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Community Corner

1800-1865: The Transformation from Small Town to Oyster Town

Patch explores the history of Sayville leading up to the 250 anniversary celebration.

This year marks Sayville’s 250th anniversary and the community will be holding a daylong celebration October 1 at The Common Ground. To commemorate this historic occasion Sayville Patch is running a series of stories that looks back on the history of the hamlet. This third installment looks at the life of Sayville residents in the 1800s. 

It was during the 1800s that Sayville began its transformation to the community it is today. As more and more families began to move to the area, growth came soon thereafter.

The first store was the Bedell Tavern, located in what is now a parking lot on the corner of Railroad and Main Street in 1830. The first school, a log cabin, opened in 1800, where the railroad trestle over Main Street is today. School was taught for three months out of the year by parents who were available. The town finally hired a full-time teacher in 1847, when school was extended to nine months.

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The first church was built in 1847. (The church, now occupied by the free masons, still stands today next to the fire house.) As the population grew, so did the need for specialized businesses. By 1850, there were three blacksmiths, a tailor and a shoemaker all calling Sayville home. Soon, the need arose and a village hall and jail were built in the 1850s. By 1860, the population of Sayville had swelled to 822 people!

There were several industries that helped grow the Sayville community. In the early 1800s, the abundant wood in the area helped the New York City building industry. The wood was also used to help fuel the new locomotives, which at that time traversed the center of the island in their quest to find a shortcut to Boston. But, by far the biggest industry of the day was the oyster industry.

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While making a living from the bay was hardly a new idea, it was the oyster industry that would help transform Sayville into a thriving community. The oyster industry rapidly expanded after 1840 when oysters imported from the Mid-Atlantic were dumped into the bay to replace the overharvested population in the area. This act, along with an influx of Dutch immigrants who brought new harvesting techniques with them, transformed the trade into a major industry almost overnight.

The oysters were sold mainly to restaurants in New York City and were known to have a distinct flavor. At its height, the oyster industry employed more than 1,100 men in the area and shipped more than 100,000 barrels a year.

Leaving nothing to waste, the shells were used to pave the roads, including Main Street. At the end of the 19th century, Sayville would become the center of the world’s oyster industry. This. along with the arrival of the South Shore railroad, would transform Sayville forever.

David Moglia is a Sayville resident is a very keen interest in local history. He can be reached via email at dlmoglia@gmail.com.

Sources:

Dickerson, Charles P. A History of the Sayville Community, including Bayport, Bohemia, West Sayville, Oakdale, and Fire Island. S.l.: S.n., 1975. Print. 

Lightfoot, Frederick S., Linda B. Martin, and Bette S. Weidman. Suffolk County, Long Island, in Early Photographs, 1867-1951. New York: Dover, 1984. Print.

 

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