A Legacy of Valor: A History of Lifesaving and Shipwrecks at Montauk, New York

"You have to go out, but you don't have to come back." Long before it became the resort and fishing community of today, Montauk was a lonely, barren, desolate peninsula where few dared tread. From the middle of the 17th century to the early 20th century, Montauk served as pastureland for thousands of cattle, sheep and horses from farms "up island." In the mid-1800s, lifesaving stations were built at Montauk and other locations along the shores of Long Island. Here, in the face of cruel and ...