Bay Houses of Long Island
The Bay Houses which are also known as Bay Shacks are located on the marshes found between the South Shore of mainland Long Island and the outer Islands of Long Beach, Jones Beach, Fire Island and out to the Hamptons. In the 1920’s there were hundreds of Bay Houses on the marshlands adjacent to the towns of Long Beach, Island Park, Oceanside, Point Lookout, Freeport, Merrick, and many south shore towns in Suffolk County.
Bay Houses were originally built by Bayman who made their living harvesting clams, oysters, mussels, crabs, eel, killies and other baits used by local fisherman. They were also used by duck hunters. As a kid living on Wreck Lead, now known Harbor Isle (It’s obvious why later inhabitants wanted the name changed), I remember seeing on the surrounding marsh lands dozens of Bay Houses and after the 1938 Hurricane only 6 or 7 remained.
Subsequent hurricanes destroyed many more of the Bay Houses along the south shore of Long Island until only a few dozen remain out of the hundred that were there in the 1920’s.
The Town of Hempstead has declared these remaining Bay Houses to be cultural landmarks and are maintained by leaseholders that may be passed down to future generators.
Bay Houses today are used as vacation or weekend retreats. The early Houses were no more then a lean-to built on pilings driven into the marshes. They eventually evolved into 4 or 5 room houses with a dock and the proverbial Out-House. Today, electricity is provided by generators and propane for cooking. I decided to create these pen & ink drawings to preserve the present Bay Houses and recreate from old photo’s those that have been lost.
Island Artworks, online art gallery, offers pen and ink sketches, portraits and artwork of various forms
