homes and habitats of those to our west.
The Rum Runners of Long Island
Ed LeMoine
As we toured through the Shinnecock and Great Peconic Bay, we learned about how the many miles of shoreline present on Long Island shaped its monetary income. Many of the people living out on the island were sailors of fishermen in some capacity and if you know anything about them, they love nothing more than a refreshing drink after a long day’s work out on the water. So when 1920 rolled around, bringing prohibition with it, it’s fair to say many of the island’s residents were displeased. Not too long after the ban on alcoholic drinks, Long Island became sort of a hub for illegal importation of said beverages through a network of people called rum runners.
Rum runners were made up of all sorts all over the US. On Long Island, however, a massive coastline paired with many civilian owned vessels meant smuggling booze onshore was sometimes much easier than it may be in other parts of the country. Many vessels had compartments where it was easy to conceal the alcohol picked up at sea, and the runners also had many places they could stash the stuff on land. Bay houses provided an ideal location to hide booze as the ground on the island is easily manipulated into small “cellars.” In addition to all this, it’s simply not practical to have police scouring every inch of the shoreline at any given second. Besides, some of the biggest contributors to the whole operation were the police force itself. There were sometimes battles that occurred at the shore between the runners and police which could result in casualty.
Many of the runners retrieved alcohol for their or their friend’s own consumption, but many also made profit through it. If you’re a fisherman with one boat the monetary gain vs the effort put in was not feasible as a main source of income, but it certainly added to whatever they were already making from fishing. This period of rum running didn’t end up lasting all that long as prohibition was abolished in 1933. Interestingly enough, many beach houses that still stand from that time have evidence of alcohol stashes in or around the building including our own professor’s house!
Coastal Cultural Experience: The Shinnecock Canal
Nicholas Ring
On our tour though the Shinnecock and Peconic bays, we traveled through one of the last canals in New York with a Lock system. As someone who has never been through locks before it was an interesting experience. Upon arrival, the water level had a difference of approximately 2-3 feet, and after getting to the Peconic, the water level became normal. After watching off the bow of the R/V PECONIC for about five minutes, I walked away and talked to some friends. After a few more minutes, I looked out the window and realized that the water level was lower. Looking out the bow again I could see the gates of the locks were now closed and you could see clearly where the water level was when we started. Also, the barnacles and sponges were at the water level we saw originally. I was shocked at how smooth the process was and I became curious to see how it worked.
Surprisingly enough, many small canals can operate without any form of pumps, which explains how the water level changed without me being alarmed by it. Instead, using sluices to leak water in or out of the lock to raise or lower it respectively. The process is slow enough to, after being secured to the walls of the lock, not disturb, or move any of the boats in the lock. The difference in heights of the Shinnecock and Peconic is not constant. At times they can rise to the same water level. However, due to the difference in salinities of the two bays they are only kept open when the bay with the lower salinity, flows into the bay with the higher one. This is done to protect the ecology of both bays. The purpose of these locks is to join two bodies of water that are separated by elevation. I can see the economic benefits of this, but I’m left wondering when people realized they needed it, and what were some of the hardships in doing so.
The canal as we know it started being planned by the Long Island Canal company in 1826. It was planned to cost $35,000, taking inflation into account, today that’s roughly $965,162.12. Upon completion in 1892 its effects were clear. Making the Shinnecock easier to access from the Peconic bay, and from the Atlantic Ocean, was a boon. Fishing fleets were built there, and the oyster market gained a foothold in the bay. However, this is not the first canal to exist between the Peconic and the Shinnecock. There is some evidence of an old canal built by the Mongotucksee tribe, while I couldn’t find when this canal was built, it is interesting to see just how far back the interest in the canal goes. Joining these bays was such a clear option that two different cultures, the Mongotucksee and the People of Long island, saw the clear benefit.
After going through the tour, I came out with new knowledge of many topics. I was inspired to look deeper into some of them. I’m glad I took the time to expand my knowledge on canals, locks and the history of the Shinnecock canal.
Related
