In this new village history, Head-of-the-Harbor: A Journey through Time, youll find answers to such questions and learn how past residents farmed the land, used Stony Brook Harbor, and created the village we know today. Packed with original stories and vintage photographs the book is a must-read, a perfect holiday gift for young and old alike.

In the 1890s, long-distance cycling became the rage, a sport spurred by the newly developed pneumatic tires; better bicycles had led to improvements in Long Islands bicycle trails. One summer day a group of actors stopped in St. James to rest or change a flat tire or visit fellow actors, William Collier and his wife, Louise Allen….Later Colliers house on Moriches Road became the heart of a slowly evolving colony of some hundred or so actors….Before air conditioning, the Broadway theatres closed for the summer, leaving actors and vaudevillians unemployed. The actors arrived here just before the Fourth of July and remained until Columbus Day, within easy reach of the city if a casting director called.
Among the better known were the BarrymoresJohn and Ethel as well as LionelDavid Garrick, George Burns, and George M. Cohan…. Irving Berlin was another well-known visitor.