“Please Close The Gate”

I was first introduced to Shagwong Point in 1951 by my fishing buddy, Al Lehron. About a third of a mile from the cut, there was a fence with a gate. The fence extended into the water well past the low tide mark.

I was amazed to see a herd of Black Angus cows wandering about the beach. I subsequently learned that the cows belonged to Phineas Dickinson. Added by his brother, Frank, whose nickname was Shank, he had the cattle shipped in by rail from Texas to Long Island. The final leg of their journey was the Montauk station. Upon arrival they were herded to a temporary corral at the rail yard, watered, fed and bedded down for the night. The next day Shank, Phineas, and local boys would herd the cattle to the ranch which is now called Deep Hollow Ranch. In 1953 Dick White, who is now the county park trustee for East Hampton, was one of the boys who took part in the cattle drive. The cattle would range from the ranch to Indian Hills and Shagwong Point. At the end of the season the cattle would be trucked off for processing. This tradition was handed down by their Father and Grandfather as herdsman for the Montauk area. Back at that time the cattle were gathered from East Hampton and vicinity, driven to Amagansett the first day and the second day completed their journey to Montauk. From the first day of May until the first of October they received payment of a dollar per head, per month. Frank’s father, also named Frank, was the Superintendent of Montauk State Park from 1927 to 1958.

Shortly after WW II Frank became a State Park Police Officer, and in 1958 he took over his father’s position of Superintendent of Montauk State Park and served until 1980. To some extent family tradition continues as Frank’s daughter, Diane, is married to Rusty Lever. The Leavers currently run Deep Hollow Ranch.

Herdsman originally lived in huts until 1744 when First House was built in the vicinity of where the entrance to Hither Hills Park is now. Second House, now a museum was built in 1746 and Third House was built in 1806. As you can see Montauk Point was the first American ranch. The Third House and surrounding area also served as a quarantine area for Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders upon their return from the Spanish-American War. In 1971 Third House, the ranch, Indian Hills, including Shagwong Point, were acquired by the Suffolk County Park System.

I would like to thank Frank Dickerson for his time and consideration in sharing his family story. Lou Farr, LIBBA #192