Shoreham and Wading River

Book excerpt: Shoreham and Wading River is an illustrated tale of two good neighbors vividly told through the magic of historic postcards. Wading River, settled by New Englanders in 1671, is reminiscent of a classic New England town with its steepled Congregational Church, village green, ancient cemetery, horse farms, and colonial homes. Shoreham, settled at the turn of the last century, went high-tech with the arrival of brilliant inventor Nikola Tesla and his famous tower and laboratory and highbrow as an eastern outpost of the Gold Coast. The two communities are linked by geography and shared traditions, such as a railroad line (sadly abandoned in 1938), a beautiful beach for summer fun, summer camps galore, an equestrian tradition, and glorious tennis--an unbroken rivalry since 1924. Postcards are from the Shoreham Village historical archives, the Wading River and Suffolk County Historical Societies, and private collections.