09/19/2025
THE EAST ISLIP HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORY
The East Islip Historical Society was founded during the summer of 1992 by a small group of concerned individuals, who recognized the timeliness and need for an organized effort to begin researching, collecting, and preserving the unique history of the East Islip area and encompassing neighbors--Great River and Islip Terrace. The purpose was to have this history available for students, researchers, scholars, future generations, and also for those of us who just plain enjoy the "good ole' days."
The Society holds regular meetings on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:30 PM (except for Jan & Feb, July & August) and publishes a monthly newsletter, which typically contains news of upcoming events, items of local interest, and wonderful serialized stories--gems gleaned from the past. The regular meetings are held in the Gatehouse at Brookwood Hall, but it does change from time to time. We have been guests and have held meetings at the Bayard Cutting Arboretum, the old Southside Sportsman's Club, the Maritime Museum in Sayville, and Dowling College.
We have been privileged to have a variety of interesting speakers at the meetings, and we have enjoyed photos, as well as slide and video presentations, many by experts in their respective fields. Topics have included everything from the history of the Police Department in the town of Islip, to the histories of both Long Island and Fire Island. We have had talks on the local history of the East Islip Fire Department, the Sportsmen's Club, and the Arboretum. We learned of Lindbergh's regular visits, Gershwin, Chaplin, Astaire, O'Neil, and many more places and people of historical significance to East Islip and the world.
We have been, and will continue to be, instrumental in preserving pieces and places of local history. So far a sizable collection of photos, documents, records, and other historical paraphernalia has been acquired, a most of which we intend to bring to this site. We have also saved the Long Island Railroad lean-to at the Great River station, and were instrumental in recommending an 'Historically Conscious' architect to redesign and rebuild the Brookwood Hall Gatehouse which was decimated by fire in 1995.
In addition, the dedication of the first Historical Markers in East Islip to commemorate Brookwood Hall, The East Islip Fire Department, and St. Mary's Church have been completed. This, among many other projects, are on-going at the Historical Society.
Why not join?
