Come To Colorful
TANGIER, LONG ISLAND
a colorful place to say the least
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THE TANGIER LONG ISLAND BILLBOARD IN TIMES SQUARE NYC 1911
I have shown this before, but never in color. My thanks to Joel Streich of Commack Long Island my "Post Card Go To Guy". For over 4 years Joel has supplied me with many of the color photos of early Mastic, Mastic Beach and Shirley. You can read a Newsday story about him here and also link to the massive collection he has on E bay of Post Cards from all over
One of the most interesting side stories I stumbled into with this Knapps Lived Here journey has been discovering the story behind that old wooden bridge that used to be up at Smith's Point. A few Mastic area old timers talked about it and how they would try to keep it repaired after each winter as the ice would tear it up. A few photos of it surfaced circa 1917 and that led me to a 1910 artist illustration of a European design grand bridge leading to a resort city of hotels not unlike Atlantic City except located at Smith's Point! That led me to maps with the name of Tangier plastered all over the area most everyone knows as Shirley, Long Island. Which led to more and more Eureka moments and discoveries about a guy named Quinby, a name that appeared in the 1920 Census right between the Smiths and the Knapps...and as they say the rest is history..... well at the bottom of this page are links to all the history I have on "The Development Of The Century " so far....If you haven't seen it yet and you live in Mastic or Shirley or the Beach you will not believe your eyes..... I'm sure Mr. Shirley didn't either when he first laid his eyes on the plans that Quinby left behind.......
And Here Is The Brains Behind The Operation In Living B&W
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FREDERICK J. QUINBY
At least I'm 99.99 percent sure it's him. Standing behind every acre he sells ya I tell ya. If the piece he has looks familiar to some it should. It's one of the two 1812 Naval guns at the Manor of St. George, in Mastic Beach. And it was at the Manor that the deal was struck to buy up 10,000 Acres of it from three of the four children of this man .....
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Egbert Tangier Smith circa 1880
The father of William, Clarence, Martha and Eugenie Tangier Smith, Egbert was already dead for a decade when Quinby convinced three of his four grown children to sell him some of their land for a WHOLE LOTTA DOUGH,,,,Clarence was the sole holdout..... and as for what developed out of it ..... kick off your shoes, pour yourself a refreshing beverage of your choice and read on...