Barrier Beaches Community Profile

History Highlights:

The first permanent structures built on the barrier beaches were the U.S. Life-Saving Service stations at Oak Beach and Gilgo Beach, in 1872. The Coast Guard took over the Life-Saving Service in 1915, and the Oak Beach station was active through World War II.

Henry Livingston, editor of the South Side Signal newspaper, built the first beach cottage on Oak Island in 1879, named “Little Rest.” 

Prior to the construction of bridges across the Great South Bay, ferry boats transported visitors to the oceanfront beaches and hotels. Sidney Van Nostrand’s Pavilion at Oak Beach and the Wa Wa Yanda clubhouse on Captree Island were premier destinations for summer travelers from New York City in the early 1900s. The Oak Beach Inn, built in 1935, replaced the Oak Beach Pavilion as a popular social spot.

The West Gilgo Beach community was formed when residents of High Hill, a Nassau County beach community, were forced to relocate for the 1940s expansion of Ocean Parkway. More than 60 of 80 High Hill cottages were moved to West Gilgo Beach, within the Town of Babylon.

Expansion of Ocean Parkway also led to the 1930 elimination of Muncie Island, named for the family who owned the island for more than 100 years.

Babylon School District and Babylon Public Library – Barrier Beach Communities

The Town of Babylon barrier beach communities of Captree Island, Oak Beach, Oak Island, Gilgo Beach and West Gilgo are part of the Babylon School District, including the Babylon Public Library.

For information about the Babylon School District, please visit here.  

For information about the Babylon Public Library, please visit here.  

Babylon Fire Department

The Town of Babylon barrier beach communities of Captree Island, Oak Beach, Oak Island, Gilgo Beach and West Gilgo are part of the fire district protected by the Babylon Fire Department.

For information about the Babylon Fire Department, please visit here.