From VOICES: Field Notes by Nancy Solomon

Volume 30
Spring-Summer
2004

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In fall 2004, under state law, the cottages at West Meadow Beach are scheduled to be torn down ... If you would lke to help protect this historic commmunity, please contact your state senator and assemblyperson and ask them to support Senator John Flannagan’s bill, Number 5663.

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On the shore of Long Island Sound, just a few miles from the towns of Stony Brook and Port Jefferson, stands West Meadow Beach, which became a safe haven at the height of the flu epidemic in 1917. To avoid the contagion that is said to have claimed more than 10 million lives worldwide, several local and New York City families moved to the beach and waited out the epidemic. A few years later, remembering their enjoyable stay, they built cottages for summer getaways. By the 1950s, more than a hundred cottages lined the beach in the town of Brookhaven. Early cottages were typically built by local carpenters and builders, including the Lopers, the Dares, and the Stills. At first the cottages were very simple one-room structures. Over the years they were gently modified, with the addition of front porches, rear decks, and basic amenities like indoor showers and bathrooms. Nevertheless, most retain their original architectural features, including partition walls, post foundations, and one-and-a-half-story height.
The simple old cottages of West Meadow Beach are scheduled to be razed. Photo Martha Cooper.
Today ninety-three summer bungalows and twenty garages at West Meadow Beach still stand—but not for long, if Assemblyman Steven Englebright has his way. In fall 2004, under state law, the cottages at West Meadow Beach are scheduled to be torn down. Long Island Traditions has nominated the cottages to the State and National Register of Historic Places because West Meadow Beach is the largest remaining summer bungalow community left on Long Island. The nomination is scheduled for review on March 26, 2004. That does not prevent their demolition, however. If you would like to help preserve this historic community, please contact your state senator and assemblyperson and ask them to support Senator John Flannagan’s bill, Number 5663. In support of the measure—and to provide a record of the community in case the bill fails—Long Island Traditions has published West Meadow Beach: A Portrait of a Long Island Beach Community, by Nancy Solomon, with photographs by Martha Cooper. The book celebrates the history, cultural traditions, and natural resources of West Meadow Beach. To order, call Long Island Traditions, 516 767-8803, or visit www.longislandtraditions.org. Cost is $20 including shipping and handling. —Nancy Solomon

Nancy Solomon’s Field Notes column was published in Voices Vol. 30, Spring-Summer 2004. Voices is the membership magazine of the New York Folklore Society. To become a subscriber, join the New York Folklore Society now.