HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Growth of Agriculture in Riverhead Town
FOREWORD
Less than ten years after the close of the Revolutionary War, in
1792, the Town of Riverhead was created from the westerly portion of
the Town of Southold. Along the North Shore of this area, from
Mattituck to Wading River, lies the stretch of rich farmland known as
Sound Avenue. Many of the farms trace their ownership back three
hundred years, and at least one of them has been farmed continuously
by the same family.
As early as 1793 concern for the fertility of Suffolk County
farmland was uppermost in the mind of the Hon. Ezra L.'Hommedleu of
Southold. In the Transactions of ~he Society for Live Promotfon of
Agriculture, Arts and Man. ufacture in New York State, of which Society
he was Vice Presklent, we find him reporting on experiments made
with green seaweed, and ur§in§ tile use of fish "called Menhaden or
Mosbunkers" as fertilizer.
From the time of Ezra L'Hommedieu to the present, Suffolk
County and Riverhead Town have produced the creative leadership
that has made possible the fertile farmland of the Sound Avenue of
today. It is the story of the men and ideas beh[ncl this development
which is presented here. The Suffolk County Historical Society con-
siders it an honor to publish The Growth o£Agriculture h~ Riverhead
Town by Nathaniel A. Ta~mage, outstanding farmer, and member of
the Society.
Helen Raynor Hannah
Riverhead
October 1977
OFFICE OF THE HISTORIAN
TOWN OF $OU'FHOLD
SOUTHOLD, L..I., N~vV
RIVERHEAD AGRICULTURE
A Bicentennial History
When the Declaration of Independence was signed 2 centuries ago,
the 13 colonies became a new nation which was to grow in size and
power anti influence as the years went by. What is now the town of
Riverhead was at that time a part of tile town of Southold: it was not
until 16 years later that the Act of Separation tool( place, giving us our
present Towm. In those early clays agriculture was tile way of life of the
vast majority of the residents, ancl as tile years have rolled by the crops
and methods have changed, but Riverhead is, more than ever, one of
the great agricultural townships of this nation.
Agricultural census figures are listed principally by counties, and
according to the latest U.S. census figures (1969) Suffolk County is by
far tile most important agricultural county in New York State in total
value of its agricultural production, exceeding by at least 50% the next
most important county. Suffolk produces as many potatoes as all of
the other counties of the State combined; it produces as many White
Pekin ducks as all of the other states combined, and is the leading
New York producer of sod, flowers, nursery stock and cauliflower,
and with very important amounts of other agricultural products. This
is still true, even though the farms in the 5 western townsbips of the
county are being rapidly taken over by residential and industrial ex~
panslon.
Of 53,215 acres of cropland harvested in Suffolk County in a
recent year, 15,878 were in Riverhead Town, making it tile most
important agricultural town in the most important agricultural county
in the Empire State. Those of us who are residents of the town can
take pride in the productiveness of our agriculture. At this milestone in
history it seems appropriate that we look back over these 200 years
and beyond, and observe tile steps that have brought us to this plateau.
The first English settlers came to what is now Riverheacl Town
about t648-1650, purchasing land from the Corchaug Indians who
occupied the north fork of Long Island. Some historians, Ross for one,
have said that because of tile abundance of game, fish and shellfish
Long Island Indians depended io a vet;y limited degree on agriculture.
In her book, "Indian Life on Long Island", Jacqueline Overton
gives quite a different impression. She, and others, say that the In-
dians grew important amounts of corn or maize, beans, pumpkins and
squash, often growing these products in the same fiekl. The men
hunted and fished, leaving to the women tile job of planting, tending,
and harvesting the crops. They often used clam shells as tools or hoes.
They learned that by i)utting a dead fish in each hill of corn as fertilizer
they could grow a better crop. In the autumn, when the crops were
gatllered in, shallow pits were dug near each wigwam. These were
lined with grass mats, and in them they stored the dried corn, beans,
nuts and other things that were to last them througl] the winter. The
white men called these pits "Indian Barns".
The early settlers came for the purpose of finding religious free-
dom, and to find new opportunities in a new land. They found no
supermarkets and no industry, but they did find a relatively hospitable
countryside, flat, easily workecl soil, heavy stands of wood, a reason-
ably attractive climate, and friendly [ndlans. Their initial needs were for
shelter and food. A few basic necessities they brought with them,
together with seeds, cattle, sheep, hogs, and poultry. Tlley cleared
small areas of land and sowed the wheat and rye and oats and grass they
had brought with them. They planted corn and beans obtained from
. the Indians. It was truly subsistence farming. Their diet was supple-
mented by the native fruits available at certain times of the year,
especially wild strawberries, blueberries and cranberries. Their methods
anti way of life did not change much over a long period of years.
Judge Henry Parsons Hedges described them as follows:
Farm Life in the E~r/.v Yeors
"Grass was cut with a scythe, raked by a hand rake, pitched by
the old heavy iron fork; grain was reaped with a sickle, threshed with
the flail and winnowed with a riddle; land was ploughed with a heavy
wooden framed plough pointed with wrought iron, whose moldboard
was protected by odd bits of old cart wheel tire; harrows were mostly
made with wooden teeth; corn hills were dug with the hoe; the manure
was dropped in heaps, carried by hand in a basket and separately put in
each hill. The farmer raised flax and generally a few sheep. Threshing
-2-
lasted well into the winter, and then came out tile craclde and swingle,
Icnife and board. The flax was dressed, tile wool carded, and tile wheel
sung to the linen and woolen spun in every house. The weaving Ioom's
dreary sound gave evidence tbat borne manufacture clad the house-
bold. From bis feet to bis bead the farmer stood in vestment produced
on bis own farm, and with bis own labor and skill and that of bis wife
and daughter. The same could be said of most of his farm tools and of
tl~e furnisbb~gs of the borne.
"All day be labored in the fields, and in the long aLItumn and
winter evenings be husked corn anti sbelled the ears over the edge of
his spade. No horserake, no corn sheller, no horse mower or reaper;
the life of the fainter was literally a battle against the forces of nature
for little more than the actual necessities of subsistence, and with the
most rude and unwieldy supply of weapons for the war. The farmer
raised rye and corn, rarely wheat for bread. He ate fi'esh pork while [t
lasted, and salt pork while ti]at lasted. Corn was pounded into samp,
ground intu bom/ny and meal, baked or boiled into jonny-cake, In-
dian bread, gridclle cakes, pudding, and in a host nf ways eaten with or
without milk. In some shape corn was a chief article of diet, with rye
bread the c/clef bread, and with wheat bread a fare luxury."
Each farm bad its horses, cows, bogs, sheep and poultry, and cai-
lng for them in the winter months was a very [mportallt chore. The
major occupation in the winter months, however, was providing the
fuel to keep the house warm and the kitchen stove turning out the
hearty meals that were needed in those rugged clays. A woodlot was an
important part of every farm, and cutting and carting the wood and
sawing and splitting it to make it ready for use through the year took
ma]or effort and st/Ii was a necessary part of farming when the writer
was a small boy. Keeping the kitchen woodbox filled was a task usually
assigned to small boys and not often appreciated.
The Bus/ness Side of Early Farm/nE
In the earliest <lays tbere were almost !lo markets for the products
of tile farm, except by barter, so it was difficult to get the shillings with
which to purchase those things which could not be produced. Finally
they found a product that was abundant and for which there was a
ready market: firewood. This part of Long Island was covered with
fine black oak and some other oaks, together with pine, chestnut and
a number of other species.
We remember that the first commercial coal mines were not
opened in Pennsylvania until about 1840, and it was many years later
-3-
that there was good rail service to make it available to New York, and
we also remember that the first oll well was not drilled until 1859.
So to heat New York, a supply of firewood was essential. The wood
Loading cordwood for delivery in New York City
was available here and it could be delivered by water transportation,
so it became big business. The cordwood was piled on the beach at
many landings, among them being Fresh Pond, Jericho, Roanoke,
Penny's and Luce's, and sailing sloops would come in at high tide and
lay on the beach when the tide went out, and men and teams would
load them quickly so they could float off on the next tide. This wood
was used not only for heating, but also for firing brick kilns up the
Hudson, and for dunnage in cargo ships.
After the wood had been cut some of the area was allowed to
regrow to produce second-growth firewood and timber. On large
acreages however, where the soil appeared fertile and suitable for
cropping, tile sprouts or second-growth was removed so the stumps
would die, and that land was laboriously cleared and much of it sown to
grass for pasture for cattle, the second most important product of the
farm for which there was a ready marl(et. The importance of beef
-4-
cattle in the early agriculture of Eastern Long island is attested to by
the fact that the image of a steer is a central element in the Sea] of
Suffolk County.
When ready for marl(et, herds of cattle were driven through the
North Side of the island to the markets of New York. When they
reached a pond in a hollow several miles northwest of Riverhead
Village, the animals were "baited" or allowed to eat pasture and to
drink. A few miles further west the cattle and their drovers had to wade
Red Creel(. Hence the derivation of the names of the villages of Baiting
Hollow and Wading River. Although the majority of the cattle were
driven on to the slaughterhouses in New York and vicinity, according
to Historian Wood, many thousands'were assembled at Horn Tavern
farm, from which they were loaded on boats at Wading River which
took fllem to New York, and oft-times down the coast to the West
Indies.
In addition to pasturage for cattle, other cleared land was planted
to hay and to corn and to oats to provide winter feed for these cattle
and for the other livestock on the farm, and for the production of
rye, wheat, corn, vegetables and flax for home use and for some limit-
ed sale.
The virgin soil with its accumulated fertility produced satisfactory
crops for the first few years, but gradually the production decreased
to the point of little return. There was no such thing as commercial
fertilizers, and while the value of manures produced by the farm
livestock was known, the quantity was limited and even where it was
used wisely it was not often sufficient to maintain satisfactory yields.
What little manure was available was usually used on corn and hay,
resulting in pastures so poor that they often had to be abandoned.
Wlleat yields dropped to 10 bushels per acre or less. Farmers cleared
more land to get the benefit of virgin soil, leaving the old pastures to
grow up to trash. The Indians knew the value of fish as fertilizer and
frequently used them, but the early settlers were slow to adopt the
practice and it was not until after the Revolution that their use became
important. In spite of the generally dis~ippointing yields there still was
enough production so that most farmers could make a go of it.
/1nd Then Came The Revolution
During the Revolutionary War a Tory advised a British official to
land on Long Island tile forces destined for the subjugation of tile
colonies, "for": said he "it is 130 miles long and is very fertile, abound-
ing in wheat and every other kind of grain, and has innumerable black
-5-
cattle, sheep, hogs, etc., so that on this fertile island the army can
subsist without succor from England." The English army and some of
their Hessian mercenaries did occupy Long Island, with New York City
as their headquarters, and drew their supplies from the Island, largely,
for seven years. They requisitioned severely large quotas of livestock,
hay, grain and other produce from the farms the length and breadth
of the Island, malting life hard and difficult. These things were sup-
posed to be paid for, but too often it simply did not happen. A few
young farmers fled to Connecticut to join Washington, leaving their
wives, parents and children to get along as best they could. A few
openly espoused the British cause, and these Tories had it a little
easier. Probably the majority signed the demanded oath of allegiance
to tile Crown, but did it with "Tongue in cheek", praying all the time
for freedom.
The end of tile war brought rejoicing but it did not bring im-
mediate peace and prosperity. Theh' differing attitudes toward the war
left scars. Then too, the livestock and grain they were required to
furnish left too many of them with not enough breeding stock or seeds
to resume full production, nor were these readily available from the
mainland, even if they had the resources to buy them. An even more
lasting burden was tile fact that the Hessian soldiers brought wheat
with them that was infested with the Hessian fly, a pest which brought
almost complete crop failure in the production of wheat, and which
was not brought under satisfactory control for a century or more.
Methods of production were the same as they had been for 100 years
and the general trend of crop yields was downward as they got further
in time from the virgin soil, so farmers got quite discouraged. Then,
accoi'ding to John T. Downs in a paper delivered at the 75th Anniver-
sary of tile Riverhead Town Agricultural Society, s6mething impor-
tant happened.
Fertilization at Last
"In 1814 several families joined together and built a short draw
seine for catching good fish for family use. Sometimes they caught
more than the families could use and the surplus was spread on the
land and found to be good fertilizer, Farmers then began to catch fish
especially for fertilizer, Twelve farmers joined together to build a seine
called a 12 right porgy seine. When they wanted twine for nets the
farmers made the twine from flax they had grown. The women spun
the thread, using the large spinning wheels normally used for wool,
and when the weather was good, worked outside where there was more
--6-
room. Each owner was to knit his part of the net. In tire Spring the
different lots were sewn together and the seine tarred and dried before
using. They had three boats.
"They fished a few years with this seine and then enlarged to '16
rights with four boats, eac[1 boat large enough to carry from 10 to 12
thousand fish. There were four men to a boat. They commenced fish-
lng about the last of April and fished until June, then again after
harvest in the Fall. The seine was half a mile long. There were 5 com-
panies from Indian Island to Miamogue Point. Sometimes two com-
panies joined and tlad a seine a mile long. 1818 was said to be the
first really profitable year of fishing. When a school of fish was caught,
the clerk of the company would notify the owners to cart. They were
sold by count, or if by volume allowing 20 cubic inches per fish.
"At one time west of Simeon's Point a million fish were landed,
taking about 4 days to cart them. After fishing for years the fish were
less numerous in the west end of the bay and the seine companies had
to work further east to get good catches. After about 1850 they com-
menced going out in small sloops from Jamesport and fishing with
pursenets, putting the fish in the hold of the boat. At night they came
to the dock and sold the fish to farmers.
"How were these fish used? Sometimes, perhaps usually, the fish
were spread broadcast and worked into tile soil. Some put one fish to
a hill of corn where it was covered, as the Indians had clone. Sometimes
a quantity of fish was put in a furrow at tlre edge of a field, with fur-
rows plowed on top from either side. After the oats were harvested and
the ground plowed for wheat, this rich material was spread over the
field and the wheat grew wei[ after being thus fertilized.
"After using fish for a number of years, farmers often found that
grass would not grow so well. John Woodhull of Jamesport, a wealthy
farmer, purchased wood ashes and spread on the land where he sowed
wheat, and his neighbors noted that he grew good wheat followed by
good hay, so they followed suit."
The use of fish gave dramatic increases to crop yields and put
Long Island agriculture back on its feet. A few fish were still being used
~100 years later, anti the writer distinctly remembers the odor and flies
that were a part of this method of fertilization, as they emanated from
a neighbor's field.
Early Implements
In these early days this discovery and use of a practical way of
increasing crop yields was a first step toward a more productive agri-
-7-
culture, but the fact that nearly all farm operations were by hand labor
and with few mechanical aids, meant that really large scale production
was impractical. Then about 1830, according to John T. Downs, farmers
commenced using grain cradles for cutting grain. Tile local carpenters
made the wooden parts and the blades came from New York. Before
that it had been cut with a sickle. In about 1855 Mitchell and Francis
Terry purchased a combined mowing and reaping machine, the John P.
Manney, whose sickle bar could be raised or lowered by hand power,
which was quite an advantage when the machine approached a mound
of dirt beside the very common woodchuck burrow. A few years later
the first horse-drawn hay rakes were introduced and they were a great
improvement over the hand rakes. The first rakes were made all of
wood. When the rake was full tile farmer would stop the horses, back a
little, and when starting ahead lift the whole rake over the hay by main
strength, this being called a hand dump rake. Buel Wells was the first in
the area to get a sulky or riding rake which would dump automatically.
Noah W. Young brought the first binder into town. The flail or
stick was the weapon used before the 1850% for separating grain from
the stall(, small quantities of the grain being placed on the floor and hit
repeatedly with quick spiteful strokes. For winnowing the grain, or
separating it from the trash, the grain was shovelled onto a white oak
hoop which had a screen bottom made of white oak slivers, this usually
being done when there was a brisk north wind to blow away the chaff.
In 1860 Salem Wells bought the first cleaner for threshing and win-
nowing the grain. About 1862 Capt. B.T. Griffin bought a threshing
outfit and threshed for several years, using horses for power. It tool( a
Early horse-powered thresher
-8-
crew of four: one to pass tile sheaves up to tile thresher, one to feed
tile sheaves in, one to dump the grain from half busilel containers into
the bin and to keep tally, and one to stow away the straw. Griffin and
Tuthill brought the first steam thresher into the place, and it had a
Threshing grain using steam for power
straw stacker attached. He reported that one forenoon he threshed and
winnowed 216 bushels of wheat.
Among the early plows were Minor and Horton, Boston Eagle, and
York Eagle, all being cast iron plows and often times not doing a real-
ly good job in turning the sod over. Later came steel plows and then
sulky or riding plows.
Fol' years farmers sold surplus hay in the village, carting it loose.
The first power press was owned by Thomas Young of Laurel, but he
kept it at South Jamesport. The farmers carted their .hay to him loose
and he pressed it and sent it away by boat~ usually paying the farmers
$5 or $6 a ton. Previously a man-power press had been used but it was
described as a man-killer.
Farmyard and Garden
All farms had horses and cattle and sheep and hogs. In late Fall
3 or 4 hogs would be killed, and as many sheep, and a beef. Hides were
carried to the tanner to be made into leather for shoes and harness, the
tanner keeping half of the leatller for tile tanning. The fresh meat was
greatly enjoyed, but much of tile meat had to be salted or smoked or
otherwise preserved. For years butchers Schriver & Edwards came from
Port Jefferson to buy dressed hogs from the farmers. Two men and a
team would come for the pork. For feeding these two men and team
and puttiog them up for tile night, anti for going out tile day before
and engaging tile load of pork, their host wotdd be paid $1.25.
Most farmers raised their own garden seed or got them from their
more provident neighbors. Some of their vegetables were beans, peas,
cucumbers, lettuce anti sage and other spices and herbs. Corn for table
use was gotten from tile field. One old man said it hurt his feelings to
see women going into tile field and breaking off ears that he was growing
for his cattle and hogs. Watermelons, muskmelons, squasll anti pump-
kins were usually raised in the field. Sweet potatoes were raised in the
garden, and Mr. Downs goes into some detail as to how their sprouts
were started. A shovelful of well-rotted manure was placed in each
hill at planting time. There seems to be little information as to when
white potatoes were first raised on Long Island, or where tile seed came
from. Historians agree that tile potato was introduced into Spain by
Spanish explorers from South America in the early days, and slowly
spread over Europe. The chances are tl~at the potato was brought to
Long Island prior to the Revolution, but apparently it did not become
an important food crop until well into the 1800's.
Eat'Iv Marketing
As New York City grew it required increasing amounts of fruits
and vegetables and other foods, and these were largely supplied by the
excellent farms on the west end of the Island, where they could be
delivered by the horse-drawn market wagons. Riverhead Town was too
far out to participate in the market except for limited movement by
boat from a Jamesport dock and from the shores of Long Island Sound.
Then came the Long Island Railroad which went through to Greenport
in 1844, opening up a great new market. From an old memorandum
book we learn that for 4 or 5 years before that time the price of pota-
toes averaged about 184 a bushel. For the next few years they aver-
aged 424.
Taking advantage of this market, in 1845 or 1846 John Downs of
Aquebogue commenced dealing in farm produce. He went around
among farmers with horse and wagon picking up eggs and butter. The
butter would be in pails holding 20-25 lbs. The eggs he packed in
-10-
barrels, separating layers of eggs with layers of chaff. In season be
bought wheat, oats, rye and corn, baying it carted to Riverhead where
he loaded it in rail cars for sale in the city. He also bought dressed hogs
and calves in ttleir season, and potatoes in the Fa[[. Late in the Fall
when the weati~er was cool be would sell to retail grocerymen in tbe
city half carloads of potatoes for them to put in their cellars for their
winter trade. Usually no potatoes were shipped in the winter months of
December through March. Ti~rough the Fall and Winter he bandied hay.
Other early dealers in farm produce who operated in a somewhat simi-
lar manner might be listed: Allen T. Terrell and Wells & Hudson of
Riverhead, and Frank Young of Aquebogue.
Rivet'head Town Agricultura/ Society
Intimately involved in tile agriculture of Riverilead Town in the
later part of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century
was a remarkable organization. On Christmas night in 1863 a meeting
was called together on the ground floor lecture room of the building
now known as Sound Ave. Hall. Tbe object was to form a farmers'
club, later to be incorporated as the Riverbead Town Agricultural
Society. In the articles of incorporation it says it shall be its purpose to
best promote the interest of agriculture, horticulture, the mechanic
Meeting Qf the Riverhead Town Agricultural Society. Standing left to
right: Ho~vard Wells, Vernon Wells, Sr., Kenneth Wells, Sr., Sherwood M.
Tuthill, Raymond Luce. Seated left to right: Leon Fanning, Allison
Young, John T. Downs, Horace J. Wells, Asa H. Wells, Herbert Reeve,
Henry Hallock.
-11 -
arts, and household industry. The obiect of the meetings, in addition
to regular business, was to discuss all kinds of farm topics: tile most
profitable crops to grow, the kinds of seed to use, different kinds of
fences, etc., etc.
It started out with meetings where farmers could share their
knowledge and experience, and could arrange seed tests and machinery
tests and other activities to improve their mutual knowledge and the
profitability of their farnling. It branched out into being a spokesman
for farmers and their interests in public matters, and even more impor-
tant, it became a purchasing agent for its members, enabling them to
pool their orders and to get best possible prices. It was an early agricul-
rural cooperative. When it observed its 75th Anniversary in 1939,
word was received from Washington that it was the oldest farm cooper-
ative group in the country.
The Society's president would often appoint a member to prepare
a paper to be read at the following meeting. After a paper was read it
would be followed by general discussion. Sometimes members would
figure out how much profit might be made by raising different crops,
but the profits often did not materialize on a par with the figures.
Potatoes often came Lip for discussion, including kinds of seed, methods
of planting, controlling bugs and the like. Freight and the cartage of
farm produce was a topic that often brought out vigorous discussion.
One of the prime movers in the organization of the Agricultural
Society was Capt. Ben. T. Griffin who had followed the sea for about
12 years and then bought the farm directly opposite the Cary Camp
Road. He had heard of the use of Peruvian Guano as a fertilizer and was
chosen by the Society to purchase the first of this material to bc
brought into Riverhead Town. Guano is the accumulated excrement of
sea birds such as cormorants and pelicans on an island off the coast of
Peru. Its average analysis might be 12-10-2, so it was a complete fertili-
zer: probably the first available. It cost $73 per ton and was delivered
at the Jamesport dock. In 1871 the Society purchased through Capt.
Griffin $10,000 worth of Guano on which he received a 1¼% com-
mission. The records show that in 1872 he brought out asloop load of
ashes.
Another available source of fertility was New York City stable
manure, and the Society's purchasing agent arranged to have it shipped
out on the railroad, and it was carted home by farmers at 80¢ per
wagon load, according to one account. At about the same time com-
mercially mixed fertilizers became available and were much less expen-
sive than Guano, so each year the Society designated a purchasing
agent to get bids and to contract for delivery by the lowest bidder.
In '1884, for instance, the price was $38 per ton with no analysis noted
in tile minutes. In 1892 the price delivered to the Jamesport dock for a
5-8-10 fertilizer was $29.50 per ton, with Frederick Ludlam the sup-
plier.
This cooperative purchasing seemed to work out so well that it
continued to be the principal source of fertilizer for the farmers of tile
town until well into the 20th century when large local mixing plants
were established. It might be interesting to note that in 1897 when
J.A. Reeve was purchasing agent, the total purchases included 854 tons
of fertilizer, 11,000 lbs. of nitrate, 918 lbs. of muriate of potash, fish
scrap, coal, rock salt, many kinds of seed, also coffee at 23¢ a lb. Thus
the Riverhead Town Agricultural Society made an important contribu-
tion to the town's agriculture over a long period of years as a buyer, but
it did not get involved in marketing except indirectly, probably be-
cause that would have involved warehouses, packing plants, and other
costly facilities.
S. Terry Hudson was a charter member of the Agricultural Society,
S, Terry Hudson who designed and manufactured farm mach/nes,
widely used by farmers of Long Island.
and he made an unusual contribution to the agriculture of Long Island.
As a young man he operated the farm which is now just west of the
Cary Camp Road. He designed several farm tools or machines to help in
his farm work:, and when his neighbors showed an interest in them he
built a factory in Riverhead where he manufactured successful potato
diggers, potato sprayers, harrows, road machinery, and riding cultiva~
tots. The principle of his riding cultivator was followed in many subse-
quent cultivators of other makes. The writer spent many hours, days,
years, riding Hudson cultivators.
Hudson cultivator being used on strawberries
Diversification
With the growing demand for an increasing variety of farm pro-
ducts for the growing cities, with adequate means of transportation,
and With an Agricultural Society where new crops could be discussed
and methods of culture explained, the agriculture of the town became
quite diversified. In the year 1877- the Society bought 1 lb. of Algiers
cauliflower seed for distribution among its members. The crop
creased rapidly in production and Riverhead Town, together with
Southold, soon became the premier cauliflower growing area of the
-14-
United States, a distinction which they held for nearly a century. At
times the production was greater than could be readily absorbed by the
fresh market, and Capt. Griffin was a prime mover in the establishment
of a cauliflower pickle factory in Jamesport. He was for many years
tile manager of the pickle plant and made every effort to return a fair
price to farmers.
Several years later Alart and Maguire built a pickle factory in
Mattituck to whicll many Riverhead Town farmers delivered cauli-
flower, cabbage, and also cucumbers whicil was their principal product.
Bloch and Guggenheimer built a factory in Riverhead, and Carlene and
Young in Calverton, so supplying them was big business. At many
meetings of the Agricultural Society the minutes report discussions on
the price of pickles, with resolutions to withhold the product unless
the price was at least 1¼~( a lb. One year there was a resolution to sell
No. 1 quality at no less tllan 2q' a lb. and culls at no less than 1¢. There
was frequent mention of the problems tile growers were having in the
marketing of fresh cauliflower sent to the New York market, with dis-
honest commission men, damages, shortages, aud the like. The solution
to this problem awaited the founding of tile L.I. Cauliflower Assn.
which will be touched on later.
In 1888 William H. Hudson erected a large canning factory in
Mattituck in the west end of the village and offered a steady marl<et
for great quantities of asparagus, tomatoes, and squasil, and a lesser
volume of cauliflower and several other crops, and Riverhead Town
farmers took advantage of this processing marl<et. The factory aver-
aged 200,000 cans of asparagus a year. On several days they reported
canning as many as 10,000 cans of tomatoes. Canning factories were
talked of in Jamesport and Riverhead, but apparently were never built.
Some fresh asparagus was sent to the New York marl<et, but even
more was loaded on the morning mail train and sent to Greenport,
then loaded on the steamer Manhasset and shipped to New London,
and from there by train to Boston where it found a ready marl<et.
Strawberries were another important crop, and they too were mostly
sent to Boston, the Long Island berries being so much earlier than those
raised in New England. The one mention of price in the minutes was
11¢ and 12cj a quart, which was considered satisfactory. There is a
brief mention of turnips, peas, sprouts, and other crops being grown for
sale either in N'ew York or Boston.
Dairying was never big business in Riverhead Town, but there
were small dairies to supply milk to the village, and many farms had a
few extra cows and sold the cream to Wickham's creamery in Matti-
-15-
tuck, who had a pickup route through the community, and they fed
the skim milk to their hogs. There were few large scale poultry pro-
ducers, but many farms had enough hens to make it worthwhile for
such dealers as Downs, Young, and Terrell to pick up their eggs for
shipment to the city.
Cranberry pickers at Calverton - 1918
Still another interesting and important farm enterprise in the
Riverhead area was the production of cranberries. The principal cram
berry marshes were actually on the fringes of the town, the Sweezy
marsh on Flanders Road, the Woodhull marsh on the road to Great
Pond, now Wildwood Lake, the Brown marsh in Calverton, and the
Davis marsh between Calverton and Manorville, and a number of
smaller marshes in the Manorville area. This fruit-growing venture
began in the 1870's and was an important source of income for many
years. By tile 1930's the increasing competition from Massachusetts,
Wisconsin, and other areas made the crop unprofitable and all Long
Island bogs gave up production except the Davis marsh, and even that
stopped operating about a year ago.
Potatoes
We will now turn our attention to potatoes, which for the last
75 years have been Riverhead's most important crop. Even in the early
-16-
days, as soon as transportation was available, Long Island potatoes
met a ready market in the city, but the acreage remained fairly small
because of the labor involved in growing the crop. The seed pieces were
dropped by hand and plowed in, the fertilizer was sown by hand, and
the tubers were dug by hand, using forks or potato hooks.
Then in 1883 Nathaniel M. Talmage, who had recently moved to
Baiting Hollow from the South Side, saw an advertisement of a potato
digger made in Iowa and ordered one, getting it at a reduced price by
agreeing to exbibit it at the County Fair. From it Terry Hudson got the
idea for building his Hudson potato digger in his Riverhead factory,
which came into very general use on Long Island. It was a 'bootleg',
or double moldboard plow type of digger and was a great labor saver
When compared to digging with a fork. Just a few years later a potato
planter, the Aspinwal, was invented in the west and Hudson became a
dealer and introduced it here, and built a fertilizer distributor to go
with it, so Long Island's potato industry was launched on its dramatic
rise.
About the turn of the century the apron chain type potato digger
was introduced, starting with the Champion 2 horse digger, but was
soon followed by the Hoover 4 horse digger. Tile tubers were left in a
row on top of the soil from which they were picked up by hand into
half bushel baskets and dumped, 2 baskets in a burlap sack. For many
years the potatoes were graded and sorted as they were picked up,
leaving tile very small potatoes and culls to be picked up later. The
time came when everything was picked up together and carted to the
barnyard where the potatoes were run over a hand operated Hudson
sizer, and the good potatoes were resacked and carted to one of the
many dealers located near tile railroad yards. There the potatoes were
An early potato sprayer
-17-
weighed and then dumped in bull( in tile box cars, only to be shovelled
up again when they reached the marl(et.
A few farmers had Hudson 4 row sprayers drawn by one horse,
using ti]em principally to control potato beetles with Paris Green. In
1917 there was an epidemic of potato blight, the disease that had
caused tile Irisb famine many years before, and only those few farmers
who had sprayed also with Bordeaux mixture bad satisfactory crops, so
in tile following years nearly everyone tool( up the practice. They
started using larger and more efficient sprayers, tile Red Jacket being
the most popular over a period of years. Then came the large tractor-
drawn sprayers, some covering as many as 20 rows at a time, many
being of the John Bean make. In recent years many farmers are having
their spraying done by helicopter on a custom basis.
Toword a More Scientific Agrictdture
With an expanding agriculture and with ventures into many new
crops, many problems came to the fore. It must be remembered that
there was no Extension Service until after 1917, and farmers did not
know where to turn to get information on insect and disease control,
on fertilization, on varieties, anti a score of other problems. The meet-
ings of the Agricultural Society were an excellent place for the ex-
change of experience and information, and any member who seemed
to have a special success or failure with any crop was asked to explain
his methods, and these were discussed in detail.
They felt a very definite need for research and information to help
them do a better job, and they felt that the New York State Experi-
ment Station at Geneva was not working on the problems facing Long
Island growers. As early as 1888 they passed a resolution calling for a
branch Experiment Station to be established in this vicinity. Again in
1889 they approached State Senator Edward Hawkins of Jamesport to
introduce a bi[l for such a station, and he agreed to introduce it but was
not optimistic of success. This request was made each year and in
June 1892, Dean Isaac P. Roberts and Prof. Liberty Hyde Bailey of
Cornell and Geneva visited Riverhead to study the needs of tile locality
and consider where a branch station might be located. They visited the
farm of Henry Hallock, President of the Agricultural Society, and saw
a field of potatoes, "the finest they had ever seen".
No experiment station resulted, but perhaps as a result of their
visit and continuing pressure, in 1894 a young entomologist by the
name of Frank A. Sirrene, who had been on the Station staff for 8
years, was assigned as a special agent to the second judicial district
including Kings, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, and Staten Island, with head-
quarters at Jamaica which was at that time the center of a flourishing
agricultural area. He rendered highly commendatory service in the
control of insects and diseases for a Ioug period of years, keeping
abreast of ali agricultural developments and being available to answer
questions on many things. He apparently believed that the future of
agriculture on Long Island was on the East End, and in 1902 he bought
a farm on Sound Avenue, uaming it Briermere Farm, and planting in-
teresting groves of evergreens and about 70 acres of apple, pear, and
peach orchards, and growing potatoes and other crops. Although he
resided on his farm he continued his service on the Geneva staff until
I914.
Before tl~e days of the Extension Service, the College and Experi-
ment Station sought to bring their latest information and recommenda-
tions to farmers through wbat were called Farmers' Institutes. Profes-
sors and experts from the College and Station would visit a county
and hold 2 or 3 clays of meetings where those attending would be
brougbt up to date on a variety of agricultural subjects. Successful
local farmers often were asked to speak about their methods. Here on
Long Island the institutes apparently were held in Riverhead and
Jamaica on alternate years. When held in Jamaica the Agricultural
Society appointed several members to attend and bring back reports.
In 1892 t,he Society voted to request that one day's session to be
held at the Riverhead Court House be devoted exclusively to potato
growing. R.W. Penny of the Society was asked to write a paper for the
institute on "Practical Potato Growing". They expressed the belief
that these upstate specialists should not spend their time on Long
Island talking about cows, silos, and the other things they talked about
upstate. It was reported that the Court House was packed to over-
flowing for that Institute.
When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, the government
realized that bountiful food supplies, efficiently produced, could be an
important contribution to Victory. To help farmers achieve this end, a
County agent system was instituted, where trained college men would
be made available to counties organized to make use of their services.
These County Agents would have the latest information available and
would be prepared to help farmers solve their problems of production
and marketing. Under Henry Talmage of Baiting Hollow, Frank Wells of
Aquebogue, and other agricultural leaders in the county, the Suffolk
County Farm Bureau was organized, as a forerunner to what we now
call the Extension Service. The first County Agent was Ralph Parker,
-19-
to be followed by Rutherford Inglee, Edward Foster, Walter Been,
Horace Wells, Daniel Fricke, and many others.
There were many problems besetting the cauliflower, potato and
vegetable growers for whicl~ the County Agents did not have file am
swers, and once again agricultural leaders became convinced that the
only solution would be for the State to secure a farm on Long Island
and establish a branch Experiment Station. With characteristic vigor,
Henry T~lmage assumed leadership in this effort and got the backing of
the Agricultural Society, the Farm Bureau, local newspapers and prom-
inent Long Islanders in all walks of life. 14e appealed to the College and
to Governor Alfred E. Smith, and in 192:2 an appropriation of $40,000
was made available.
Farm Bureau agents Edward Foster and Howard Campbell with a
"potato "leading a Long Island potato tour.
Prof. H.C. Thompson, head of the Vegetable Crops Department at
Cornell, came to the Island, looked over several places offered, and
decided on the Daniel Homan farm on Sound Avenue about a mile
west of Roanoke. It had two residences and two greenhouses and was
about the right size for the original program. Through the years the
L.I. Vegetable Research Farm has been of invaluable assistance to
- 20 -
potato and vegetable growers, and its work and its men are favorably
known all across the country and beyond.
Early staff of the Long/s/and Vegetable Research Farm. From left to
right: Dr. Howe S. Cunnlngham, Dr. Robert H. White-Stevens, Prof]
Phi/tip H. Wessels, Dr. Hugh C. Huckett, and Dr. Homer C. Thompson,
head of the Vegetable Crops Dept. at the New York State College of
Agriculture.
Among the scientists associated with the farm who have made
such a contribution to our agriculture might be listed Prof. Phillip H.
Wessels, Dr. Hugh C. Huckett, Dr. Edward E. Clayton, Dr. Howe S.
Cunningl]am, Dr. Robert H. White-Stevens, Dr. Walter C. Jacob, Dr. J.
Howard Ellison, Dr. Robert C. Cetus, Dr. Maurie Semel, Dr. Richard
Sawyer, and Dr. Stewart Dallyn. In 1976 tile station received a new
Director, Dr. G. Wilbur Selleck. Its field of service was broadened and it
received a new name, the Long Island Horticultural Research Labora-
tory.
Long Is/and Cauliflower Assn.
As has been noted, cauliflower has been an important crop in
- 21 -
Riverhead Town for the past 100 years, hr tire early days it was packed
in barrels, loaded by the individual farmer in freight cars and shipped to
commission merchants in the New York and Brooklyn markets. Tl~ere
were problems connected with loading the cars in tile country, but even
greater problems at the other end. There were often unjustified damage
or quality claims, there was suspicion of dishonesty in the market
place, remittances were often slow, and the individual farmer felt
helpless to do anything about it.
Henr. v Talmage packing caul~flower in barrels.
Alva B. DeFriest of Baiting Hollow thought of a possible way to
handle these problems. He called on Henry Talmage one day in early
December, ~900, and suggested that if cauliflower growers would or~
ganize and load solid cars at carload freight rates, the difference in
shipping costs between those rates and the less-carload rates charged
individual shippers, would be enough to pay the expenses of an asso-
ciation. The association could then provide loading services and also
have someone available in the market to supervise the unloading and to
represent farmers in solving the other problems mentioned, all without
cost to the grower.
- 22 -
The idea looked promising to Henry and he tool( Charles Warner
with him and went down to the next meeting of the Riverhead Town
Agricultural Society on December 9, and presented it. John T. Downs
was then president of the Society and he appointed a committee to
look into tile matter. Following a favorable report, the Society ap-
proved of the idea. Following that approval they enlisted the help of
State Senator Matt. Lupton of Mattituck, and between them they
organized meetings throughout the cauliflower growing area with the
result that the L.I. Cauliflower Assn. was formed and began operation
that fall. The services which it performed, and continues to perform,
proved invaluable and have been worth literally millions to Long
Island farmers.
E~rl.v auction of the L.I. Cauliflower Association. From left to right:
O. Fanning, Herbert R. Conkling, OIIle Stevens, Adam Hill~ Don R.
Young, LInn D. Young, Jess Tuthill, auctioneer.
After'a few years it started the cauliflower auctions, those in
Riverhead being on Hallet Street, later at the Fair Grounds entrance,
and for many years now at their efficient auction block on Mill Road.
Their main office and warehouse are on the railroad at Marcy Avenue.
- 23 -
L.I. Caul/flower Assn. auction about 1950
In the years around 1950 the volume of cauliflower shippedthrougb
tile auction reached a high of 1,383,192 crates, in addition to cabbage
and sprouts. Much of it was shipped in refrigerated rail cars all over the
eastern United States. For a time the Association also conducted a
strawberry auction in June.
In recent years, principally due to the difficulty in getting compe-
tent labor, the volume of cauliflower has dropped off substantially, but
it is still an important crop. At the same time the volume of cabbage
bas increased. The Association has served not only in the field of mar-
keting, but has supplied crates and seed, and more recently has handled
a large volume of other farm supplies, particularly in pesticides.
The Cauliflower Assn. has been successful because it filled a need,
and because it has been fortunate in having excellent managers, includ-
ing H.R. Conklin, Dwight Corwln, and more recently Robert Roosa,
working under a dedicated board of directors~ Lyndon Hallock being
President at time of writing.
Other Agr/-Bus/ness Ventures
Impressed by the success of the L.I. Cauliflower Assn. in improv-
ing the marketing of cauliflower, with attendant financial benefits to
growers, Henry Talmage and other leading potato growers thought
they saw a chance to perform a similar service to the potato industry.
They formed the L.I. Potato Exchange in 1908 patterned somewhat
- 24-
after the successful Eastern Shore of Virginia I~roduce Exchange, and
somewhat after the Cauliflower Assn. It was a stock corporation but in
many respects followed tile principals of a cooperative. After much
hard work they succeeded in selling stock widely through the potato
growing areas of Long island. As their principal office and warehouse,
they built a building on the west side of Hailer Street in Riverhead,
occupied later by tile Cauliflower Assm, th~n by Fanoing and Housner,
and more recently by I~ollack, who was the owner when it burned in
1963~
In addition to loading potatoes, the Exchan§e was an important
bandler of fertilizer and other farm supplies. It was beset by problems
which often attend the operation of cooperatives, such as bitter opposi-
tion by other potato loaders and by city buyers, lukewarm support by
members, and particularly by inability to get strong management. Even
ti~ough its efforts probably resulted in many thousands of dollars of
extra income for potato growers, it folded bi 1914, to the bitter dis-
appointment of those who had worked so hard for its establishment.
A somewhat similar effort was launched in 1955 under tile leader-
ship of Bill Zeh of Ca[verton. it was called the Suffolk Farmer Cooper~
ative, and after getting quite wide financial support from eastern L.I.
farmers, it built an office, warehouse, and ~rading station at the corner
of Doctor's I~atil and Middle Road in Riverbead. It went into potato
grading and packing in a fairly big way in 1956. Tile farmers of eastern
L.I. were already being served by numerous large and efficient dealer
and packer organizations, so that only'by super-efficient management
could this new cooperative hope to improve on the service already
being rendered to growers. This type of management could not be
located and the organization folded after one year of operation.
A potato starch factory was erected on Raynor Avenue in River-
head, but due largely to waste disposal problems, it operated only
briefly and then went broke.
At about this period the Warners put up a potato chip factory in
Baiting Hollow and operated it quite successfully for several years,
processing their own potatoes and making substantial purchases from
neighbors. They enlarged tileir capacity and joined with the Treat
Company for an even larger outlet. The entire operation was then sold
to Beatrice Foods Co., which further enlarged the operation. That com-
pany r~n into some severe problems involving quality and storage and
waste disposal and ~ropped tile business, leaving Long Island with no
processing outlet for its potatoes.
- 25 -
Better Seed Potatoes
For several years previous to 1913, Long Island had been having
trouble getting good seed potatoes. Most farmers bought northern seed,
mostly from Maine, but it was never dependable in quality. One lot of
seed would produce a beautiful crop of potatoes, while another would
yield only ball as well, and no one knew why. Henry Talmage wrote to
Dr. W.A. Orton in Washington, to Dr. William Stewart at Geneva, and to
Dr. Mortier F. Barrus at Cornell, describing tile appearance of the Iow-
yielding potatoes. Each indicated that tile trouble might be caused by
one of the viruses, of which but little was known at tile time.
Dr. Orton came to Long Island and brou§ht several pathologists
with him. They pronounced tile trouble "mosaic" and sbowed how to
recognize it. Because there was no such thing as a certified seed pro-
gram at the time, tile best advice Dr. Orton could give was to go North
tile last week ill July and inspect seed fields, and arrange to get seed
only from fields that looked all right.
Tile next summer Henry Tahnage, W.I~. Fanning, 14.1-1. Hallock,
and Chauncey Young drove to Vermont in Henry's EMF car, where
they met Vermont Commissioner of Agriculture Elbert S. Brigham,
who took them around to look over fields of potatoes. They selected
the best looking fields and had that shipped down that Fall. It proved
to be good seed, so they continued the plan for two or three years with
equal success, and then their neighbors wanted to benefit from their
experience and be supplied with seed.
Tile first seed to come to Long Island, or any other area, of a
grade comparable to what was later "Certified Seed" was this brought
down by Fanning, Hallock, Talmage and Young in 19~5. Henry made
these inspection trips to the seed growing regions in the North, includ-
ing Canada, without interruption until 1938. By 3921 this original
group was handling so many seed potatoes that it seemed necessary that
they have a building on the railroad in Riverhead to make possible
temporary storage, and to recondition any showing field frost or
blight. That was the beginning of the Long Island Produce and Fertili-
zer Co.
L.I. Produce and Fertilizer Co.
They bought a site on the railroad at Marcy Avenue. At thisjunc-
tm'e Herman H. Hallock and Wm. R. Fanning, being much older than
Henry Talmage and Chauncey Young, decided they had rather not
assume new responsibilities and withdrew from the venture. Because it
- 26 -
was necessary to have a building anyway, it seemed to Talmage and
Young that greater use should be made of it than for the short period
of seed potato arrivals. Neither had been satisfied with the regular
commercial mixed fertilizers available, and each had been home-mixing
bis own fertilizer, the work being done by men with shovels. Henry
Tabnage had become very well informed in this whole matter, and they
decided they could perform a real service by using their knowledge and
experience in mixing fertilizers especially formulated to meet L.I. con-
ditions which they proceeded to do.
They believed they would be rendering an invaluable service to
potato growers if they installed central grading and packing facilities,
making it unnecessary for each grower to grade his own, and at the
same time they would be in a position to get better prices by being able
to market a more uniform and dependable grade or pack. The services
offered by tbe new company were greatly appreciated and it became
evident that to adequately serve their many farm 'friends warehouses
and plants would need to be built in other villages. Soon they bad
facilities in Calverton, Aquebogue, and other locations on the rail-
road in eastern Long Island.
First potato packing plant of I.M. Young, Co. Left to right: H.R.
Donne#y, Bob Bess, Eddie Bess, Francis Creighton, Ira Young, Waiter
Stark, Bill Stark, August Kael/n, Alex Zdunko.
-27-
The L.I.P., as it was generally known, continued this business
until 1964 when it sold its produce, fertilizer, and farm supply line to
newly formed AGWAY, the huge coop~type farm organization of the
Northeast, which continues to serve L.I. agriculture as LIPCO-AGWAY.
Agway has a fertilizer mixing and granulation plant in Riverbead,
handles ali kinds of farm supplies, grades, packs and markets potatoes,
and has a large feed mill catering largely to the duck growers.
Other potato dealers soon followed the example of the L.I.P. in
baying central packing bouses. Among them would be listed such old-
time firms as I.M. Young and Co., Fanning and l~ousner, Maxim
Bobinski, theA.&P. I.M. Young and Co. also established a fertilizer
mixing plant in Jamesport from which tbey sold Atlantic fertilizers.
As farms got fewer and larger, it was no longer necessary to bare
packing plants on tbe railroad, due to the shift to truck transportation,
and as farms built large potato storages where they could grade and
pack their own produce, the place of the central packing house became
less important, but they continue to supply an important service to
many growers.
It may be appropriate at tills point to mention other develop-
Early potato harvester, designed by Nat Talmage, Sr., and built by
Raymond Reeve of Sound A venue.
-28-
ments in the potato growing business. Planting is now done mostly
with four-row planters which sow the fertilizer, plant the seed, and
apply a pesticide all in one operation. Many farms now have their
spraying done by custom applicators using helicopters. Potato bulk
Modern potnto hsrvester, built by Rolle Bros., in Riverheod.
harvesters started to come into use about 1950 and within a few
years they were the sole method of harvesting on Long Island. These
machines dig two rows at a time, and by a series of specialized conveyor
chains eliminate most of the trash and deposit the potatoes in bulk
bodies, whose conveyor bottoms unload the potatoes onto a grader or
into storage. Most of the early harvesters were built by John Bean or by
Lockwood, but in more recent years the Rolle Bros. have been building
a popular and efficient m;ichine right here in Riverhead.
The Iron Pier
In the middle of the last century there was a' substantial docl( on
the Bay at Jamesport, and because other means of transportation were
limited, farmers found it very useful in shipping their produce to the
- 29 --
city and other markets. The dock deteriorated to tbe point where it
was no longer usable, and some of the older people, wbo remembered
the use of tbat early dock, bad tbe Agricultural Society appoint a com-
mittee to see what could be done about it. At their request Capt. Edw.
Hawkins, a member of the Assembly, in '1884 introduced a Bill ill the
Legislature and it was passed, authorizing the building of a dock at
Jamesport. Tbis was done at tile cost of $2,'100. This dock proved a
boon to farmers, especially in making available water transportation
for fertilizers.
The Iron Pier
Near the turn of the century some of the progressive farmers of
Northville believed that an even more valuable asset to the area might
be a substantial pier constructed at tile Sound, where the deeper water
would make possible the use of larger vessels. These could bring the
community in closer touch with New England cities and other markets
up and down the coast, providing a landing place for passengers and
freight, and especially to pick up and deliver potatoes and other farm
products to outside markets.
Early in September, 1899, a company was formed known as the
Northville Pier and Land hnprovement Co., with the object of building
a pier out in the Sound at what was then known as Luce's Landing.
The directors included such progressive farmers as Supervisor Henry L.
Hallock, Orvis H. Luce, George E. Luce, Herman H. Hallock, Wm.
McDermott, John B. Carey, and Arthur L. Dow, ns.
A contract was entered into for the construction of a dock to
extend 360 feet out into the Sound, where the water at the end of the
- 30--
pier would be 9 feet deep at mean Iow water and 14 feet at average high
title. Tile contractor ran into some construction difficulties and also
financial trouble and had to relinquisil the contract, so the local com-
pany decided to finish the iob itself. This it proceeded to do, with
Supervisor I-lallock ill char§e of operations. The job was completed in
the summer of 1900 at a total cost of $10,000.
Tile first load of potatoes shipped from the pier was ill late Sep-
tember of that year, and was to a New Haven dealer wllo paid
a bu. for tile spuds. As a financial venture during the 4 years tile pier
was in existence it never was much of a Success. Shoal water and the
exposed position prevented a general landing of vessels.
On a Sunday morning;, February 13, 1904, the Iron Pier that had
been tile rendezvous for picnic parties, the fishermen, and had been at
least a modest adjunct to comnlerce, was no more; ice completely
wrecked it during the night. Nearly all that winter tile cold had been
intense and as far as the eye could see tile Sound had been solid ice,
from tl~ree to five feet thick. Tile warmer weather that prevailed that
weekend softened the shore attachment of tbe ice and when high winds
and unusually strong tides began to shift tile miles and miles of ice,
there was no alternative but for tbe pier to give way to the battering
of tile elements and be completely wrecked. Neither witbin the mem-
ory of the oldest residents, nor since tllat date, has tllere been such a
set of circumstances that would be so totally devastating.
Today all that remains to remind us of this fascinating venture is
the name Pier Avenue, which was the access road, and which now leads
to the b'on Pier Beach, one of the town's larger and more popular pub-
lic beaches, and to sumnler homes along tile shore.
Otf~et' Crops
From about 191S to 1918 tile production of Luce's Favorite Seed
Corn was all important business along Sound Avenue. This variety of
corn seemed to have special merit for the dairymen of upstate New
York, in many tests far outyielding anything else available in the
amount of dry matter produced. The Farm Bureau urged farmers to
get into the business in a big way to help meet tbe demand. For a year
or two corn was shelled, bagged, and sold by tile Kirkup Bros. of
Matt. ituck, but then a Suffolk Coop Seed Corn Assn. was formed, also
with headquarters in Mattituck, and it handled the corn in subsequent
years. Apparently tbere was a year or two when bad weather at harvest
resulted in seed witb poor germination, and upstate seedsmen turned to
-31 -
other areas to have the seed produced, so it turned out to be all enter-
prise of short duration on Long island.
In 1924 an embargo on foreign-grown Daffodil bulbs was an-
nounced by the plant Quarantine Board, to take effect in '1926. Dutcb
bulb exporters had a large trade in the United States which they wished
to continue to supply, and they urged Long Island farmers to get into
the business and grow bulbs for them. Among the farmers in Riverhead
town who tried their hand at it were Herman Aldrich, Allison Young
and H.R. Talmage & Son. Aldrich and Young dropped out of the busi-
ness after a few years, but Tabnage continued tlp to about 1960, witb
their acreage reaching as much as 15 acres for a number of years. The
lifting of the bulb embargo and several other factors finally made tile
operation unprofitable and it was discontinued.
In connection with the Daffodil business, the Talmages erected a
greenhouse where they forced the bulbs in winter months, shipping
the flowers to the New York wbolesale market. In the Spring after the
bulbs were finished, they planted greenhouse tomatoes. This enterprise
proved profitable so they erected additional greenhouses to cover
3/4 of an acre, from which they have been able. to harvest as much as
60 tons of fruit per year.
lhe largest early range of greenhouse in the town was that of
J. Ebb Wier of Jamesport, who for many years was one of the premier
suppliers of roses to the New York flower marl(et. A more recent
greenbouse enterprise is Ivy Acres, the bedding plant operation of
Jack Van de Wetering in Calverton, where literally millions of bedding
and related plants are grown each year and distributed over much of
Long Island. There are many otber g~eenhouse operations producing
plants and flowers, both wholesale and retail.
A rather new farm operation in Riverhead Town is the growing
of sod, with extensive acreages in Wading River, Calverton, Baiting
Hollow, and Northville. Among the big names in this business might be
listed DeLalio, DeLea, Kowalski, Imperial Sod, McGovern and Dan
Haliock.
As has been mentioned previously, strawberry production for
shipment to the New England market was quite important in the late
1800's and on into the 20th century. Then there was a period when
comparatively few were grown. The business was strongly revived in the
1920's, largely through the stimulus of Henry Meyjes of Calverton, but
fell off again when disease problems cut down yields. When this prob-
lem was overcome there was another revival, with many of the berries
being marketed through an auction run by the Cauliflower Assn. Dif-
- 32 --
ficulty in finding strawberry pickers in recent years has resulted in very
few barvested berries being offered for sale in commercial quantitites.
There are still a lot of berries being grown but they are sold on a
"pick your own" basis, with the Lewin Bros. in Wading River being the
largest factor in this field.
In the early 1900's August Lewin and Herman Prager of Baiting
Hollow planted extensive peach orchards for which they became
famous. They maintained their orchards for quite a number of years
and then gradually phased them out. The next big peach grower in the
town was irving Hulse, also on North Road in western Baiting Hollow,
and he sold the greater part of his at a roadside stand. Tile Lewin Bros.
then planted extensive orchards, including both peaches and apples,
nearer Wading River, and upon Irving I-lulse's retirement, took over his
orchards. Here again their principal outlet is their roadside stand
business. Briermere Farms on Sound Avenue is another big fruit grower,
and Perry Conklin and other residents of the town have smaller or-
chards.
Except for cauliflower and cabbage there has been no large pro-
duction of vegetables for the wholesale market in recent years. There
is, however, substantial production of sweet corn and of tile full range
of vegetables for marketing at roadside stands, which are becoming
quite numerous and which do a big business. Among the older and
larger stands might be listed Lewin Bros. near Wading River, Zeh in
Calverton, Young's Orchards at Roanoke, Briermere in Northville,
McKay and Breitenbach in Aquebogue, and George Reeve on both the
South Road and on Sound Avenue anti many, many more.
Mention should be made of the enormous increase in the produc-
tion of potatoes and other marketable crops that took place in the first
half of the 20th century, and the reasons for that increase. Probably
the principal reason was the shift from horses and mules to trucks and
tractors to furnish the transportation and power to get the job done.
The greater speed and efficiency thus gained were very important, but
even more important was the freeing of thousands of acres of produc-
tive farm land used in the production of field corn, oats, and other
grains, hay and pasture to feed the livestock. This land thus became
available to grow marketable farm crops, as farmers turned from the
p.roduction of their farm's needed energy, to its purchase in the form of
gasoline and oil.
The increasing knowledge about the control of insects and dis-
eases, and the availability of better seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides,
-33-
contributed mightily to higher crop yields anti increased production.
Another very important factor was the coming into use of irrigation.
Irri#ation
Long Island }las an average rainfall of a little over 40 inches a
year, which would be almost adequate if it were evenly distributed
throughout the year. Rainfall records show that this seldom I~appens:
nearly every year there are periods of 2 weeks or more with no rain-
fall, and when this happens in midsummer the crop yield losses can be
serious, even disastrous. One such year was 1913 when the average
yield of potatoes was 113 bu. per acre, with consequent poor size and
quality. Many farmers were looking anti hoping for some way of over-
coming this most serious limiting factor to good production.
In 1936 Nat Talmage heard of a demonstration of a new system
of putting water on crops, called Portable Overhead Irrigation. He
picked up Dr. John Hartman of the Research Farm and they went up
to the Schumacher farm in New Hyde ?ark and saw it in operation.
What they saw was a deepwell turbine pump, quick-coupling 4 inch
galvanized pipe with risers having Buckner sprinlders, being used on a
field of rhubarb.
Nat was favorably impressed, and went home and told his Dad
that here at last might be what they had been looking for. After care-
fully studying available equipment and analyzing possible capital,
operating and labor costs, and comparing them with possible yield in-
creases and operating returns, they decided to go ahead. They spent
that winter burying second-hand 6 inch steel mains, had Karlson and
Reed drive a 12 inch well, and bought irrigation lines and sprinklers.
On May 22, 1937 it was ready and was demonstrated in the presence
of more than 100 guests, complete with speeches by several of those
involved in the project.
Neighbors watched the new development with keen interest and
there was much shaking of heads when 1937 and 1938 turned out to be
comparatively wet years and the increased yields from irrigation were
unspectacular. Then came the very dry year of 1939 when unirrigated
farms had very poor crops and the Talmage farm had a beautiful crop
of high quality potatoes. Following that demonstration, irrigation in-
creased by leaps and bounds, and within 10 years of the time this first
installation was made, fully 50% of the good farm land on Long Island
was irrigated, as Henry Talmage had predicted. At the present time
100% of the good farm land in Riverhead lown is irrigated.
-34 -
Irrigating cauliflower on a Sound A venue gat'tn.
Moving tile 16 to 20 foot lengths of tile original quick coupling
galvanized pipe was hard work, and it was a real welcome advance
when, after World War II, aluminum became available, and all new lines
were made up of 40 foot lengths of tbat light metal. About 1970 ir-
rlgation lines mounted on wheels became available, moved by small
gasoline motors, and these tool( much of the hard work out of irriga-
tion and their use is spreading rapidly. Irrigation is costly but it almost
guarantees ti~at Long Island will have good crops of high quality pro-
duce, and it enables Long Island growers the opportunity to use one of
their most precious natural resources: an abundant supply of good
water.
Long/s/and Duc/es
In Volume I1 of Bailey's History of Long Island, LeRoy Wilcox
writes of the history of the Long Island Duck industry and tells of the
early duck ranches in Riverhead Town, which has ranked second only
to Broolthaven in the production of the famed Long Island Duckling.
He tells of the first introduction of the White Pekin Duck from China in
1873, with only a few breeders safely making the long trip. Their fame
~pread rapidly and by '1883 they were being grown in increasing num-
hers on. Long Island. Early names in the business included Wilcox,
Raynor, Hallock anti Tuthill in the Speonk, Moriches, Eastport area.
- 35 -
Long Island Ducks
Apparently the earliest cluck farm in Riverhead Town was estab-
lisiled by George Pugsley about 1892 at the extreme end of Riverside
Drive. He sold it in 1897 to Joe Worm, who later sold it to Dennis
Homart. George Pugsley then started another farm west of Riverhead
now belonging to Carmine Bruno. Several otber farms were established
on Riverside Drive, some of them being absorbed by Hollis Warner who
came to have wbat was then the largest duck farm in the world, with an
annual production of $00,000 ducks.
In 1913 Harry Corwin established a farm in Aquebogue whicia
later became Harry Corwin and Son, and more recently, Crescent Duck
Farm, about which more will be noted later. In that same year L.E.
Hulse started a farm on Peconic Bay Blvd. as did John Warner a year
later. The Warner farm was purchased by Joseph Celic in 1936 and be-
came a very large operation, second only to Hollis Warner's. Still fur-
ther west oo tile Blvd. was the Hubbard farm. Then there were several
farms between Riverhead and Calverton on the Forge River, but only
two are still in operation.
These farms were located mostly on streams flowing into Peconic
Bay, and the run-off from the farms had the effect of polluting the Bay
--36-
to an unacceptable degree. The Board of Health threatened to shut
down the duck farms unless they too[( some very strict steps to correct
this condition, and the standards were very costly to meet. Some
owners did not find it possible to meet the requirements and quit the
business, and others dropped out for other reasons, with the result that
there are at this writing only seven duck farms still in the township.
These are the Corwins, Celics, Brunos, Demkins on Route 58, Olin
Warner, Walter Semaschuk, and William Hubbard.
Even though tile number of farms [las greatly decreased, the total
production of L.I. Ducklings has just about remained at its high point
because of the substantial expansion of Corwin's Crescent Farm. The
Corwins put in a large eviscerating plant and freezing plant and ex-
panded their production to the point where they now process more
than 1,000,000 birds a year, with uniform production the year around.
Except for their breeders, these ducks are grown in indoor confine-
ment, and having no access to streams, the pollution problem becomes
much less severe. It looks as though Riverhead would be a source of
L.I. Duckling for many years to come.
Agricultural Labor
Before tile days of commercial agriculture tile farms were com-
paratively small and the work of the farm was done by the farm family,
with every one pitching in (luring the busier seasons, and with farmers
often helping one another with such jobs as haying and butcllering. As
far as tile writer could learn, little if'any slave labor was used on the
farms here.
When the railroad came through in 1844, it soon provided ready
markets for farm produce so additional labor was needed to produce
tile things needed to respond to that market. This about coincided with
the Irish immigration, which provided an important part of the hired
labor for this period, to be followed by an even greater number of
Polish later in the century. These immigrants received modest wages
but farms "boarded" them so they were able to save a substantial part
of their earnings. Later on when they had established families here, the
women and children also worked during the harvest season. There was a
fair amount of winter work in caring for livestock, husking corn, and
butting wood. During this period comparatively few southern Blacks
were employed.
With the expansion of acreage and increased production in the
20th century, much seasonal labor was needed during tile harvest.
-37-
These workers were not needed in winter, so migrant labor was brought
into tile area. Tbe principal sources of such labor were southern Blacks
and Puerto Ricans, wbo were provided camps m' cabins and wbo pro-
vided tbeir own meals. They usually came north in large numbers itl
time for strawberry picking in Jtme, followed by peas, beans, limas,
reaching peak numbers for potato harvest in August, September and
October, with some continuing on for cauliflower and sproot harvest
into November. During the years of Workl War II and after, there were
probably as many as 3000 migrants in Riverhead Town. It migbt also
be noted that during tide war years, German prisoners of war, sta-
tioned at Camp Upton, were used on many farms.
Tile advent of successful bulk barvesters of potatoes in the 1950%
made band picking obsolete, cutting the use of harvest labor by 50 to
75%. The difficulty in finding workers to do stoop labor like picking
strawberries, peas and beans, bas resulted in tbe elimination ef much of
tills acreage for production for tbe wholesale market. Farmers feel that
the availability of welfare payments has made it possible for potential
workers to decline}obs which they think they would not enjoy.
lid order to provide year aroond work for their more experienced
workers, quite a number of the larger potato farms are now packing
their own potatoes, especially their stored potatoes in winter. This cuts
down tide need for central packing houses, so that there are substantial-
ly less than there were a number of years ago, thus further reducing
tile need for seasonal or migrant labor.
Who Have Been R/verhead's Farrners?
In her published study, "West from the Canoe Place", Virginia
Wines lists the first land owners in what is now Riverhead Town: in
otber words, tile "early settlers". These early settlers had come from
England, or their parents had, and they were Riverhead's first farmers:
starting as subsistence farmers. Among those early farmers were such
names as Benjamin, Conklin, Cooper, Corwin, Downs, Fanning, Hallock,
Horton, Hudson, Parshall, Penny, Terry, Tool<er, Tuthill, Wells, Wines,
Youngs, some still familiar today. These were among the families, often
with variation of spelling of names, who carried on the agriculture of
Riverhead Town for its first 200 and more years.
In more recent years many of these families have sold their farms
to those come more recently to these shores, and the list of farmer
names would look quite different today. There are a number of notable
exceptions and especially would we mention Vernon Wells, Vernon
-38-
Wells, Jr., and Danny Wells who are farming tl~e land originally alloted
their forebear, William Wells, more than three centuries ago. During the
1976 Bicentennial year they received numerous honors and wide recog-
nition as the farm family in New York State who operated the same
farm for the longest period of years.
The next group of people to rnake a place for themselves as far-
mers in Riverhead Town were the Irish. The principal Irish immigra-
tion to ti~is country started in the 1840% when the potato famine was
so devastating in tlaat country. Quite a number who had farm back-
grounds came out here and found employment on farms. Even though
their wages were rather meager they were hard-working and thrifty and
eventually a number of them saved enough money to buy small farms,
or had the opportunity to work on farms on shares, leading eventually
to ownership. The greatest concentration of Irish farmers in the town
was in the "deep hole" section of Calverton, and included such names
as Bangston, Brown, Donahue, Farrel, Ford, Hogan, Holland,
McAndrew, Riley, and Twomey, witi] Dunn, Fitzgerald and McCabe
among those in other parts of the town.
During the late 1880% and the early part of this century, a number
of families from Germany and other Central European countries found
their way to Riverhead and eventually became numbered among our
good farmers. In this group would be such well known names as
Breitenbacl], Kaelin, Lewin, Nienstedt, Prager, Smeltzer, Thurm,
Worm and Zeh.
A great change has talcen place in the farm ownership of Riverhead
Town and the rest of Suffolk County in the past 75 years. More than a
century ago tlae country of Poland had an unstable government and was
partitioned among Prussia, Austria, and Russia, and the Polish people
faced persecutions and an oppressive way of life. Many fled their
homeland, migrating to the United States. Beginning about 1884
some who had farm backgrounds found their way to eastern Long
Island and found work on farms. Their usual starting monthly wage
was about $12a month and board, and seems Iow by today's standards,
but to these impoverished people it seemed just too good to be true,
and they sent word back to their families and friends of what a won-
drous place they had found. The stream of immigration increased, being
greatest from 1900 to the.start of the first World War.
The Polish were hard working and thrifty and the whole family
pitched in and worked. They saved their money and by the turn of the
century began purchasing their own farms. This trend t~as continued
-39-
right to tile present time when more than I]alf of tile farms in the town
are owned or operated by descendants of these Polisl] immigrants. The
sons of many of the "old stock" families ~i]ou[~l]t they saw in the ex-
panding industry of the period a chance for a more ~lamorous occupa-
tion, shorter hours, an easier life, and hopefully better pay, so they
were happy to have tile farms taken off their i]ands.
Among the earliest Polish land owners were Ruszl(owski,
Przyborowski, Fafinski, Danowsl(i and Danilowicz. There followed
Bobinski, Gatz, Grodski, Kujan, Sujecki, Zilnicki and dozens of others,
and these are the families that account for the greater part of agricul-
rural production in lhe town today.
Tl~e most l'ecel]t ~roup of new farmers in the town are the former
"wesl~enders": men who owned farms in Nassau County or in Western
Suffolk, and who were crowded out by suburban development. They
used the income from tile sale of their former farms ~o buy good farms
out here and are al~lOn~ our best farmers. Amon~ ti]em would be the
sod ~rowers who have been nlentiolled and such farmers as Kea~le,
Johnson, Itartman, Rottcamp and Wulforst.
An air yew of Riverhead Town's rich farm land. Looking east along
Sound A venue from the intersection of Osborne A venue.
- 40 -
What of the Future?
At the beginning of this account it was noted that Riverhead is
the most important agricultural town in the most important agricultura~
county in the Empire State. I~erhaps we should ask ourselves whether
this rankin§ can continue, or whether a§riculture will become almost a
thin§ of the past, as I~as Ilappened in Nassau County and in tile western
townships of Suffolk County. If this were being written 'I0 years ago,
any predictions about the future of agriculture in Riverhead would be
gloomy indeed. The spread of suburban development was accelerating
and had about reached the borders of our town, with our neighbor to
the west, Brookhaven Town, being one of tile fastest growing towns in
the United States. Already developers and speculators were buying up
the farms in Riverhead and by 1970 owned about half of the farm land
in the town. A developing recession and a lack of mortgage money
postponed the start of any wide scale actual building on these acres, so
they were rented to their previous owners or to neigtlboring farmers
and production has continued.
Recently a new element has come into the picture. Concerned
about the steady loss of farmland to urbanization, Suffolk County
Executive John V.N. Klein created an Agricultural Advisory Committee
in the Spring of 19'/2 for the purpose of devising a proposal to save the
remaining farmland. They considered a number of proposals, but tile
one which met general approval was one whereby the County would
purchase the development ri§hts to the farmlands, leaving only the
agricultural rights in tile bands of the landowners.
This plan was approved by the Suffolk County Legislature and
they have authorized the sale of $55 million in bonds to purchase these
development rights. The owner of tile property would continue owner-
ship and possession and the right to use it for agriculture, and to sell
it for agricultural use.
Because farmlands on which the Development Rights would be
purchased by the County would no longer have speculative value, but
only agricultural value, assessments on these lands will have to be on
agricultural value, so cannot reach the astronomical heights toward
which they would otherwise be heading. Real estate taxes will still be
higher than in most competing farm areas, but hopefully will not be so
high as to make farming unprofitable.
Sale of Development Rights will assure ]and owners that the es-
tare tax will be based on agricultural value, so it should be substantially
lower than would otherwise be the case. It should make it unnecessary
- 41 -
to sell part of the farm to pay estate taxes following the death of tile
farmland owner; also, tile money from the sale of the Development
Rights should be available to cover this tax bill.
Nathan/e/A. Ta/rnage, Sr., signs the agreement se/ling the Development
Rights to 131 acres o£ Friar~ plead Farm, to Suf£olh County. Looking
on are John Pl. Talmage, Legislators John T. Donohue, Joyce Bur/and,
Joseph R. Caputo, Legislative Chah'man Floyd L/nton, and County
Executive John V.N, Klein.
Ah'eady the purchase of Development Rights by the County has
started. On September 29, 1977, the first purchase agreements were
signed by County Executive Klein, representing SuCfolk County, and by
Nathaniel A. Talmage representing 131 acres of Friar's Head Farm in
Baiting Hollow, and by George C. Reeve, representing 84 acres north of
the Main Road in Aquebogue. Many other farms are expected to fol-
low. This imaginative program has received wide publicity and there is
nation-wide interest in its outcome.
- 42 -
Still another vehicle for tire preservation of farm lands in New
York State is tire Agricultural Districts Law. It provides that a farmer
may join an Agricultural District and apply for an agricultural value
assessment on t~is land rather than have it assessed at development or
industrial use value. Tilis should decrease his real estate taxes and make
it more possible to continue to farm. Also, in an Agricultural District
local governments are lirnitecl in enacting ordinances tilat would restrict
or regulate farm structures or farming practices. Tile owner may still
sell his farm for non-farm use, but such action will result in a penalty at
least equalling the tax roll-back benefit he received over a period of
years. At this writing it is not known how many Riverhead farms will
join in tile Agricultural Districts program, but it is thought there will be
a substantial number.
Tire availability of these two programs so closely following the
Bicentennial Year leads one to feel that tile future of agriculture in
eastern Suffoll< County is very brigilt indeed. They should assure tile
continued agricultural use of some of tile prime farm land of this
country, and tile availability for yet another century of fresh, tasty,
locally produced foods, and tile beauty and open space that are asso-
ciated with Long Island's wonderful farms.
- 43 -