Book Signings


10/23/13 7PM Carle Place, Barnes and Noble

10/24/13 7PM Bay Shore, Barnes and Noble

10/30/13 7PM Lake Grove, Barnes and Noble

herc1.jpgIn between Stony Brook Harbor and Main Street sits a beautiful example of maritime folk-art. This Hercules once graced the front of the USS Ohio, built between 1817 and 1820. She was the first ship built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
The Ohio and her 74 guns served in the Mediterranean, the Pacific and landed troops on the shores of Vera Cruz during the war with Mexico in 1847. In 1884 the Ohio wound up in Greenport after being sold for scrap. She broke free of her mooring during a storm and sunk a short distance off shore. Resting in a mere 20 feet of water part of the ship was above sea level. The exposed parts of the Ohio were burned and the rest abandoned.
Luckily this piece of folk art was stripped off the ship before her demise.

herc.jpgThis Hercules was carved out of a single piece of cedar and cost $1500. After being scuttled it was sold for a mere $10 at an auction. It was again sold for $15 by the then owner of the Canoe Place Inn where it remained for decades. Eventually the figurehead was acquired by Ward Melville. It is now part of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization.

As if this is already an amazing enough piece of history, the pavilion also has a whale boat used on Charles Hall’s final arctic expedition.

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