2011 Lecture Series

Please join us on Wednesdays at 8pm for this fall's annual lecture series.  All lectures take place on Wednesdays at the auditorium at Peconic Landing in Greenport.

Peconic Landing is a proud supporter of this series.

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9/7     Jeff Walden
“Hotels and Inns of Laurel and Mattituck.”

The North Fork of Long Island was once lined with grand hotels, boarding houses, and inns. Few alive today remember these grand edifices, which were mostly gone by the beginning of World War II. Step into another time through the images and stories of a period when the North Fork rivaled other great vacation spots such as Fire Island and Nantucket. Jeff Walden of the Mattituck-Laurel Library will show us some of the amazing hostelries that once existed in these two historic Hamlets.

9/21     Richard Wines
“Sound Avenue: My Favorite Road.”

This 16-mile stretch of highway, originally the "Road to Setauket" from Southold, passes through the heart of the North Fork's prime agricultural lands that made it the richest farming community in the state by the end of the 19th century. Its storied history includes the state's first rural free delivery route, its own early telephone company, and a 1909 world automobile speed record. It is probably the only road anywhere to have been incorporated as a village. Join us for this presentation by Richard Wines, a board member of the Hallockville Museum Farm, and the current chair of the Riverhead Landmarks Preservation Commission.

10/5     Hugh King & Ken Collum
“Of Coves and Speakeasies:
Prohibition and Rum-Running on Long Island’s East End.”


The fascinating tales concerning the period of prohibition in the United States would not be complete without a discussion of the activities that occurred on eastern Long Island, one of the most active places for the delivery of illegal liquor. Whether you were a struggling farmer or a restaurant owner, nearly everyone made part of their living from the smuggling and delivery of alcohol during the 1920s and early 1930s. Hugh King, the director of Home Sweet Home Museum, along with Ken Collum, the East Hampton Village Fire Marshall, will deliver this fun and entertaining presentation.

10/19     Ruth Ann Bramson
“Charles Henry Miller: Painter of Long Island.”

One of Long Island’s best known artists, Charles Henry Miller sketched and painted in nearly every corner and hamlet of his adopted home. From the docks and ferries of Queens and Brooklyn to the shores and beaches of East Marion and Orient Point, Miller recorded the picturesque nature and changing landscapes of Long Island. Through his paintings, Miller preserved the rural nature of the Island, while also championing its wonders to his fellow artists. Ruth Ann Bramson, great grand-daughter of the artist, will discuss the life and works of this important artist.

11/2      Ronald Brown
“New York’s Fifth Avenue: A Utopian Experiment.”

Discover the other Fifth Avenue, the one few people are aware of--Fifth Avenue as an early 19th century Calvinist Utopian Experiment. During the American Revolution the small but ruling English Episcopal elite lost their power. Into the breach stepped the long suppressed Calvinists who sought to transform New York City into a New Jerusalem modeled after John Calvin's Geneva Christian Republic. From Washington Square in the 1820s they pushed north along Fifth Venue with homes, houses of worship, stores, hotels, private clubs, mansions of the rich, and public buildings. Fifth Avenue is more than an avenue, it is an earthly utopia. Ronald Brown, the respected author and historian, will enlighten us on the history of the “other” Fifth Avenue.

11/16     Amy Folk
“Munnawhatteaug:
The Last days of the Menhaden Industry on eastern Long Island.”

Once prized for their oil, Menhaden, known locally as “bunker,” have almost disappeared from Long Island’s shores, where it was not unusual to catch one million of them in a single day. From the late 19th to the mid-20th century, ever more efficient boats and equipment hunted the fish from New Jersey all the way up to the shores of Nantucket. By the 1960’s the industry was fading on eastern Long Island, soon to disappear forever. Join us for a rare look at an industry that once rivaled whaling. Amy Folk, the collections manager at Oysterponds and Southold Historical Societies, will present this look into vanished way of life.