southaven county park - long island tu county park “along the carman’s river” beginning as a...

Southaven County Park

“Along the Carman’s R

iver”

Beginning as a sm

all stream

in Middle

Island, the Carm

an’s R

iver flows

southward to the

eastern end of the G

reat South Bay.

This river, once know

n as the C

onnecticut River,

winds through the

Pitch Pine - Oak

woodlands of central

Suffolk, yet the vegetation in the w

etlands along its banks is different from

the open Pine Barrens of the

upland areas. Red M

aples grow in

moister places closer to the river and the

thick shrub layer along the banks includes the sw

eetly perfum

ed Sweet

Pepper Bush and tasty

High B

lueberries. Deer

browse the vegetation

and red fox hunt small m

als in the upland areas, w

hile the lower part of the

river provides a haven for migrating and

wintering w

aterfowl.

People have always been attracted to

rivers and the Carm

an’s is no exception.

Evidence indicates that native Am

ericans cam

ped and hunted in this area. Later, the shape of the river itself w

as changed as people settled at several points along its course.

In the mid 1700’s dam

s were built in three

places and mills constructed below

the mill

ponds. Upper Lake and Low

er Lake in Yaphank are m

ill ponds as is Hard’s Lake

further south. In the northernmost section of

Southaven Park, north of the Long Island Expressw

ay, are some of the rem

ains what

was once know

n as Millville. Som

e of the buildings still stand although the m

ills built by the H

oman fam

ily and later owned by the

Gerards are long gone.

Mordecai H

oman built a saw

mill, a grist m

ill and a fulling m

ill (for shrinking and thickening w

ool) just north of the “goin’ over” -- the ford about w

here Montauk

ay is now. These mills changed hands

several times com

ing back to other Hom

ans and then to Sam

uel Carm

an who m

arried into the H

oman fam

ily. Samuel C

arman, Jr. ran a

tavern in part of his large house which, in the

early 19th century, was a stage stop on the

route from B

rooklyn to Easthampton. The

South Haven or C

arman’s M

ills operated until

1910 and the mill stood until 1958 w

hen Sunrise H

ighway w

as extended through the area. A

t that time a new

as constructed north of the new

ay and the historic South H

aven church was

moved to

Brookhaven.

The large trout in the Carm

an’s River

were a draw

for some notable fisherm

an. In 1827 D

aniel Webster rented som

e land above the South H

aven mill pond

with fishing rights for him

self and a few

friends, including Martin Van B

uren, later the 8th president. This w

as the forerunner of the Suffolk C

lub organized by A

ugust Belm

ont in 1858. The Suffolk C

lub bought a 1500 acre shooting and fishing preserve and raised trout to stock the river. Theodore R

oosevelt was one

of the Club’s m

ost famous m

embers.

Finally, Anson H

ard bought up all the other shares and used the area as a private hunting preserve, raising pheasants and keeping a herd of European Sitka deer.

Today, people hike and canoe along the river, picnic and cam

p, hunt and fish, ride horses on upland trails and row

boats in the m

ill pond. Now

that Southaven is a county park all Suffolk residents can respond to the lure of the river and enjoy the uplands and w

etlands of its 1320 acres.

ics, M

tratio

ill ru

an’s

’s R

r bird

Well-known

Figures Along the

an’s River

In late 1780 Benjam

in Tallmadge told

General G

eorge Washington that he w

ould like to cross the Long Island Sound from

onnecticut to destroy a British supply

collection point at Coram

and while on

Long Island raid the British occupied Fort

St. George (St. G

eorge’s Manor).

Tallmadge and his com

pany of 80 men

landed at what is now

Mt. Sinai and

marched south along the east side of the

an’s River to St. G

eorge’s Manor

where they captured 54 prisoners. W

hile m

ost of the company m

arched the prisoners back to their boats, Tallm

adge took a small

group to Coram

to destroy the British

supplies.

Daniel W

ebster occasionally came to fish

in the Carm

an’s River. O

ne well-know

n tale has it that in the spring of 1827 W

ebster was staying at C

arman’s tavern in

South Haven and attended the Sunday

morning service across the street in the

South Haven

Presbyterian C

hurchs. During

Rev. Ezra K

ing’s serm

on, Carm

an’s boatm

an slipped into the church and w

hisp ered to Carm

an and Webster w

ho prom

ptly tiptoed out. Know

ing what w

as up, other w

orshippers began to get up and leave. Finally, the R

ev. Ezra King, him

self an ardent fisherm

an, stopped preaching, pronounced the benediction and w

ent off to the river w

ith the others to watch W

ebster bring in his long sought quarry -- a 14 1/2 pound trout. The outline of the fish w

as traced on C

arman’s tavern and the next day

the shape (but 1/3 larger) was transferred

to wood and cut out to create a

weathervane for the church. W

ebster was

so pleased with his visit that shortly

thereafter he rented land along the C

arman’s R

Guidelines for

park visitorsSuffolk C

ounty parks are for the use of residents of Suffolk C

ounty and their guests.

Please do not disturb the plants and anim

Please keep your dogs on a leash at all tim

You may not bring in alcoholic

beverages except with a perm

Please carry your waste out w

ith you or use the trash receptacles provided.

Please obey all traffic signs.

For further information, request a

brochure on park rules and regulations.

Along the R

iverJust a few

yards away from

the river sandy trails pass through low

huckleberries and thin pines. B

ut that narrow band along the

river is quite a different world.

The moist soil supports several shrubs that

have sweetly fragrant flow

ers in the spring and sum

mer. Soft green m

osses grow at

the base of trees that lean out over the w

ater. In early autumn the leaves on the

trees lining the river banks begin turning bright red.

A curious clapping noise over the river

turns out to be a swan’s w

ings hitting the w

ater as it takes off. Further upstream

even a quiet approach to the river’s edge m

ay cause a series of “plops” as frogs or turtles jum

p into the water.

In quiet spots along the river bank circles that look like rain drops hitting the w

ater are actually caused by w

ater striders -- insects -- skating on the surface. Their dark bodies and long legs are nearly invisible against the shady, dark w

ater. A flash of sunlight

illuminates little golden-brow

n dragonflies cruising low

over the w

ater in search of mosquitoes to

The river’s edge is a narrow strip

with som

e of Long Island’s most

exciting sensory experiences.

Field Trial Area2.

Large Upper Picnic Area

3. Playground

4. Activity Field

ain Bathroom6.

Main Parking Field

7. Fam

ily Picnic Area8.

Playground9.

Bathroom10. Boat H

ouse11. M

ain House

12. Hatchery

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