{ title: 'The leader. (Freeport, N.Y.) 1941-1987, September 22, 1977, Page 22, Image 22', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1977-09-22/ed-1/seq-22/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1977-09-22/ed-1/seq-22.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1977-09-22/ed-1/seq-22/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/sn95071064/1977-09-22/ed-1/seq-22/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Freeport Memorial Library
Down Freeport River: Post Into Present into Post ' At every Instant of life, the pre sent is becoming the past; one spontaneously blends with the other, so that it is difficult to dis tinguish which is which. The im-, mediate moment, which occurs as you read this line, has already turned Into the past by the time \ _you_reach thc.pcriQdL^ere,-cxi_ actly, does one end and the other The same holds true for the Freeport River, for the past here is interwoven with the present, • forming a.mergence in which yes terday and- today seem to be simultaneously present. At Tbe Bead like all trips, this journey down Freeport River begins with a .look behind. As you ctoss Mffl Road ^ , 5 oystef trade 1 and approach the rivet's head, ishej in the village' for the you'll find a lot with three struc- • - turesfacingyour back. In the his- , ____________ ^ tory • o^lhat•\ 8 Iff 4 ^-plece--of-p^— g rew T T io^W T The' h r iiiddstiy' — perty is the history of the entire village. In the early 1600’s'this area was still unsettled, and was in- habitated primarily by miles of ■ The main stnicfure.is how an antique shop, owned by one Dor othea Miller, who cautions her visitors to “ watch your step. The floor is crooked because there’s no foundation under it. In fact, where you’re standing right now is where the oysters used to float. -Instead—of—a-.foundationi—tho-r-! oystermen built hatchways under the house so they could sell their oysters right from the floor.\ Operated by a legendary oys- terman, Chauncy Sprague, the • Old Oyster Wharf was the center 'o f an industry that^lincd both sides - of the Frwport River. Beginning in the 1 8 ^ ’s, as the bottom of the river was turned into an artificial but prolific shell- . .................. flour- next several decades. As Long Island’s populati^ ■hoWeverTT i nd which;depended upon a clean; Steady supply, of water — grad ually • died. The ’ imtlal strike against it fell when .the water firom local.w e ^ and; streams clam, ranging in length from six and-white striped marina holds to eight inches, which — when up to 300 boats, each of which can sliced and minced — is used pri- be placed in the water in less than manly in chowder and sauces: fiveminutes. At 4 am each morning. Gran- 'A fork lift truck takes the boat au’s boats travel ouUo the ocean, . from its elevated indoor rack, where huge hoses pump water to carries it outside to the d o ^ and loosen the sand around the clams, places it on a boat lift, which in The skimmers are then d/edged, hauled aboard the boats, and bushcled for market. High, Dry and Wet Further downstream, the trip advanggs. mnrt». fipTily _intf> th e , ■ I - ------------------------—^ present, with intimations of the Endeavor, built to Granau's future. A1 Grover’s High & Dry specifications; is capable of Marina, the largest enclosed dredging 70,000 bushels of skim- • dry-land marina on Long Island, clams per year. presents a unique concept in • The skimmer is a large sea ■ boat storage. The sprawling blue-' (Cent, on Page 23-W) Bus Route and Feny Stops to Boat Show I. wetland grasses. Seeling fresh began being .pumped to Brook- paslurea, pioneers in Hempstead |yn, thus reducing the flow into Town send (heir cattle down Freeport River and consequenUy weakening the supply , of micro- led daily organisms fed on by the oysters. their south to graze grasses. The cattle were b j cowkeepers, wfio were charg ed with the task of keeping the cows off of farmlands, driving predators away, and watering the animals. One of these cow- keepers went by the name of Edward Raynor. In 1659, as Hempstead Town was expanding, householders finally. moyed into the grazing lands, and they were guided by Edward Raynor along the same, trails he had first discovered as a cowkeeper;' Raynor and his descendents had such influence , U T . # i g 'ii'- organisms fed on by the oysters. Next came industrial-pollution, followed finally by the building ' of the' Wantagh-Jones. Beach; causeway: sand dredged for the causeway's construction - was' “ spilled into the river • the oysters were smothered and their beds destre^ed. - By th e . 1930's, Freeport's oyster trade was finished. ; Lobsters Today, how ler, Freeport still thrives on the water. One ex- ' ample of how it ;,does can be ,..i 4 ^ 4 l j . . ..... i w .m’A P ■ . A A j i ' L i J t ' j i : desrendents had such influence found right next to the Oyster on the founding and devejopment. W h ^ ; the Yankee Qipber. one of this area_ that It was known, . of the'^ community’s,, many out- 5 ™“ ,; “ stanaihg seafood ' restaurants. , ‘p-iTua-r: Iv ^ • - . r i v u P Ti (i!=5T3£S> f a i l 4 u The’property on Mill Roa^ivas the origihd homestead of Edward •Raynor’s son, Samuel, granted to' him by the H em p st^d Town in- the year 1684.'One of the oldest hom'es remaining in Freeptih, the large house situated < em\corner of the lot was biiilt in the 1700’s, either by Samuel ' Raynor’s grandson' or great- - grandson .-^Wlth-the help of fed erally-financed Community Development funds, the Village of Freeport plans tb'trimsfonn the Built In 1967 ^ Donald Coons, the.eatery is located on what was. once another parrel of Raynor property. The Qipper’s motel was added in 1972. In the words of Coon’s son, Richie — who now manages both the.restaurant and motel— the Yankee Clipper is taraous for its big lobsters. In fact, we sell mure. lobsters man any-other, restaurant on Long Island,’.' , . - Qams As the route* moves closer to., the river’s mouth, it comes across another illustration of how Free- • port still makes its Kvihg from the U .5 11 : . : ? : ..i j — — 2>;, 4 1 ?V' ;.4l- f I p pi:;;\ «!•;. J : Ml ■ii U. P>«u. .u >r.nsronu vra: Freeport Sea d a m Cottl- by the Freeport Historical ,beb shellfish straight from UatKemafua ' , S L \ « d . fo K feet of ocean.water. F u r t h ^ t h e river,, . route moveslnto tKeTmore recent past. On the west bank,.,nearly hidden in a secluded and shady glade, can be seen five red- stained weather-beaten build- _,ings. This is the Old Oyster Wharf—the last remains of what ■waarm fy a fhrivingmmTWAfry, ___ The Sea XI am Company was started, , in 1953 by . WilUam Granau, who — ’for a variety of mysterious reasons — has been known for years along the water front as Billy Botch. Granau be gan with a single 18-fbot‘skiff; . -to d ^ ^ e -h a s a fleet of six Jjoats*.. including two TO-foot, diesel- powered, -all-steel shops. The Ti 'if, \Ail LEGEND - •*= Boat Show Bus Slop ■ = Boat Show Ferry Stop . A l T f i B = Partlnofleld#23(Iowererid* * of Han so A vb .) C= Boat Launching Ffamp D=StadIum Parking Reid •• ‘(Weekend only'-enierthru' ■■■•i ' ,• • • I l - ' n : . -*M : M: '' •’ ■ j . . - i i i .; j !;■ i t I .ii i' f ■: ^ ■' IV M r'
