USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 45
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48
443
DUCK INDUSTRY
Long Island is unknown. We only know that they made their appear- ance on Long Island sometime between 1873 and 1883.
Henry Raynor of Speonk was the first raiser to obtain Pekins in the Speonk-Eastport area according to William M. Edwards, one of the oldest residents of Eastport, who was interested in the duck business as he worked on some of the early farms and also had his own duck farm. Mr. Edwards stated that Brewster Tuttle and D. Parshall Tuttle were the first raisers in Eastport to use Pekins. They secured their stock from Henry Raynor.
There was a long experimental period before the duck industry began its course of steady expansion. E. O. Wilcox marketed 775 ducks in 1883, his first season in business at Speonk; 1101 ducks in 1884, 1566 in 1885, and 3466 in 1886. By 1901 he was hatching 30,000 ducklings annually. By 1897 about 200,000 ducks were produced an- nually by all the Long Island duck farms; by 1922 about 2,000,000 were produced annually by all the farms and in 1945 about 6,500,000 ducks were marketed. This great increase has been brought about mainly by the use of artificial methods in hatching and brooding.
Eastern Massachusetts and Long Island were the centers of the early duck industry. The Massachusetts raisers in those early days used the so-called dry duck farming - that is, they did not allow the ducks the use of creeks or streams. On the other hand, most of the Long Island growers allowed their ducks full freedom of ponds and streams. For a great many years there was a great deal of discussion among the duck growers as to which method was superior. Eventually the Long Island method proved to be much more economical than the other and the Massachusetts growers gradually changed their system and location so as to avail themselves of water range for their ducks. There were a number of early duck farms on Long Island in the eighties and nineties located entirely upland; notably in what is now Remsenburg (but which was Speonk prior to 1895) where during this period there were about fifteen duck farms of which twelve were upland and only three located on streams. Today out of the seventy-seven Long Island duck farms only one at Center Moriches is upland.
In the December, 1908, issue of Farm Poultry (Boston, Mass.) an article on growing market ducks on Long Island states: "Until about 1890 natural methods of incubation and brooding were used by the L. I. duck growers and the output was thus limited. Growers were skeptical about incubators and brooders. J. L. Nix of the Prairie State Incubator Co. introduced incubators in this section and to do it he had to put incubators on a number of plants and stay with them, making the rounds daily with horse and buggy until he had prac- tically demonstrated the advantages of the artificial hatcher"
Although the Prairie State Incubator probably had a greater sale among the duck raisers in the nineties than any other make yet it was not the first incubator in a L. I. duck farm. Luther Skidmore, an early duck raiser in the nineties in Riverhead, built some incubators for hatching his duck eggs.
No doubt I could have obtained some valuable information from my father who died in 1926 had I known that some day I would be
444
LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
compiling data on the history of the duck industry. L. E. Hulse, duck raiser of Aquebogue, states that my father told him that he had built an incubator of his own which on one occasion hatched every duck egg set. I find in my father's records that he purchased a Perfect Hatcher Incubator on October 15, 1884, for $140. This was . probably the first incubator used on a Long Island duck farm.
The second incubator that my father bought was a Eureka Incu- bator, patented in 1879 and sold by .J. C. Campbell, West Elizabeth, Allegheny Co., Pa., for $100. This incubator received first prize Gold Medal at the Worlds Fair, New Orleans, La., in 1885.
The next incubator that my father purchased was a Monarch Incubator on October 10, 1887, price $120. This incubator was invented, manufactured and sold by James Rankin, South Easton, Mass.
Later my father bought a Pineland Incubator, Jamesburg, New Jersey. The 1901 catalog of The Pineland Incubator Company states that that was the nineteenth season, which would mean that this incubator had been on the market since 1883.
By 1900 the Prairie State Incubator was probably the most popular incubator on the Long Island duck farms. My father wrote as follows on October 10, 1901: "I have used incubators for eighteen years and during that time have used several different makes. I have also seen most of the reliable ones on the market in practical operation and after all points have been considered, there is none that can compare with the Prairie State. I am using 47 of them and if I ever buy any more incubators you shall most assuredly get the order : but as I can get 30,000 ducklings from 47 machines I do not anticipate buying any more".
One of the largest raisers by 1900, W. H. Pye of Eastport, wrote under date of September 1, 1901: "I like the 85 new special duck machines you sent me very much indeed. In the last season I have hatched 55,000 ducks and have used your machines almost exclusively". Another large raiser, A. J. Hallock of Speonk, had 30 Prairie States by 1901, purchasing his first ones in 1891. He also had 30 Cyphers Incubators. D. H. Tuttle & Son of Eastport had used several kinds according to letter of October 14, 1901, and found the Prairie State the best they had ever used or seen. They were using fifteen 288 egg special duck machines.
Mrs. Stephen B. Wilcox, of Center Moriches, wrote under date of October 10, 1901: "I can heartily recommend the Prairie State Incu- bator as being without a peer. I now have 50 of your incubators on my place and during the 15 years in which I have used them I have been unable to find another incubator that would equal them". D. G. and Wm. C. Rogers' duck farm at Remsenburg had 5 Prairie States from 1892 to 1901. E. F. Tuttle of Eastport in 1901 said: "I have used Prairie States for several years and had better hatches than in any other machines".
After the Prairie State, the Cyphers Incubator made its appear- ance on the duck farms. Cyphers were placed on the market in 1896- 1897 and manufactured by Cyphers Incubator Company, Wayland, New York. In the 1900 catalog they state: "Up to three years ago when the Cyphers was first put on the market the highest general
445
DUCK INDUSTRY
average for the season of all eggs set made by the large L. I. duck breeders was 38 per cent and L. I. produces over 200,000 ducks each year. A. J. Hallock of Speonk is using thirty 300 egg Cyphers Incu- bators purchased in 1897. He produces each year from 15,000 to 25,000 ducks".
In the early summer of 1907 the incubator cellar of A. J. Hallock at Speonk, was destroyed by fire. This cellar contained eighty-three 300 egg Cyphers lamp machines having a capacity of about 25,000 eggs. The 1913 Cyphers catalog states: "The first Cyphers Mammoth Incubators (hot water) offered to the public were sold in 1907. These big machines were erected on Long Island, N. Y., and were for duck hatching. A 38,400 egg machine was installed in January, 1908, for A. J. Hallock, Speonk, and we installed an 8,250 duck egg machine at abont the same time on Forge River Duck Farm, Center Moriches, T. V. Cox, Prop. Mr. Hallock ordered another Cyphers Mammoth of 12,000 egg capacity which we installed for him in the fall of 1908. On October 1, 1910, we were given an order to double the capacity of the Cox machine. Furthermore, E. O. Wilcox of Speonk watched the work of the Hallock machine and in November, 1909, had installed a 40 compartment or 14,000 egg capacity Cyphers Mammoth on his plant. After using this machine through an entire season, Mr. Wilcox, under date of September 12, 1910, gave us an order to install a second Cyphers Mammoth for him consisting of 24 compartments". These apparently were the first hot water mammoth incubators installed on the Long Island duck farms.
Another early hot water mammoth machine was the Candee Incubator. In their 1916 catalog they state: "The Candee has sup- planted hundreds upon hundreds of lamp and other types of incu- bators. It has been the choice of as high as 95% of the duck raisers in many localities". They assert that the incubator cellar of C. H. Wilcox at Center Moriches was one of the largest in the world in which six Candee Mammoth Incubators were operated annually with total capacity of 44,400 eggs. A letter from Mr. Wilcox under date of May 2, 1913, reads : "This is our third year with your equipment which now consists of 62 sections or a capacity of 37,200 eggs. Will incubate this year about 120,000 eggs and have about 1200 breeders".
Later there was a number of other hot water machines placed in operation on the duck farms such as Newtowns, Wishbones and Per- fections. A great many of these are still in use on the farms but are slowly being replaced by electric incubators. Just as the lamp machines replaced the original and very limited method of hatching duck eggs with setting hens, and the hot water mammoths in 1908 meant the end of the troublesome lamp machines, so too the electric incubator will probably mean the end of the present hot water machines in the near future.
The first electric incubator purchased by a Long Island duck raiser was a Petersime Mammoth bought by Roy E. Pardee of Islip in February, 1927, and a second Petersime was purchased in 1931. The next raiser to purchase an electric incubator was Carman River Duck Farm (Charles E. Robinson) at South Haven. In 1934 Mr. Robinson purchased a Bundy Incubator from the Bundy Incubator
446
LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
Co., Springfield, Ohio. This was operated only one season and Mr. Robinson purchased a Petersime in October, 1935.
In order to secure a more complete coverage of the history of the Long Island duck industry it might be well to list the known early duck raisers in each village.
On the south shore of Suffolk County the eastermost farm is located on Mecox Bay at Water Mill. The present owner of this farm is William Kronshage who is the fourth owner since the farm was
World's Largest Duck Farm at Riverhead, Showing the Owner, Hollis Warner, Pointing
established about 1910 by George E. Jones. Mr. Jones started in the business by purchasing his breeders from my father. He raised about 500 ducks the first year and gradually enlarged the farm until he raised about 5,000 a year. This farm has always sold a good portion of its ducks to the local summer trade of Southampton.
A duck farm was in operation at Sag Harbor from about 1905 to 1915. The owner was James Grey, a city businessman who hired W. Frazer Young as manager. Later Mr. Grey gave up the duck business and went into the chicken business.
Another duck farm just west of Sag Harbor, at Noyack, was operated by Thomas Eldridge from about 1890 to 1910. He had an incubator room with about ten Prairie State Incubators; he also used hens for hatching duck eggs. He raised about 3,000 ducks an- nually; some were shipped to New York City and the rest sold to
447
DUCK INDUSTRY
local butcher shops. He also ran a wagon to Southampton twice a week selling his ducks'to the large summer homes and hotels.
At Hampton Bays there have been four separate duck farms. The Holzman Farm, the only one in operation at present, is located at the north end of the Shinnecock Canal on the west side. This farm was started by Mr. Holzman in 1907. At present about 25,000 ducks are raised annually. Albert Mickler owned a duck farm a short dis- tance south of the Canoe Place Inn on Shinnecock Bay. It was in operation from about 1900 to 1918. Some of the buildings are still standing. Mr. Mickler raised from 7,000 to 8,000 ducks a year. No doubt the first duck farm at Hampton Bays was that of George E. Foster located a short distance north of the Shinnecock or Ponquogue Light House. Some of these duck buildings were standing until recent years but at present all trace of them has disappeared. This farm was started about 1881 or 1882 and was in operation until about 1930. At its peak about 5,000 ducks a year were produced on this farm. Mr. Foster's daughter who at present lives just across the road from where the farm was located advised me that the duck pickers prior to 1888 were paid two cents a duck and that the ducks were dry picked. She well remembers picking ducks for several years before 1888 when she was married. Just across the road from the Foster farm was the duck farm of Gilbert Penney who started about 1885 but only raised ducks a few years.
Another early duck farm was located at East Quogue. It was owned by John Quinn who began to raise ducks about 1882. Mr. Quinn was Postmaster at East Quogue by 1910 so that he went out of the duck business some time prior to that date. This farm was located just to the north of the present duck farm of E. F. McCormack, the only duck farm now at East Quogue. From my father's records I find that he sold six Pekin drakes to Mr. Quinn on August 5, 1886.
Willard F. Davis raised ducks upland just west of the L. I. Railroad Station at Westhampton. He was raising ducks prior to 1905 and continued up to about 1915, producing about 5,000 a year. At Westhampton on Beaver Dam Creek, a short distance north of the bay, was located the duck farm of John Rogers. He was raising ducks as early as 1886 as lie bought nine Pekin drakes from my father that year. Mr. Rogers retired about 1922 and the farm has been vacant since. This was a small farm and it was probably the last one to use setting hens for hatching the duck eggs, as I well remember taking setting hens in feed bags over to his farm about 1912 to 1915. Two duck farms have been in operation at Tanners Neck, West- hampton on the next stream west of Beaver Dam Creek. The first farm in this locality was that of Sid Raynor who was raising ducks upland as early as 1886 as he bought some Pekins that year from my father. At the peak he raised about 3,000 a year. His farm was located on the west side of Tanners Neck Road. After Mr. Raynor's death in 1904 his son Archie continued the business in the same place until 1913 when he started raising ducks on the stream east of Tanners Neck Road. Archie raised 5,000 ducks in 1907. Part of his farm is the present Culver & Raynor Duck Farm. Chester Raynor (brother
448
LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
of Archie) started raising ducks in 1910 on the same stream adjoining, to the north of Archie's farm, and it is still in operation.
The next farms to the west are the three farms located on Brushy Neck at Speonk. The north farm directly south of the Montauk High- way is that farm of Steve Kuczma, who is the fifth owner. This farm was started by Alexander C. Drogkamp about 1900. The next owner was E. Tichenor about 1910, followed by Faber, William Kronshage (who is present owner of the farm at Water Mill) and finally Steve Kuczma. The farm directly south of the Kuczma farm is the writer's farm started by E. O. Wilcox in 1883. This farm was called Sea Side Ranch in 1884; by 1889 it went under the name of Ensilage Duck Farm but soon after it was given the name of Oceanic Duck Farm under which name it is known today.
The book "Portrait and Biographical Record of Suffolk County" published in Jan., 1896, gives a sketch about my father as follows: "In the year 1883 the raising of ducks began to be discussed and tried as a side issue to farming. Mr. Wilcox experimented in that direction, and soon found that he had opened up a business that had no limits but capacity and cash. As his capital increased he went into it more largely, until it has now become an industry of great magnitude, he sending to market annually from 8,000 to 10,000 ducks, making him one of three men who stand at the very head of the duck business in the county. This industry is vet in its infancy, and in the near future a great improvement will be made in the flavor of the choicest ducks now on the market, which will be brought about by the scientific arrangement of their food, to which end Mr. Wilcox is experimenting".
My father came to Brushy Neck in 1883 from Ponquogue (Hamp- ton Bays) where he and his father operated the Bay View Hotel just north of the Light House and adjoining the duck farm of George E. Foster. He may have come to Brushy Neck with the intention of starting in the duck business after observing the operation of the Foster farm, as he started in the business as soon as he arrived. From his records are taken the following numbers of poultry marketed in those early years:
Year
Chicks
Ducks 775
Doz. Eggs Fowl
1883
321
1884
453
1101
2229
277
1885
1077
1566
1719
265
1886
271
3466
1710
105
He was hatching 30,000 ducks annually by 1901 and the farm reached its peak in 1940 with the production of 145,000 ducks.
The one L. I. duck farm that has had a continuous history running back into the period of primitive conditions is the Atlantic or Hallock Duck Farm which is directly south of the writer's farm and extends to Moriches Bay. Warren W. Hallock came to Brushy Neck in 1838 when twelve years old with his father Jonah. Warren Hallock began to make ducks an important product of the farm as far back as 1858. He divided his time between farming, following the bay and keeping summer boarders. By 1885 he was marketing annually between 4,000
.
.
449
DUCK INDUSTRY
and 5,000 ducks. In 1892 Warren Hallock died and the business passed into the hands of his son Arthur J.
The first published account of this farm was an article by M. K. Boyer in the February, 1893, issue of Farm Poultry (Boston, Mass.) as follows: "Hens were employed to do the hatching and brooding. Later on Mr. Hallock's son-in-law, Stephen B. Wilcox, was taken into partnership and his son Arthur J. (the present proprietor) was in- stalled as 'feeder'. After Stephen Wilcox withdrew from the firm in 1891 to start a farm of his own at Center Moriches the son Arthur was taken into partnership and the firm name changed to W. W. Hallock & Son. Last year the senior member died. One thousand breeding ducks are kept and these are the cream selected from between 20,000 and 25,000 ducklings hatched". In 1900 this farm hatched 28,000 ducks and 4,000 chicks.
In the 'December, 1908, issue of Farm Poultry an article states: "Capacity of Atlantic Farm was now 40,000 to 50,000 ducks a year. In addition Mr. Hallock was now operating a farm at Center Moriches belonging to his sister, Mrs. Stephen Wilcox, whose husband had been killed by the caving in of a well not long after he established the farm. The capacity of this farm was 20,000 to 25,000 ducks a year". In 1909 about 49,000 ducks hatched. In 1916 about 125,000 ducks were hatched - all hatched in 144 sections of Cyphers Mammoth. At this time this was considered to be the largest duck farm in the world. One writer made the statement: "Atlantic Duck Farm is doing today (1922) a business running between $200,000 to upwards of $225.000 a year and is without doubt by far the most profitable poultry farm in the world". This continued to be the largest duck farm until about 1938 when Hollis Warner of Riverhead became the largest raiser. At its peak, in 1938, Atlantic Farm produced about 260,000 ducks.
There were about fifteen duck farms in the eighties and nineties in what is now Remsenburg (but which was Speonk prior to 1895). Beginning in the eastern part of this village, about one-half mile west of Brushy Neck, was the farm of Gilbert Rogers located on the north side of the road. The next farms in order going west were those of Charles Smith, Henry Fordham, John Tuthill, Will Strong, Preston Tuthill and John Learie, all on the south side of the road. The next farm was that of Mott Tuthill on the north side of the road. All of the above farms were east of the present Remsenburg postoffice. Farms west and north of the postoffice were those of Byron Tuthill, Rensselaer Dayton, Oliver Raynor, William C. Rogers (directly west across the road from the schoolhouse), Ira B. Tuttle and Henry Raynor. Frank Ruland's farm was southwest of the church on Basket Neck Lane.
The only three farms that were located on streams were those of Charles Smith, Henry Fordham and Ira Tuttle; all the others were upland farms. Before 1900 the largest was probably Mott Tuthill. It is doubtful if any of these farms were in operation after 1900 except that of William C. Rogers who continued up to about 1920. The majority of these farms probably raised only about 1,000 ducks annually. Henry Raynor raised up to 2,000 a year - all hatched under hens. Charles Smith, Will Strong and William C. Rogers bought Pekins from my father in 1886. There are no duck farms at present
L. I .- II-29
450
LONG ISLAND-NASSAU AND SUFFOLK
in Remsenburg and of these former duck raisers the only survivor is Ira B. Tuttle.
William H. Fordham raised ducks upland just west of Speonk railroad station. He started in 1897 and raised 6,000 ducks in 1899. The farm was no longer in operation by 1908. Another early duck farm at Speonk in the eighties, started by Lewis Raynor, is the present duck farm of Mike Stachnik. Alonzo Homan raised about 500 ducks a year upland from 1890 to 1893 at the western limits of Speonk on the south side of Montauk Highway. After going out of the duck business he caught fish and gathered eel grass for the duck raisers. During the coldest part of the winter when the bay was frozen over he got grass out of the fresh water ponds at Eastport, especially the upper part of Seatuck Creek where the pond did not freeze very much. He was paid one dollar a wagonload for the grass. The duck raisers especially desired the grass in winter to mix in the feed for the breeding ducks. At present there are seven duck raisers in Speonk but there are nine farms. Steve Kuczma has two, one on each side of Speonk Creek, and Murphy's Duck. Farm of Eastport has a branch farm at Speonk.
Eastport has been the real center of the duck industry. It had a larger number of early farms than any other village and even at the present time there are more farms here than in any other village. Around 1900 there were about twenty-nine farms, of which many were small and several were upland farms. By 1912 there were about sixteen farms. Now there are fourteen raisers and fifteen farms. Harry Baker has two farms, one on each side of the east creek. Probably all the upland farms were out of business by 1900 or shortly thereafter.
I shall endeavor to list the early farms in Eastport prior to about 1912. Beginning at the eastern limits of the village there are two farms on the east side of the east creek. The first farm directly south of the L. I. Railroad is the Murphy Duck Farm established by Hugh Murphy in 1912. The next farm south is Harry Baker's farm es- tablished by his father-in-law, Capt. Gil Seaman, in 1903. Seaman raised ducks on the beach across the bay from Eastport from 1894 to 1903 while captain of the Moriches Coast Guard Station. On the west side of the east creek, just south of the L. I. Railroad, is the present farm of George Frey. This farm was started by Mrs. William H. Pye about 1906. From 1911 to 1917 it was operated by Chester A. Pitney & Brud Seaman (son of Capt. Gil Seaman).
Capt. Charles T. Gordon, while Captain of the Moriches Coast Guard Station, raised ducks on the beach from 1906 to 1922, when he came to the mainland and established a farm - the present Harry Baker farm on the west side of the east creek, directly south of Tuttle Bros.' farm. Between the Montauk Highway and the railroad, on the east side of the boundary stream between Southampton Town and Brookhaven Town, was the duck farm of Edgar F. Tuttle - the present Otto Sperling property and no longer used as a duck farm. Mr. Tuttle was in the business before 1900 as he wrote under date of Oct. 24, 1901, to the Prairie State Incubator Co .: "I have used Prairie State Incubators several years". There are seven illustrations of his
451
DUCK INDUSTRY
farm, including one of a duck picker entitled "The Champion Duck- Picker of L. I."
On the east side of this Town boundary stream, just south of the railroad, is the present Phillip S. Gordon farm. It is believed to have been established by David H. Tuttle and later operated by Wilson Gordon (father of Phillip S.). The next farm south is the present farm of Elizabeth Lubniewski established by Wilson Gordon, followed by Leonard Tuttle and then John W. Tuthill. The next farm south on this stream was the farm of Stafford J. Robinson who was operat- ing there with his son-in-law, Wm. C. Newcomb, in 1910. This farm was between the present Lubniewski farm on the north and the Anczurowski farm on the south. This Robinson farm is no longer in operation. Directly south of this latter farm is that of Anthony
Anczurowski established by Wilson Gordon who raised his first ducks on this farm before moving north to the other two farms. He lived in the north dwelling on the present Anczurowski farm. Fred P. Howland, brother-in-law of Mr. Gordon lived in the next house south and raised ducks. The next farm south on the stream was that of D. Parshall Tuttle who also raised ducks directly across the road on the east side of River Ave. All of the above farms south of the railroad are on the west side of River Ave. All of this land between the rail- road and the bay west of River Ave. was owned by Daniel Gordon, father of Wilson.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.