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“PATCHOGUE – QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
SHORE” by BRIAN T. EGAN, Esq.
Patchogue has been the heart of the commercial,
industrial and recreational scene of Brookhaven Town
since the eighteenth century. Patchogue is the locus
of three major streams, Swan Creek, Patchogue River,
and Little Patchogue River (Tuthill’s Creek), which
very early in the settlement of this country,
attracted the attention of the colonists who sought
to harness the water to power their early industrial
development. Patchogue’s earliest nickname “Mill
Town”, was in recognition of the multitude of dams
and mills which populated the rivers for the sawing
of lumber for building purposes and water wheels to
grind grain. Nathaniel S. Prime, in his history of
Long Island, published in 1845, comments on the
early industrial nature of Patchogue, “The Village
of Patchogue is probably one of the most favored
places on Long Island with regard to water power,
having within the distance of a mile and a half,
three very considerable streams.” At this time,
there were multiple cotton mills which contained
upwards of 500 to 600 spindles each, saw mills, a
woolen mill, a grist mill, a paper mill and a rope
mill.
Patchogue’s protected location on the Great South
Bay also encouraged the development of a thriving
oyster, fishing and shipping industries. By 1873,
the industry was thriving beyond all expectations,
when Richard M. Bales in his “Sketches of Suffolk
County” wrote “It is estimated that the oyster
business which is carried on from this Village gives
employment to about 350 men, and it is probable that
the annual proceeds of the business, together with
other fisheries, amount in the aggregate to more
than a quarter of a million dollars. Of six to eight
hundred acres of the neighboring bottom are
“planted” with oysters, by individuals who lease
from the town, for the propagation and growth of
these bivalves. These artificial oyster beds are
supposed to yield an annual value of $100,000.00 or
more. Upon this industrial foundation principally,
this Village has grown within the present century
from an inconsiderable hamlet to its present
increase in size and importance.” By 1896, 1,000
tons of clams were taken from the bay in the
Patchogue area each year, and the success of the
Patchogue shellfish industry was publicized to the
entire country in an extensive Harper’s Weekly
article in September of 1877. Not only did the
shellfish provide sustenance to Village residents
and beyond, but the abundance of clam shells from
the nearby factories proved an economical road
paving material.
During this time period, the three major rivers in
Patchogue were a virtual forest of masts, with a
wide variety of small and large sailing vessels
engaged in reaping their harvests from the Great
South Bay. Along the rivers were factories and
warehouses dedicated to receiving, sorting, packing
and shipping the oysters and clams to New York,
Boston and other large cities, as well as the
foreign markets. The earliest history of the harvest
of oysters from Great South Bay consisted of only
shipping opened oysters, employing women of the
Village as openers. This trend evolved into shipping
oysters in the shell to be opened upon the point of
use. It was Patchogue that led the way for the
introduction of American shellfish to Europe, when
Captain Davis Baker in the 1870s shipped a handful
of oysters in the shell to England. This experiment
met with great results in England, and thereafter a
very strong market for Long Island oysters
developed. The oysters were cleaned and packed in
Patchogue, shipped to New York City, and from there
taken by steamship to Europe.
As the shellfish industry drove the economy of
Patchogue, one of the critical components to propel
this industry was that of ship building. From the
earliest days, Patchogue ship building was on a
colossal scale, with boatyards launching everything
from small skiffs to enormous schooners of 300 to
375 tons burden. The enormous ships were constructed
on shore, and as the boat neared completion, a canal
would be dug from the shore to the deep water of the
river. On a favorable high tide, the boat was
floated off into the river. The era of these great
yards started in the 19th Century, with the last
remaining yard being Frank M. Weeks Yacht Yard, the
founder of which original began plying his trade in
1898 and rose to a position of prominence on the
river. The construction of large schooners continued
unabated, and the first brig ever to be constructed
and launched in the Great South Bay was constructed
in Patchogue.
Emphasizing the important maritime industry that
existed along the Patchogue River, in 1890 the Army
Corp of Engineers dredged the Patchogue River,
thereby making it the only deep water port on
Brookhaven’s south shore. From 1875 to 1922, a
customs house was located on South Ocean Avenue, as
Patchogue was designated an official United States
Port of Entry.
No study of the ship building legacy of the
Patchogue River is complete without a mention of
Gilbert M. Smith, the famous “Wizard of the Great
South Bay”. Smith’s yard was located at the foot of
Amity Street on the east side of the Patchogue
River. At his yard Smith erected an enormous
building of 50 feet wide by 300 feet long, with a
finished second floor at the east end. In this
section, his wife would sew the sails for the boats,
all of which were sewn by a foot powered machine.
Smith originally specialized in the building of
small pleasure craft and racers. It is widely
reputed that his boats have won more races than
boats constructed by any other builder on Long
Island. The “Wizard’s” arrival in Patchogue was the
beginning of a trend in the sport of sailing.
Sailing moved from being purely a means of
transportation to a realm of amateur yachtsmen, who
purchased better, faster and newer boats for racing
each other in recreational regattas. Smith was most
remarkable as a boat designer and builder, and a
stalwart believer in the beauty and strength of
wind. In his decades of ship building, Smith never
built a boat with a gasoline powered engine. The
fine level of craftsmanship and precision which were
hallmarks of Smith’s yard, prompted the locals to
nickname his boatyard, “the Piano Shop”. Gil Smith
died at the age of 96 in May of 1940.
Smith’s boats were acclaimed in its own day, with
Yachting magazine opining that Smith “was to boat
building what Chippendale was to furniture”. In
fact, Gil Smith’s reputation is so well known in the
world of boat building, that Wooden Boat magazine in
April 2004 had an extensive article on “The Designs
of Gil Smith”.
It was against this maritime background that
Patchogue continues to move forward into the 21st
century. From the earlier settlers of 1750, to the
mighty industries that labored along the Patchogue
River, to the business center and engine of commerce
which its Main Street has become, Patchogue has a
palpable sense of history, coupled with a drive to
adapt and succeed into the future.
Brian T. Egan, Esq., is a lawyer in the Patchogue
firm of Fisher Egan & Golden, LLP (www.feglaw.com),
and a published historian.
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For more information contact
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The Greater Patchogue Historical Society
www.GreaterPatchogueHistoricalSociety.org
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Hans Henke
E:
hiam52@yahoo.com
Author of
Patchogue -
Queen City of Long Island's South Shore
The Early Years
&
Patchogue -
Queen City of Long Island's South Shore
In the Twentieth Century
available at Patchogue Stores
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More info about the books
Patchogue-Medford Library
or the
Patchogue-Medford History Room
http://www.pmlib.org/Longislandhistoryrm.htm
Pat-Med Library LI History Room
http://www.pmlib.org/Longislandhistoryrm.htm
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