Cold Spring Harbor

A bustling industrial community in the 19th century, Cold Spring Harbor was once described as "a sweet bay of beauty." The area briefly served as a whaling port and was a center for shipbuilding, milling, and farming. Located just 35 miles from midtown Manhattan, Cold Spring Harbor was a fashionable summer resort for New York City residents who came to the area during the Gilded Age to enjoy the cool breezes off the shores of the harbor. Today, Cold Spring Harbor is a residential community with excellent schools, active organizations, museums, and the world-renowned Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories. Cold Spring Harbor traces the development of the area from its days as a bustling whaling port to a 20th-century suburbanized community.

Robert C. Hughes, the Huntington town historian, grew up in Cold Spring Harbor. He is president of the Eagle Dock Foundation, which operates the community beach, and also serves on the Cold Spring Harbor Board of Education and the Cold Spring Harbor Library Board of Directors. His quest to discover the history of his backyard led him to the Huntington Historical Society, the source of many of the photographs in this book. Photographs were also provided by the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities, and the Cold Spring Harbor Library, as well as private collections.