Stories

The Origin of "Fire Island"

We'll give you three hints: maps, pirates, and poison ivy. Learn more about how Fire Island got its name.

 

The Wreck of the Bessie White

Occasionally unearthed by powerful storms like 2012's Hurricane Sandy, the hull of what is believed to be the wreck of the Bessie White lies on the beach beside the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness. Learn more about this fascinating artifact.

 

The Wreck of the Elizabeth

The Elizabeth was one of the most publicized shipwrecks preceding the founding of the United States Lifesaving Service. Margaret Fuller, a famous writer and feminist, was on board the Elizabeth and died in the wreck. The publicity stirred up by her acquaintances in the highest literary circles of America are credited with inciting reforms to lifesaving measures along the east coast.

 

The Wreck of the Louis V. Place

The wreck of the Louis V. Place is one of the best known wrecks that occurred on Fire Island. The small schooner carrying a cargo of coal from Baltimore to New York stranded on a sand bar east of the Lone Hill lifesaving station in the icy conditions of February 1895.

 

Return of the Fresnel Lens

Follow the Fresnel Lens from the top of the Fire Island Lighthouse to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia and back to its new home in the Fresnel Lens Building.

 

Fire Island During the Civil War

Learn how the Floyd family was impacted, and about Fire Island's connection to the Civil War.