Fire Island: Lighthouse Fun Facts And the Highly Disputed Name Origin

Fire Island is a prime example of Long Island’s diversity. It’s a virtual “choose-your-own” adventure where one can have a tranquil beach day or party to the break of dawn depending on what sort of weekend you’re looking for. The 9.6 square miles of barrier island also hosts great breaks for surfing, as well as, a unique sunken forest, and both ocean and inlet host some of the best fishing on Long Island.

With so much to offer, the fact that the lighthouse largely defines Fire Island shows just how special the structure is. It has played a pivotal role in Long Island’s maritime history dating back to 1826 and its distinctive black and white patterning make it one of the most beautiful of the over twenty lighthouses on Long Island.

A lesser known, yet no less interesting, aspect of the Fire Island is that no one can agree on the source of its name. There are four different ‘stories’ as to the origins of the moniker and each one is supported by credible reasoning as to why it could be true. But before we lay out each origin story, let’s look at a few more fun facts about the region’s most recognizable landmark.

Robert Moses and the Creation of Jones Beach State Park

There are few places more identifiable with Long Island than Jones Beach. The 6.5-mile state park, with its white sand beaches and iconic water tower, conjures warm nostalgia for nine decades worth of Long Islanders. Personally, Jones Beach State Park was the first place I met the Atlantic Ocean, and I still have vivid memories of my cousins coming down from Connecticut for a few days each summer to hang out at Field 6 and then get dinner at Borelli’s Pizzeria in East Meadow. While our family would eventually switched to Robert Moses State Park and I personally made the change to Long Beach once I hit high school, I can’t drive down Ocean Parkway without being brought back to those early days taking in deep breaths of salty air from the back of my parent’s minivan.

The Rich Geological History of Long Island's Gold Coast!

For most people familiar with the area, Long Island’s north shore conjures images of palatial estates and the serene waters of the Long Island Sound. Members of New York’s cultural elite have been making their homes on the Sound’s beautiful beaches long before F. Scott Fitzgerald drew international acclaim for his portrayal of “East Egg” and “West Egg” (based on Port Washington and Great Neck respectively) in The Great Gatsby. It’s safe to say that the “Gold Coast” has a long and storied history for New Yorkers, but what isn’t spoken about as often is the fact that the area’s geological past runs much deeper and is just as interesting.

The Artistic Imprint of Kaaterskill Falls

Today, Kaaterskill Falls is one of the most popular hikes in the Catskills region. The breathtaking 260 foot cascading waterfall that serves as its calling card is one of the tallest in New York state and standing in its presence evokes an intimate awareness of just how epic and powerful the natural world is. Before it became a hub for extreme selfie seekers, Kaaterskill was the subject of local lure that drew countless artists and other lovers of nature from all of the region.

From Elephants to Frankenstorms: A Brief History of the Long Beach Boardwalk

In terms of iconic Long Island landmarks, the Long Beach boardwalk shares the same hallowed ground as the Montauk Lighthouse or Sagamore Hill. Ever since William Reynolds first orchestrated its construction in 1906-1907, the boardwalk has played a central role in the Long Beach community and served as a destination for New Yorkers looking to spend a nice day at the beach.

Today, the boardwalk remains as integral to the Long Beach economy and way-of-life as ever. It has survived several incarnations, but still draws thousands of people to enjoy its beauty and meet with neighbors.

Here are a few of the key stages of the boardwalk’s history.

Keep Me Where The Light Is Part 1: Orient Point + Montauk Lighthouses

Montauk Point + Orient Point Lighthouses
As one would expect from an island located just outside a major port, lighthouses have played an important role in the history of Long Island. Since 1796, over twenty five lighthouses have been built on Long Island, each with their own unique story. On the north shore, lighthouses helped sailors navigate the jagged rocks and abrupt shoals of the Sound. On the south side of the island, lighthouses were often the first thing European immigrants saw when they reached their new home.
The Keep Me Where The Light Is series will look at two of Long Island’s lighthouses in each part. The goal is to provide a better view of the underwater geography of Long Island, as well as, the history of some of our most beloved historical structures and how to enjoy them today.

Outdoors Lessons from Long Island's First Inhabitants

Chief among the many important lessons that the first settlers on Long Island learned from the Native Americans was how to make use of the abundant natural resources the island had to offer. The tribes who made their home on Long Island were expert fishermen, whalers, hunters, farmers and gatherers and their descendants still live in harmony with the land in many of the same ways today. They kindly passed that knowledge on to their new neighbors upon their arrival, and the stories of these first interactions between Native Americans and settlers on Long Island were not much different from those of the Wampanoag helping the Pilgrims survive their first harvest season at Plymouth in 1621. We’re all familiar with that tale as the inspiration for the first Thanksgiving Feast.

The Stranger Things Happening at Montauk's Camp Hero State Park

For anyone that grew up on Long Island, Montauk is a special place. In recent years, the Hamptons crowd has crept in, but most of us still think of Montauk as a lowkey fishing community with great beaches and plenty of family-friendly fun spots (i.e - Puff n Putt, Fudge n Stuff), lovingly referred to as The End. What many people who enjoy Montauk don’t know, though, is that it has a separate past. A dark and mysterious history full of covert government experiments, time travel and an other-dimensional creature named “Junior” that served as the inspiration for the Netflix original series, Stranger Things.

Or at least that’s how the story goes...