Transportation

Horses brought the early settlers to the region. South Road (currently called Montauk Highway) was an Indian trail.

The railroad was a link to New York City and to neighboring towns.

The ferry was used for transportation of goods to and from New York City and for recreation.

The trolley ran west to Amityville with a connection there to the north shore (Halesite) or to the railroad. The trolley ran to the west to connect Copiague to the famed Babylon dock.

In 1900, an auto race went through Copiague.

There are three main roads through Copiague today.

The Railroad Arrives

The Copiague railroad station, year 1901.
Photo thanks to Mr Huneke.
Visit his railroad site.
http://arrts-arrchives.com

In 1867, the South Side Railroad was extended through Amityville to the Village of Babylon¹. A single track was laid and stations in Amityville and Babylon were built. In 1874 The South Side Railroad became known as The Long Island Railroad².

There are train records from 1885 to 1888 that show the ridership at Amityville, just to the west of Copiague, was about 45,000 passengers a year and at Breslau (former name of Lindenhurst which is to the east of Copiague), the ridership was about 14,000³. The land for the Copiague train station was donated by Scudder Jarvis⁴, but all citizens donated money for erection of the building⁵. The mention of a Copiague station was first seen in the timetables of 1901. The original building was erected in 1902. It was torn down in 1967 when the Amityville, Copiague, and Lindenhurst, and Babylon tracks were elevated⁶.

The Ferry

In the early days, the Great South Bay waterway was used to bring products is and out of the area⁷. Goods and produce arrived and was shipped to New York City.

Traffic on the bay was heavy during the years 1900-10. There was no ferry terminal in Copiague. The main terminals were in neighboring Amityville and Babylon. The ferryboats from Amityville regularly made their way to the ocean beaches and large oceanfront hotels. Trips were made from the Amityville River to the Pavilions at High Hill on Zachs Bay, Hemlock Beach and Gilgo Beach. There were summer homes at these places ranging from very grand to very utilitarian⁸. The ferryboats from Babylon transported vacationers to the ocean and to the lavish hotels along the ocean at Fire Island. Up until 1929 the only way to get to the ocean was by private boat or ferry. In 1929 Jones Beach was completed and dedicated and the Freeport Causeway opened⁹.

Automobiles

Gus Howell owned the first automobile in town. It was a steam powered one¹⁰.

Automobile racing got its start along the south shore of Long Island in 1900. This is before the famed Vanderbilt road races, which started in 1904. On April 14, 1900, the Automobile Club of America introduced a 50-mile race on Long Island. It is understood to be the first auto race in America. The entire race was held along South Country Road (now called Montauk Highway). The race started in Springfield (Queens County). The last towns it passed through were Amityville, Copiague, and Lindenhurst. The race ended in Babylon¹¹. Nine autos entered the race. Three ran by steam, five by gasoline, and one by electricity. Many of the townsfolk walked along the road, keeping pace with the cars that were racing between Amityville and Babylon¹². Al Riker won the race in 2 hours 3.5 minutes¹³.

True American road racing began in 1904 with the Vanderbilt Cup races, contested over a 28-mi (45-km) course in Long Island, New York. These races continued until 1916¹⁴.

The Trolley

An electric trolley, known as the Babylon Line, ran from the Amityville depot through Copiague to the Babylon dock. It opened on June 11, 1910, and because of money problems closed on May 15, 1920^15,16. The trolley tried to economize by hiring just one man to perform the double duty of motorman and conductor. As a result, the trip to Babylon was somewhat delayed as the trolley passed through the woods near Scudder Avenue in Copiague. The motorman would place the car in low speed and proceed to the rear platform to collect the much-needed passengers’ fares¹⁷.

The trolley line also ran through Amityville, to the Richmond Dock. Passengers were often treated to renditions of Italian opera by the conductor Benny Cirincerone¹⁸. Amityville’s trolley line opened on August 25, 1909 and closed in 1919. Amityville was the terminus for the Huntington trolley line and the connection to the Babylon Line¹⁹.

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Footnotes

1. Lauder, William T., “A Brief History of Amityville, Long Island, N.Y.” — 2nd edition. Amityville Historical Society, Amityville, NY. ©1973 pg 19

2. ibid. Page 13.

3. ibid. Page 18.

4. 278 Years in Copiague, A Pageant Presented by the Class of 1935.

5. Lightfoot, Frederick S., Martin, Linda B., Weidman, Bette S. Suffolk County, Long Island in Early Photographs 1867-1951. Dover Publications, New York. 1984. pg 92

6. Eide, Elizabeth. Copiague-Your Town and Mine. Board of Education , Copiague Public Schools, Copiague, NY ©Elizabeth Eide 1973 pg 38-39

7. Lightfoot, Frederick S., Martin, Linda B., Weidman, Bette S. Suffolk County, Long Island in Early Photographs 1867-1951. Dover Publications, New York. 1984. pg 92

8. Encarta 2004. search word: "Vanderbilt". Encarta ©1993-2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

9. Lauder, William T., “A Brief History of Amityville, Long Island, N.Y.” — 2nd edition. Amityville Historical Society, Amityville, NY. ©1973. Page 7.

10. Eide, Elizabeth. Copiague-Your Town and Mine. Board of Education , Copiague Public Schools, Copiague, NY @Elizabeth Eide 1973 pg 23

11. Seyfried, Vincent F. The Long Island Railroad — a Comprehensive History, part 6, The Golden Age 1881-1900. Vincent Seyfried, Garden City, 1974

12. Zeil, Ron and Wettereau, Richard. Victorian Railroad Stations of Long Island, Sunrise Special Limited, Bridgehampton, NY. 1988. pages 92-93

13. 278 Years in Copiague, A Pageant Presented by the Class of 1935.

14. Seyfried, Vincent F. The Long Island Railroad — a Comprehensive History, part 6, The Golden Age 1881-1900. Vincent Seyfried, Garden City, 1974. page 269.

15. Eide, Elizabeth. Copiague-Your Town and Mine. Board of Education , Copiague Public Schools, Copiague, NY @Elizabeth Eide 1973 g 39

16. Dibbins, Purdy and Ruggles, editors. “A Backwards Glance,” The Amityville Historical Society, Amityville, New York ©1980. pg 75

17. ibid. Page 76.

18. ibid. Page 3.

19. ibid. Page 74.

Web Explorations (external links)

The Long Island Railroad -- you name it, it’s there!
http://arrts-arrchives.com/index.html

Vanderbilt racing postcards
http://longislandgenealogy.com/stockcar.html