Attractions on Long Island:
Parks & Beaches:
Suffolk County Parks
Fire Island National Seashore
Sagamore Hills National Historic Site
Museums:
Stony Brook Museums
The Long Island Convention and Visitor's Bureau List of Events
The Long Island Convention and Visitor's Bureau Travel Guide: Historic Places
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Hospitals
Mather Memorial Hospital- Port Jefferson Village, 631-473-1320
St. Charles Hospital- Port Jefferson Village, 631-473-2800
Stony Brook Medical Center- Stony Brook University 631-444-4000
History
Stony Brook and the surrounding villages comprise the Three Village Area, a picturesque part of Long Island that boasts a rich cultural and natural history. The Stony Brook area was first inhabited by western Europeans in the 17th century. Long Island, in the Revolutionary War, was a Tory stronghold, sheltering those that sided with the English monarchy. However, the Stony Brook area housed a fair number of revolutionary spies that assisted the Revolutionary armies of the surrounding states. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, the area served as a major shipbuilding center, repairing and building fishing and freight vessels that sailed around the world, and a whaling port. Farming, of course, was always a fundamental industry of the Island, documented by the beautiful 18th and 19th century colonial farmhouses that dot the countryside.
Today, the major industries of the island still revolve around the sea and farming. Fishing off the east end of the island, sod, potato, and corn farming, and tourism are the major industries of the eastern end of Long Island today. In addition, major research centers and research parks have been established, including Brookhaven National Laboratories, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island Research Institute, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
In addition to its cultural history, Long Island has a remarkable natural history, preserving relatively unique examples of pine barrens, interdunal tidal zones, salt marshes, and glacial features. Fire Island National Seashore preserves the barrier beach along the south side of the Island in a predominantly undisturbed state. The other national park area on the Island is Sagamore Hill National Historic Site, the restored home of Theodore Roosevelt. Hither Hills State Park in Montauk preserves lands on the ocean as well as the Long Island Sound. The Nature Conservancy has purchased lands in Stony Brook as well as on Shelter Island (Mashomak Natural Preserve). Mashomak protects the habitats of a wide variety of shore birds and ambphibians. A number of county and local parks are scattered throughout the Island providing many areas to hike, ride horses, canoe, and bike.