6/7/2023 0 Comments Fire island national seashoreThe Fire Island National Seashore during Spring While the western portion of the island was referred to as Fire Island for many years, the eastern portion was referred to as Great South Beach until 1920, when widespread development caused the whole land mass to be called Fire Island. Yet another version says it comes from the rash caused by poison ivy on the island. Some say it is how portions of the island look to be on fire from sea in autumn. Other versions say the island derived its name from fires built on the sea's edge by Native Americans or by pirates to lure unsuspecting ships into the sandbars. ![]() At times histories have referred to it in the plural, as "Fire Islands", because of the inlet breaks. ![]() Historian Richard Bayles suggested that the name derives from a misinterpretation or corruption of the Dutch word vijf ('five'), or in another version vier ('four'), referring to the number of islands near the Fire Island inlet, a view echoed by Robert Caro, who suggest in The Power Broker that the island was named to reflect four inlets which have since disappeared. The name of Fire Island first appeared on a deed in 1789. It was part of what was also called the "Seal Islands". The Secatogues were a tribe in the area of the current town of Islip. It is believed its Native American name was Sictem Hackey, which translated to "Land of the Secatogues". The origin of Fire Island's name is not certain. All parts of the island not within village limits are part of the Fire Island census-designated place (CDP), which had a permanent population of 292 at the 2010 census, though that expands to thousands of residents and tourists during the summer months.įire Island Lighthouse, east of Robert Moses field 5 Etymology ![]() It lies within the towns of Babylon, Islip, and Brookhaven, containing two villages and a number of hamlets. The land area of Fire Island is 9.6 square miles (24.9 km 2). Together, these two islands are about 31 miles (50 km) long and vary between 520 and 1,310 feet (160 and 400 m) wide. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Long Beach Barrier Island, Jones Beach Island, and Westhampton Island, since the straits that separate these islands are ephemeral. Fire Island parallels the South Shore of Long Island.įire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |