Long Island’s barrier beaches are fascinating places. Stretched along the south shore of the island, they persist through much of Long Island history as wild natural landscapes constantly shifting and remolded by the Atlantic Ocean. And despite the storms and shipwrecks and isolation, people have persisted in thinking “I want to live there.”

On today’s episode we talk to Mike Cavanaugh whose curiosity brought him to Gilgo Beach over twenty years ago. Through deeper research he has tracked the history of his cottage and the Gilgo Beach community back to the 19th century. You’ll hear about eccentric hermits, the lost colony of Hemlock Beach, and the complicated legacy of Robert Moses. You’ll also hear about Mike’s other passion, collecting old bottles from the Great South Bay that tell stories about the people who had lived here before.

Further Research

• Bay Bottles
• Society for Historical Archaeology
• East Rockaway Public Library
• Brooklyn Newsstand
• NYS Historic Newspapers
• Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
• Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0