USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 2
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume I > Part 2
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The author, whose first and only work was published in his ninety- first year, survived its publication by almost a decade. He had as a young man taught school at Minisink and at Blooming Grove in Orange County. Later, in addition to keeping a general store at Orient, he served that section of the island as an auctioneer. He was a good one and in 1820 disposed of the south half of the immense farm of Captain David Webb, some miles west of Orient.
The successful bidders for this large tract of land in Southold Town were David T. Terry, Silas Webb and Joshua Tuthill who developed it into what soon became part of the thriving village of Sterling (now Greenport). The sale is referred to in Griffin's Journal which was compiled with the aid of the author's son, Sidney L.
xiii
INTRODUCTION
Griffin, an attorney-at-law, from a diary which the auctioneer-store- keeper had kept for many years.
It is perhaps not generally known that one of America's present day historians of national repute made his debut on Long Island. James Truslow Adams' first published works were two small books on the histories of Southampton and Bridgehampton. They were printed at the plant of Bridgehampton's weekly newspaper, at the author's expense, and are now eagerly sought by collectors.
To list all the men and women who have contributed to the printed story of Long Island and sections thereof would make a bibliography of many pages. Their number runs into the hundreds and each, besides adding to the fund of information, has stimulated public interest in the subject to the extent that the study of island history has become one of the most popular of avocations.
PAUL BAILEY
Contents
VOLUME I
PAGE
Chapter I-The Geology of Long Island-Jay T. Fox. 1
Chapter II-The Archaeology of Long Island-Nat. E. Booth .. 17
Chapter III-Discoveries and Early Settlement 25
Chapter IV-The English Governors. 63
Chapter V-The Wars with England. 85
Chapter VI-The Indians of Long Island-John H. Morice. 107
Chapter VII-Suffolk's Northeastern Towns 147
Clarence Ashton Wood
Chapter VIII-The Town of Southampton-Robert P. Schur 207
Town of East Hampton-Mary E. Bell 226
Chapter IX-The Town of Brookhaven-Osborn Shaw 247
Chapter X-The Town of Smithtown-Rev. Brother Urban 303
Chapter XI-The Town of Huntington-Martha K. Hall 337 Town of Babylon-Lorena M. Frebert. 359
Chapter XII-Early Queens County-Herbert F. Ricard 389
Chapter XIII-Hempstead Town. 401
Chapter XIV-Town of North Hempstead. 431
Henry Wilson Loweree
Chapter XV-The Town of Oyster Bay. 457
Frances Irvin and H. P. Horton
Chapter XVI-Story of Glen Cove-Robert R. Coles 481
Chapter XVII-The Nineteenth Century. 513
Chapter XVIII-The Whaling Era on Long Island. 534
Nancy Boyd Willey
VOLUME II
Chapter XIX-Long Island's Shellfisheries-Lewis Radcliffe. .. 1
Chapter XX-Long Island's Agriculture-Halsey B. Knapp. . 17
Chapter XXI-The Presbyterian Church on Long Island. 35
Rev. Edward J. Humeston
Chapter XXII-The Episcopal Church on Long Island. 63
Rev. John H. S. Putnam
xvi
CONTENTS
PAGE
Chapter XXIII-The Quakers of Long Island 87
Jacqueline Overton
Chapter XXIV-Methodism on Long Island . 97
Rev. Alson J. Smith
Chapter XXV-The Catholic Church on Long Island . 113
Rev. John K. Sharp
Chapter XXVI-The Lutheran Church on Long Island. 127
Robert W. Brockway
Chapter XXVII-The Flora of Long Island-George H. Peters. 137
Chapter XXVIII-The Mammals of Long Island. 151
W. J. Hamilton, Jr.
Chapter XXIX-Long Island Bird Life. 163
Baldwin Bird Club-Edwin Way Teale
Chapter XXX-The Birth of Nassau County 215
Chapter XXXII-The Nassau County Charter. 221
J. Russel Sprague
Chapter XXXII-History of Long Island State Parks 243
.
Chester R. Blakelock
Chapter XXXIII-Education in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. . 297
Edmund W. Case
Chapter XXXIV-Long Island Census of 1781 313
Oscar G. Darlington
Chapter XXXV-Long Island Tribunals 331
Frederic White Shepard
Chapter XXXVI-Banking 339
Chapter XXXVII-Medicine-E. K. Horton, M.D. 361
Chapter XXXVIII-The Fisheries of Long Island. 371
M. C. Old and E. P. Creaser
Chapter XXXIX-Long Island Poets and Painters. 381
James G. Murray
Chapter XL-A Brief History of the Long Island Rail Road. .. . David Robinson George
397
Chapter XLI-Long Island's Windmills of the 18th Century. . .. 405
Meade C. Dobson
Chapter XLII-Aviation on Long Island-Preston R. Bassett. . 409 Chapter XLIII-Duck Industry-LeRoy Wilcox 439
Illustrations
VOLUME I
PAGE
A Long Island Landscape. 4
The Thompson House, Setauket. 13
Port Washington and Cow Bay 21
Henry Hudson. 26
Old Turnpike (Cox) House, Old Westbury
35
Dodge Homestead, Port Washington.
44
Peter Stuyvesant. 57
54
Suydam House, Centerport.
The Duke of York 65
Lord Howe. 87
Grave of Gen. Nathaniel Woodhull at Mastic
92
Raynliam Hall, Oyster Bay. 97
Long Island Brave.
108
Indian Relics
138
Horton's Point Lighthouse.
148 157
A Glimpse of Greenport.
Village House, Orient. 163
Doorway of Samuel Huntting House, Sag Harbor 164
The Horton-Wickham-Landon-Case House, Cutchogue: 165
Fleet-Goldsmith-Kendrick House, Cutchogue. 166 188
Sound Avenue Congregational Church, Riverhead.
Corwin House, Aquebogue. 195
Hampton House, Bridgehampton
218
Ship's Figurehead of the U. S. Frigate "Ohio" 220
Manor House, Gardiner's Island. 233 234
Montauk Lighthouse.
Historic Panorama at East Hampton 237
Clinton Academy, East Hampton. 240
Mulford Farmhouse, East Hampton. 243
Chapel Theatre, Formerly a Union Free Church, Great Neck. 244
First Congregational Church, Centereach 249
The Duke's Laws 257
House at Lake Grove, near Selden. 262
The Suffolk Home at Yaphank. 296
New Village Congregational Church at Centereach. 297
Patchogue in 1868 300
xviii
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Historic Presbyterian Church at Smithtown.
306
Moses Mills House, Smithtown. 308
Caleb Smith House, Commack 313
Sagtikos Manor
321
Joshua Brewster-Smith House, Hauppauge
334
Isaac Smith Farmhouse, Melville
338
Old Thimble Factory, Huntington.
344
Birthplace of Walt Whitman at West Hills, Huntington Town. . 357
Nat. Conklin House, Babylon. 362
Triangle Place, Amityville, 40 Years Ago.
380
17th Century Carman House, Amityville.
381
Municipal Building, Babylon 383
First post office on north shore of Queens County 397
Christ's First Presbyterian Church, Hempstead. 402
Carman-Irish House, Hempstead.
406
Sketch of Sammis Tavern Which Stood During Early Times at Hempstead.
416
Freeport Memorial Library
422
Baldwin Public Library, Baldwin
423
South Side High School, Rockville Centre.
425
"Nassau Daily Review-Star" Building, Rockville Centre. 426
428
The Saddle Rock Grist Mill, Great Neck
438
Eldridge Mill, Great Neck
440
Roslyn-Washington Tavern in Background
443
The Mill in Roslyn Park
445
Washington Tavern
446
The Searingtown Church
448 449
Historic Map of Cow's Neck
450
Post Office, Port Washington
452
Great Neck Library
454
Monument at Mill Neck, Oyster Bay, Erected to Captain John Underhill ..
460
Colyer House, West Hills, Inspiration for the American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum.
463
Home of Smith Family on Centre Island, Oyster Bay. 464
The Historic Powell House at Bethpage. 466
Tryon Hall Which Stood Until Recent Years at Massapequa.
468
The Old Toll House, Montauk Highway
471
Roosevelt Memorial Fountain in Roosevelt Bird Sanctuary, Oyster Bay. 478
Coles Homestead, Oldest House in Glen Cove. . 485
Hempstead High School.
Sand's Point Lighthouse at Port Washington.
xix
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
City Hall, Glen Cove.
494
Glen Cove High School
510
Birthplace, at Yaphank, of Mary Louise Booth.
520
Original Certificate. 524
Clipper Ship. 527
Old Steamboat Dock and Sea Cliff Inclined Cable Railway, Sea Cliff
530
The Whaler's Presbyterian Church, Sag Harbor. 534
Long Island Whaleship. 535
Fire Island Lighthouse, Town of Islip, Suffolk County
544
Ponguogue Lighthouse at Hampton Bays 550
The Whaling Museum, Sag Harbor 553
Homestead of a Descendant of Whalers, the Author of this Chapter.
554
VOLUME II
Inside the New Greenport Oyster Plant.
9
Long Island Potato Scene. 30
Potato Crop Scene. 31
Potato Crop Scene. 33
First Presbyterian Church, Huntington. 49
Christ's First Presbyterian Church, Hempstead. 54
St. George's Episcopal Church, Hempstead. 68
From an Old Photo of St. George's Rectory, Looking South Across Creek from Front Street, Hempstead.
70
Caroline Episcopal Church, Setauket . 72
The Cathedral of the Incarnation at Garden City.
82
The Bowne House, Flushing, Home of Quaker John Bowne 90
Friends Meeting House, Glen Cove, Built in 1725 92
Friends Academy, Locust Valley. 94
An Old Photograph of Sag Harbor's Methodist Episcopal Church
98
Methodist Church at Searingtown, 1785. 101
Smithtown Branch Methodist Episcopal Church 104
The Methodist Church at Hempstead 107
Brick Church, East Williston. 110
Old St. James' Church, Brooklyn.
116
St. Joseph's-in-the-Pines at Brentwood 118
Academy of Saint Joseph-in-the-Pines, Brentwood. 119
Immaculate Conception Seminary, Huntington 122
Giant White Oak at Locust Valley 140
Dogwood in Full Bloom 149
PAGE
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
A Doe, Part of the Long Island Deer Herd.
160
Young Screech Owls. 166
Red Breasted Merganser (female) 170
Family of Mallard Ducks.
193
Breezing the Horses, Mineola Fair Grounds.
218
Parading the Prize-Winning Cattle, Mineola Fair Grounds. 225
Laying Cornerstone at Nassau County line, marking start of construction of Northern State Parkway in 1931.
243
Northern State Parkway. 246
A Bit of Northern State Parkway, Near Westbury 247
A Drawing of Northern State Parkway
248 250
Southwest corner of Main Street and Fire Island Avenue in 1892 Historic Fire Island Light.
View of Fire Island State Park
Birdseye View of Fire Island State Park
Montauk Light.
Camping at Wildwood
Airview of Sunken Meadow
The Belmont Mansion.
Park Commission office building
View of Belmont Lake. 262
Old dairy and livestock barns
262
Lt. Governor Herbert Lehman, Ex-Governor Alfred E. Smith, and August Heckscher
268
Commissioner Robert Moses at Dedication Ceremonies
The Taylor Mansion.
East Beach area, Heckscher State Park.
Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt at Jones Beach.
Jones Beach.
Water Tower, Jones Beach.
Two Views of Jones Beach.
Club House at Bethpage State Park.
The old Lenox Hills Golf Club House.
Bethpage State Park's Newest Facility 294
Polo at Bethpage State Park. 295
Central High School, Valley Stream
298
High School, Patchogue.
300 302
Roslyn High School
Great Neck High School. 303
The John Jermain Memorial Library, Sag Harbor 305
St. Paul's School, Garden City, 1899 306
Chaminade High School, Mineola. 307
252 253 254 256 257 258 260 260
270 271 272 283
285 287 288 290 292
ILLUSTRATIONS
xxi
PAGE
Public Library, Port Washington.
309
Public Library, Babylon. 309
Entrance to Adelphi College, Garden City.
Aerial View of Hofstra College. 310
311
Seaman House, Plain Edge.
320
Homestead at Jericho of Elias Hicks.
327
Carll Homestead (Barker Estate), South Huntington
329
Suffolk County Courthouse at Riverhead.
334
Home of the First National Bank and Trust Company, Freeport
341
Home of Nassau County Trust Company, Mineola. 346
First Federal Savings and Loan Association of Hempstead. 356
Mercy Hospital, Rockville Centre. 363
366
Nurses' Home, Southside Hospital, Bay Shore.
368
Bunker Fishing in Peconic Bay
374
Boats at Greenport. 376
383
"Cedarmere", Home of William Cullen Bryant, Roslyn 388
Library at Cedarmere. 388 391
Hallock's Inn, Smithtown.
The Brookville Church. 394
Long Island Rail Road Wood-burning Locomotive, circa 1878. 398
First Electric Train to Hempstead, 1908. 402
The Gardiner Windmill, East Hampton
406
The Windmill at Water Mill, Southampton Town.
406
Old Windmill at Hayground, near Bridgehampton
407
Sperry-Curtiss Aerial Torpedo.
418
Enlisted Men's Club, Mitchel Field
420
The Navy Airplane NC4.
422
Curtiss Navy Racer with test pilot "Casey" Jones
424
Wiley Post and the "Winnie Mae"
427
Republic P-47 N Thunderbolt.
432
Republic Amphibian "Seabee"
432
Grumman TBF Avengers.
434
Grumman Hellcat. 434
Republic P-84 Thunderjet. 436
One of Long Island's Duck Farms 440
World's Largest Duck Farm, Riverhead. 446
Electric Incubators. 455
Southside Hospital, Bay Shore.
"Home, Sweet Home" House at East Hampton.
The old mill on Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island. 407
Advisory Board
Dr. Paul Dawson Eddy, President Adelphi College, Garden City Dr. John C. Adams, President Hofstra College, Hempstead George H. Hauser, Vice President, Liberty Aircraft Products Cor- poration, Farmingdale
Hon. Henry J. A. Collins, County Judge, Nassau County, Seaford John D. Hallock, President, Suffolk County Historical Society, Riverhead
Preston R. Bassett, President, Nassau County Historical Society, President, The Sperry Gyroscope Company, Far Rockaway Nelson C. Osborne, former Chairman Suffolk County Board of Super- visors, East Hampton
Dr. Malcolm M. Willey, Vice President, Academic Administration, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis and Sag Harbor
Hon. Perry B. Duryea, Commissioner, Conservation Department, State of New York, Albany and Montauk
Dwight T. Corwin, Chairman, Suffolk County Civil Service Com- mittee, Riverhead
Dr. A. Elwood Curtis, President Chamber of Commerce, Hicksville Dr. Lewis A. Eldridge Jr., Historian, Great Neck Hon. Richard W. Hawkins, Surrogate Suffolk County, Northport Robert R. Coles, Historian, City of Glen Cove, Glen Cove Dr. John C. Huden, President State Teachers' College. Castleton. Vermont and Sag Harbor
Hon. S. Wentworth Horton, State Senator, Southold Hon. Leone D. Howell, Surrogate, County of Nassau, Mineola Hilbert R. Johnson, President, Freeport Historical Society, Freeport Cyril A. Lewis, President, Nassau County Art League, East Williston Jesse Merritt, Official Historian, County of Nassau, Farmingdale James E. Stiles, Publisher "Nassau Daily Review-Star", Rockville Centre
xxiv
ADVISORY BOARD
Hon. Charles N. Wysong, former District Attorney, Nassau County, Port Washington
Dr. Clarence Ashton Wood, Author and Lecturer, Southold
James W. Carpenter, Vice President, Long Island Lighting Company, Mineola
Leslie C. Disbrow, Town Clerk, Oyster Bay
Ralph J. Hawkins, former President, Suffolk County Bar Association, Patchogue
Meade C. Dobson, Managing Director, The Long Island Association, Forest Hills.
Dr. Oscar G. Darlington, Professor of History, Hofstra College, Hempstead
May T. Van Scoy, Librarian, Hampton Library, Bridgehampton Philip A. Hattemer, Banker, Patchogue
Burdge P. Maclean, M.D., Deputy Commissioner, Department of Health, County of Suffolk, Huntington
Edgar F. Hazelton, Attorney, Huntington
Augustus B. Weller, President, The First National Bank of Merrick, Merrick
CHAPTER I
The Geology of Long Island JAY T. Fox, P.S.A. Fox Museum of Natural History Seaford, Long Island
INTRODUCTION
F OR the past thirty years I have been engaged in the study of the Natural History of Long Island. My investigations into the flora and fauna of Long Island have taken me into every nook and corner of this territory. A naturalist cannot come in contact with the plant and animal life of a region without also noting the Geologi- cal aspects of the countryside. It was in the interest of trying to discover the Geologic changes through the interpretation of topo- graphical contours, that I took the trouble to examine and study with considerable care, the glacial history of this island of ours.
In brief summary, the present paper has not attempted to cover all of my findings, and I regret that it is not possible here, on account of space, to give more details.
In order to present an adequate analysis of the Geology of Long Island, I have also read many papers and articles on this subject and I thought it might be interesting to the reader to meet some of the early Geologists and become acquainted with some of their "findings".
EARLY GEOLOGISTS
The presentation of the first paper on this subject seems to have been written by Dupont de Nemours, who published a paper in 1750, giving a brief résumé as to how the island was formed.
In 1800, Samuel L. Mitchell wrote the Mineralogical History of New York. He described the topography and erosion of Long Island. Mitchell referred to beach dunes, large-sized boulders, and also touched upon the Marine fossils that were found when drilling for some deep wells at that time. In 1809, William MacClure published the first Geological Map of the United States of America. On it he shows the Northern half of the island as "alluvial"-a term used then which meant-"an unconsolidated bed of the Coastal Plain".
The first Geological Survey of New York was made in 1837 when W. W. Mather was State Geologist. In his 1843 report, Mather went into great detail about the Long Island clays, fossils, lignite and peat deposits. He also wrote a complete summary on the description of the large boulders left by the glaciers. He is accredited with com- piling the first detailed account of the Geology of Long Island. In the American Journal of Science, dated 1857, G. W. Cooke published a Geological Report that concerned, in most part, the submerged timber and marshes in the vicinity of Hempstead, Babylon and Islip.
L. I .- I-1
2
LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
J. D. Danna, the eminent Geologist, published in 1863 his first edition of the Manual of Geology, in which he shows that he recog- nized the glacial origin of the surface deposits of Long Island. An article was written in the American Naturalist in 1876 which states that D. S. Martin discovered fossils of the Silurian Age in large boulders, thus proving that these same boulders were glacial borne. Warren Upham, in 1880, wrote on the Glacial Moraines that were situated at Roslyn and Shinnecock Hills, Long Island. N. L. Britton, in 1883, gave an account of fossils found in sandstone, and he also mentions the clays of Long Island.
Geologists like F. J. H. Merrill, W. J. McGee, John Bryson, W. H. Dall and G. D. Harris followed with their various "finds" or geological discoveries. They then contributed this important scientific data for publication, thus increasing the amount of printed material on the Geology of Long Island. In the beginning of the 20th Century, we find many detailed reports on the Geological aspects of Long Island written by Arthur Hollick, W. O. Crosby, J. B. Woodworth, J. E. Woodman, A. C. Veatch, G. B. Shattuck and many others. The most complete report, however, is that by Myron L. Fuller, known as "Professional Paper #82 of the United States Geological Survey". Entitled "The Geology of Long Island New York", this paper was published by the United States Government Printing Office, but it is unavailable, having long been out of print.
DESCRIPTION
While Long Island is a part of the State of New York, only its far Western sector, namely Kings and Queens counties, actually adjoins the state. It is approximately 120 miles long and 20 miles in breadth at the widest part of the island (from Lloyds Neck on the North Shore to Seaford on the South Shore). The major portion of the island, running West to East, lies adjacent to and directly South of the State of Connecticut. Long Island is separated from that state by a body of water known as Long Island Sound. Long Island is extremely long and narrow and it resembles, figuratively speaking, a gigantic whale. The Western end seems to represent the head, while the Easterly end looks like the tail, with Orient and Montauk Points appearing as the flukes of the tail. Consequently, the high ridges that run through the center of the island from East to West can, with little imagination, be called the "backbone".
TOPOGRAPHY
A cross-section of the island, from North to South, at a point somewhere near Port Jefferson, would show the Geological Contour as follows : starting at the Sound, first, the sloping North Shore beach; then an escarpment or high plateau 100 feet or more in height, which tapers toward the center of the island. Here in the center, one would encounter two (2) distinct ridges, known as glacial knobs. These reach an elevation of 200 feet or more. From the base of the most Southerly knob or ridge the topography then continues on a gradual
3
THE GEOLOGY OF LONG ISLAND
slope or decline, for some 10 or 12 miles to Great South Bay, diminish- ing at the rate of 20 feet to the mile, to actual sea level. All of this territory from the foot or base of the "backbone", southward to the Great South Bay, is Geologically called, the Glacial Out-wash Plains. These morainal aprons are covered extensively with sand and fine gravel. Villages such as Hempstead, Freeport, Seaford, Amityville and Babylon are built on these great outwash plains.
GLACIERS
A glacier is : a mass of ice, formed in a region of perpetual snow, moving down a slope or spreading by its own weight. As this mass of ice moves, it picks up many tons of rock, sand and other debris (drift). The combined action of the advancing of the Glacier and the drift settling to the base of it, causes the underlying bedrock to become cut, scratched and grooved. As the Glacier melts or retreats, these boulders, rocks, etc., are finally deposited.
There were four Glacial and three interglacial periods on Long Island. These four Glaciers, named locally by Fuller, are in the order of their antiquity, the Mannetto, the Jameco, the Manhasset, and the Wisconsin. These four Glaciers can be correlated with the four named Glaciers of the Mississippi Valley; the Nebraskan, the Kansan, the Illinoisan, and the Wisconsin, commonly known as the Continental Glaciers. They also correspond, in time period, to the four Glaciers of the European Alps; the Gunz, the Mindel, the Riss, and the Wurm.
These Glaciers were composed of ice fields estimated to have been thousands of feet in thickness. No one knows definitely when the first or, for that matter, the last Glacier was formed, but it is the consensus of scientific opinion that the last ice sheet began to melt or retreat about 40,000 years ago and retreated approximately at the rate of 30 miles every 2000 years.
GLACIAL PROCESS
Almost everywhere on land there is a surface covering of soil and sub-soil lying in contact with bedrock. This soil is really a prod- uct of disintegration, or the breaking down, of the bedrock itself. In the territory North of and adjoining Long Island, namely New York and the New England States, we find that this soil rests in sharp contrast on the bedrock itself, with little or no evidence of decayed bedrock. This soil and sub-soil is filled with boulders, smaller stones, rubble and sand formed from various kinds of rock, but differing entirely in structure from the native bedrock itself.
If one were to clear this soil and sub-soil away from the under- lying bedrock, one would find running North and South, straight parallel scratches or grooves. Some of these striations on bedrock surfaces are as wide as 6 inches and some are equally as deep. This peculiar abrasive feature, namely the grooving or scratching of the bedrock, proves to us that a great scouring or scratching action took place during the transportation of the soil and sub-soil from some Northern locality, other than New York and the New England States.
(By Wm. S. Mount)
A Long Island Landscape
5
THE GEOLOGY OF LONG ISLAND
Only a large field of Glacial Ice carrying, or pushing, ahead of it loose material, could produce these markings on the face of this bed- rock. Every Geologic surface has features which deserve an explana- tion. The scratched bedrock under the Glacial deposits in this area show that these ice fields moved Southward from points as far Northi as Canada, Labrador, etc. Many of the larger rocks and boulders that were left in the wake of the last Glacial retreat are definitely from these Northern points of origin.
The large granite boulders found along the North Shore of Long Island were carried here from the vicinity of Yonkers, Westchester and sites farther North. Smaller stones and pebbles have been found in and about Roslyn which contain fossils and fossil impressions of snails, corals, etc. These are identical to the marine fossils found in the Catskill Mountains today. Then again, some of the boulders found on Long Island are of Sedimentary origin, particularly the large ones deposited on the North Shore. In these boulders, one can find fossils that are identical to those found today, in abundance, in Northern New York State. Fossils are the remains of animals and plants, or direct evidence of their presence, preserved in the rocks. It is chiefly by the aid of fossils that the age of rocks is determined.
Long Island is without doubt a most outstanding locale for the Geologist to study Glaciology, because it is here that the most South- erly limit, or stopping point of the aforementioned four Glaciers is found. These ice fields grew very slowly and the advance, or South- erly movement, was also a very languid process, the assumption being that they moved at the rate of 1 mile in 20 years. The animal and plant life existing prior to the coming of the first ice sheet, was greatly affected by the great climatic change, and it has been common in recent years to find prehistoric animal and plant fossilized remains while excavating in New York State. The fossil material thus un- earthed shows that the climate was far more temperate then than after the Glacial epoch. I speak particularly of the Mastodon skeletal material found in the vicinity of Cohoes, New York. These remains prove conclusively that the territory surrounding Albany, New York, was temperate enough to give sustenance to these prehistoric fore- runners of the present day Elephant.
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