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Fire Island National Seashore Multicolored September sunset over Bellport Bay with silhouette of small watercraft and sailboat.
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Fire Island National Seashore
History & Culture
 

Fire Island's maritime history precedes colonization of Long Island. Native Americans hunted and fished in the vicinity long before Colonial settlements were established. The economy and life patterns of residents have centered around the Great South Bay and Fire Island since the area was first settled.

The whaling industry, the era of the U. S. Life Saving Service, shipwrecks, habitation of the island, and the local fishing industry are some of the stories you may learn about at the Fire Island Lighthouse.

Fire Island has a long heritage of waterfowl hunting and the shellfishing industries on the Great South Bay. Hotels and resorts later followed on Fire Island.

Fire Island National Seashore also includes the ancestral home of one of New York's four signers of the Declaration of Independence: the William Floyd Estate. Here you may learn about the Revolutionary period, Long Island's settlement and its early estate and plantation economy.

  

 
 

Learn More

Many local libraries and museums contain historic photographs and collections about Fire Island and the properties now included within Fire Island National Seashore.

 

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Piping plover on beach.

Did You Know?
The piping plover is a federally threatened and New York State endangered species. It may be delisted when a total of 575 breeding pairs can be maintained in New York and New Jersey for five years. Fire Island National Seashore is currently the home of 15 - 20 nesting pairs of these shorebirds.
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Last Updated: June 24, 2009 at 11:54 MST