Bayport Blue Point Heritage Association: March 2022

Friday, March 11, 2022

~ March 2022 UPDATE

General Membership Meeting Re-scheduled

General Membership Meeting: NEW DATE & TIME

Sunday, April 24th, 2:00-4:00pm

Due to a booking error at the library, our meeting needs to be re-scheduled.

Join us at our next general membership meeting at the new Bayport-Blue Point Library on Sunday, April 24th at 2 o’clock

We will learn about prominent Long Island shipwrecks in a lecture by historian, author, and retired Newsday reporter Bill Bleyer.

The PowerPoint presentation will include maritime disasters from the Prins Maurits carrying colonists to what would become Delaware, HMS Culloden wrecked at Montauk during the American Revolution, the Mexico and Bristol carrying immigrants during the early 1800s, the fire that destroyed the steamship Lexington in 1840 – Long Island Sound’s worst calamity – to the sinking of the USS San Diego in World War I, and the loss of the tugboat Gwendoline Steers in a 1962 winter storm.

We look forward to seeing everyone!

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

March 2022 Newsletter

General Membership Meetings are Back!

General Membership Meeting: We’re Back!

Sunday, March 20, 1-3pm

Join us at our next general membership meeting at the new Bayport-Blue Point Library on Sunday, March 20 at 1 o’clock. We will learn about prominent Long Island shipwrecks in a lecture by historian, author, and retired Newsday reporter Bill Bleyer. The PowerPoint presentation will include maritime disasters from the Prins Maurits carrying colonists to what would become Delaware, HMS Culloden wrecked at Montauk during the American Revolution, the Mexico and Bristol carrying immigrants during the early 1800s, the fire that destroyed the steamship Lexington in 1840 – Long Island Sound’s worst calamity – to the sinking of the USS San Diego in World War I, and the loss of the tugboat Gwendoline Steers in a 1962 winter storm.

Please note that this meeting begins at 1 pm. We look forward to seeing everyone!

St. Patrick's Day Parade

Mark your calendars! Bayport-Blue Point Chamber of Commerce’s 32nd Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade is Sunday, March 13, 2022. The BBPHA will be marching along again!

Our Grand Marshal for the 2022 Parade is Matthew “Matty” McGuire. Two years ago, Matt was supposed to be the Grand Marshal for the 2020 parade but Covid cancelled those plans for two long years. We are glad the parade is a go and Matt will be leading the way!

Matt is from the Bayport Blue Point Little League where he has served as President for almost 10 years. Starting at 11 a.m. at the corner of Snedecor Avenue and Montauk Highway in Bayport, the parade ends down Blue Point Avenue in Blue Point. Join us on March 13, 2022 for the Bayport Blue Point St. Patrick's Day parade.

Help Wanted

House Tour: It is never too early to start planning our Annual House Tour. If you have a historic house in the Bayport or Blue Point community or a home that has architectural significance or charm, please contact us! We would love to showcase your home in our tour this October, to share the history of our communities. We also need help with planning and promotion. If you have some time to give back to your community, in any way, shape or form, WE NEED YOU!

Docents: From June through October tours of the historic Meadow Croft estate are given every weekend by our small group of dedicated docents. We are always looking for new names and faces to lead our tours. If you are interested, contact us below. Training provided.

Heirloom Garden: Who has a green thumb? Ok, not necessary but volunteering to help with Meadow Croft's Heirloom Garden will make your heart full and maybe turn your brown thumb green! All levels of experience needed. Join the fun!

Spring clean-up: We are in need of some dedicated, outdoor loving friends to help with a spring clean-up at the Meadow Croft estate. If this is something you might be willing to volunteer a few hours for, please email us. Thanks in advance!

Ye Ole Anchorage Inn

These stories first appeared in the Bayport Blue Point Gazette. They were written by Gene Horton and shared here with permission.

March 2009

Location: NW corner of Montauk Hwy. & Kennedy Ave; site of an abandoned gas station today.

This old photo shows Ye Anchorge Inn as it looked around 1900. The Inn was established by Captain Will Graham in 1897 who called it "An Inn as is an Inn."

Ye Anchorage could accommodate 35 guests. The site was most famous for its Great Sphinx. Over the years, Ye Anchorage was visited by Teddy Roosevelt, Mary Pickford, Elbert Hubbard, Douglas Fairbanks... Captain Will Graham was somewhat eccentric...his place attracting Bohemian, show-biz and sports-type figures.

Will Graham died in 1920; the Inn burned down on March 31, 1928. The property became the site of Toni Ferri's gas station. The head of the Great Sphinx was moved to Bayport by the Fontana Brothers in 1974 and completely restored.