Greenport

A Village's Sea Changes

By Bill Bleyer | Staff Writer

Greenport residents have always found ways to make money from their waterfront, but perhaps never more creatively than during Prohibition.

There was so much rumrunning of illegal booze going on that the Coast Guard felt compelled to set up a base there in 1924. Not that it made much difference. ``There were several rumrunner boats tied up at the railroad dock and the Coast Guard boats would be tied up on the other side of the dock and the crews would talk to each other,'' recalls village historian Jerome McCarthy, 82. Authorities did make some attempts to uphold the law: ``They did have a few gun battles out on Long Island Sound before Prohibition was phased out.''

Since smuggling liquor wasn't always an option, the economy has been dominated at other times by commercial fishing, whaling and shipbuilding, along with farming. Now the village is trying to establish itself as a center of nautical tourism. ``Greenport wouldn't be here without the water,'' McCarthy says. ``It got its start from the harbor, from trading and fishing.''

There were Indians living in the area when white settlers arrived from New Haven shortly after 1640. The first real payoff from the water came in the colonial era of the next century, when Greenport became a commercial shipping center. At first, small vessels carried produce to Connecticut. Later, larger ships traveled to New York City, New England and some ultimately to Africa to engage in the slave trade.

Commercial fishing began about 1790 when the settlers followed the lead of the Indians and began catching menhaden for fertilizer. By 1881, more than 350 vessels were supplying menhaden to 97 fish factories in an industry that employed more than 2,800 men.

Whaling began in 1785 when brothers Nathaniel and Hudson Corwin equipped several small vessels. The first large whaling ship was the Petosi, which embarked in 1830. Ultimately 15 whalers operated out of the harbor.

Three of those ships were owned by the village's most prominent resident, David Gelston Floyd, grandson of William Floyd of Mastic, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. In 1857, he built one of the finest homes on Long Island, Brecknock Hall, a fieldstone house on the North Road. It's been vacant for more than 15 years.

Discovery of oil in Pennsylvania killed the whaling industry by the 1860s. The loss of revenue was partially offset by the growth of tourism. Several large hotels opened in the 1820s and '30s. The void was also filled by several factories built to process menhaden for paint oil.

Oysters had been a staple for the Indians, but it was not until after the beginning of this century that shellfishing evolved into a major industry. By 1907, 30 processing companies were operating in Greenport. Oystering hit its peak in 1936 when 2.5 million bushels were shipped. But the industry faltered after the 1938 hurricane covered beds with sand and pollution and rising costs took their toll.

As Greenport's population swelled in the 19th Century, shipbuilding became a primary industry. The first vessel built was the sloop Van Buren in 1834. Eventually there would be six shipyards; all but one has been replaced by development or turned into parkland. Most vessels constructed were coastal schooners. The largest was the 165-foot, three-masted Wandering Jew. When it was launched in 1880, schoolchildren were given half a day off to witness the event.

The most widely known product of the village's shipbuilding industry was the Beebe-McLellan lifesaving boat. Between 1879 and 1918, hundreds of these 25-foot self-bailing and self-righting surfboats were built for the United States Life Saving Service and foreign agencies.

The most prominent shipyard was Greenport Basin and Construction Co. - still functioning under the name Greenport Yacht and Ship. During World War I, it built wooden submarine chasers for the Russian navy and 50-foot torpedo boats for the U.S. Navy. During World War II, more than a thousand men and women fabricated sub chasers, minesweepers and landing craft.

The village played a second role in the war. The Coast Guard used it as the base for a ``picket fleet'' of sailboats with volunteer crews who kept an eye out for German submarines.

The Name Game: Before the Revolution, the area was known as Winter Harbor and then Stirling in honor of Lord Stirling, one of the most prominent landowners on Long Island. The area that is now the community's downtown was once known as Greenhill. In 1831 citizens voted to change Green Hill to Green Port, which a few years later was combined into one word. The community was incorporated in 1838.

Turning Point: The Long Island Rail Road began providing service to Greenport in 1844 as part of a rail and ship link to Boston. The LIRR brought prosperity, but it was short-lived. Six years later, a rail line was built along the Connecticut shore and Greenport reverted back to being a sleepy village.

Brush With Fame: In the mid-19th Century, many local men owned trotting horses that they raced on Main Street. The world's fastest trotting horse of the era, Rarus, born in 1867, was raised on the village's Conklin farm.

Where to Find More: ``Greenport Yesterday and Today'' by Elsie Knapp Corwin and Frederick Langton Corwin, published by Amereon House in Mattituck.