A Beacon of Light

The essence of the East End of Long Island: the Montauk Lighthouse, an area treasure for more than two centuries. (Newsday Photo / Bill Davis)

Mills ¦ Lighthouses ¦ Worship ¦ Cemeteries ¦ Libraries

EARLY AMERICAN technology can still be glimpsed around the East End in lighthouses and mills that survive from colonial times and the earliest days of the nation. Settlers built mills powered by the wind, streams or even the tides to grind corn and other grains into meal or trim logs into lumber.

Storms and fog contributed to shipwrecks from the earliest voyages to the New World and ship owners began lobbying for warning beacons as shipping increased in the colonial period. At first these beacons were bonfires, but later permanent lighthouses were erected.

MILLS

Corwith Windmill, Village Green, Montauk Highway, Water Mill. Built in 1800 in Sag Harbor and relocated in 1813 and operated until 1887. Tours open year-round by appointment. Fee: donation. Call 726-5984.

Old Hook Windmill, North Main Street, East Hampton. Built in 1806 by Nathaniel Dominy, the windmill that once ground corn and wheat is a fine example of wooden technology. Open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on varying days July-August. $2, $1 ages 4-10; 324-0713.

Water Mill Museum, Old Mill Road, Water Mill. Long Island's first water-powered gristmill (1644), has been restored and displays early tools and colonial crafts and has hands-on exhibits. In June, open on Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.. From July through September, open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Fees: $2 for adults, $1.50 for seniors and children under 12 are free.

LIGHTHOUSES

Montauk Lighthouse, Montauk State Park, Montauk. Lighthouse was commissioned by George Washington and finished in 1796. The museum in its base, run by the Montauk Historical Society, features early photos and displays, with guides on hand. Visitors can climb to the top for sweeping vistas. Open weekends from March 14 to May 17 and November (hours vary, call ahead); daily 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m. May 23-25 (then to 5:30 p.m. daily) and June 22-Sept. 7; daily to 5 p.m. Sept. 8-Oct. 12. Call for other times and special holiday hours. Fee: Adults, $4; seniors, $3.50 and children to 12 years old or 41 inches tall, $2.50; 668-2544.

Horton Point Lighthouse, end of Lighthouse Road, Southold. The beacon was authorized by Washington in 1790 but not built until 1856. The working lighthouse houses a marine museum that offers escorted tower tours. Open seasonally; for hours, call 765-5500. Suggested donation of $2 requested.

WORSHIP

Some of the historic houses of worship on the East End, which date from the time before the nation's founding.

1600s

First Presbyterian Church of Southampton, South Main Street. Puritan yeomen from Massachusetts founded the church in 1640. Current Gothic Revival building dates from 1843.

First Presbyterian Church of Southold, Route 25, Main Road. Founded in 1640 by Puritans from Connecticut, originally from Southwold, England. Present 1803 church has a stained-glass window made from windows of St. Edmunds, Southwold, which were shattered in World War II bombing.

Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church, 2429 Montauk Highway. Established in Sagaponack in 1670, present Greek Revival church dates from 1842.

1700s

United Church of Christ/Orient Congregational Church, Main Road, Orient. Founded in 1700, oldest in that denomination in New York State. The 1717 meeting house was replaced in 1817, additions in 1843.

Caroline Church, Dyke Road, Setauket. Oldest Episcopal church building in continuous use in New York State and second oldest in the country, established 1723 and built in 1730. Musket ball possibly embedded in a church beam during the Battle of Setauket in 1777 is on display.

St. John's Episcopal Church, Montauk Highway, Oakdale. Second-oldest church building in continuous use in Suffolk was built in 1765 by the Nicoll family, enlarged in 1783 and 1843 and deeded to the Long Island Episcopal Diocese in the early 1900s after a court ruled that a church could not be family owned.

Whalers' First Presbyterian Church, 44 Union St., Sag Harbor. Founded in 1766, the present Egyptian Revival Church building was designed by Minard Lafever in 1844. A 180-foot steeple was blown off in the 1938 hurricane.

Cutchogue Presbyterian Church, Main Road (Rte. 25). Organized in 1732, built in the 1850s.

1800s

Hampton Bays Assembly of God, Canoe Place Road; shared with the Luz en Tusenda Spanish Assembly of God; formerly the Canoe Place Church, built in 1810 by the Rev. Paul Cuffee, famous Shinnecock minister whose 1812 gravesite is nearby.

Bethel A.M.E. Church of Setauket, 33 Christian Ave. Founded 1818 by African-Americans and Indians, erected 1848.

St. David A.M.E. Zion Church, Eastville Avenue, Sag Harbor. Originally built by Lewis Cuffee and Eastville neighbors in 1840; believed to have been an Underground Railroad station for runaway slaves.

First Universalist Church, Main Road, Southold. Founded in 1835, built in 1837.

St. Andrew's R.C. Church, 122 Division St., Sag Harbor. First Catholic community formed in 1836, became a parish in 1859.

Temple Adas Israel, Elizabeth Street, Sag Harbor. Established in 1883 by East European immigrants, built in 1898.

CEMETERIES

Here is a sampling of historic cemeteries on the East End, along with their most notable residents. Years in parentheses denote when the cemeteries opened.

Old Burying Ground (1640), Route 25, Southold. Rev. John Youngs (died 1672), leader of first Puritan settlement. Old Burying Ground (1649), Little Plains Road, Southampton. Graves of settlers.

Old East Hampton Cemetery (1696), Main Street. New York State Sen. David Gardiner (1784-1844); Lion Gardiner, first settler of Gardiners Island (1599-1663); artists Thomas Moran (1837-1926) and Mary Nimmo Moran (1842-1899); John Alexander Tyler (1848-1883), son of President John Tyler and Julia Gardiner Tyler.

Old Burying Ground (1717), Route 25 (Main Road), Cutchogue. Graves of early settlers.

Quaker Cemetery (1740), Route 114, Shelter Island. Nathaniel Sylvester (1610-1680), first settler and owner of Shelter Island.

Tuthill Slave Cemetery (1830s), King Street and Narrow River Road, Orient. Dr. Seth Tuthill (1784-1850); his wife, Maria (died 1840), and many slaves with unmarked stones. Marker notes the Tuthills' wish to be buried with their former servants.

Southampton Cemetery (incorporated 1885; some graves are older), County Road 39. Heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey (1895-1983).

Green River Cemetery (1870s), Accabonac Road, East Hampton. Artists Jackson Pollack (1912-1956), his wife Lee Krasner (1908-1984), Elaine de Kooning (1918-1989) and Stuart Davis (1894-1964); writer A.J. Liebling (1904-1963) and wife, Pulitzer Prize winner Jean Stafford Liebling (1915-1979).

Sacred Heart Cemetery (1903), County Road 39, Southampton. Gary Cooper (1901-1961).

LIBRARIES

Here's where you can find out more about East End history from some of the special local Library collections:

Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library. Taped oral histories, submarine photos (late 1800s). Access during library hours, 734-6360.

East Hampton Library. Morton Pennypacker Long Island Collection includes more than 3,500 books on local histories of LI counties, towns and villages; maps; letters; deeds and log books; 680 Long Island family histories; microfilm of first Long Island newspaper, Frothingham's Long Island Herald (1791-1797). Some materials date back to the early 1600s. Reference only. Access during library hours, 324-0222.

Hampton Library. (Bridgehampton) Online copies of ship logs, letters, diaries, ship ledgers. Access during library hours, 537-0015.

John Jermain Memorial Library. (Sag Harbor) Whaling log books, account books, ledgers, newspaper clippings, photos, William Wallace Tooker's American Indian language collections, Sag Harbor Corrector, 1822-1859, and Sag Harbor Express from 1859. Access 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday or by appointment, 725-0049.

Mattituck-Laurel Free Library. Scrapbooks of newspaper clippings and papers from the early 1900s. Access during library hours, 298-4134.

Oysterponds Historical Society Museum. (Orient) Focus on Orient area with more than 20,000 original artifacts. Access by appointment, 323-2480.

Southold Free Library. Whitaker collection contains photos dating back to 1896, original letters back to 1809, postcards, maps. Access by computer catalog, call 765-2077.