The Legend Of Whiskey Road Letterbox LbNA #16958 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | mdr  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Jul 31, 2005 |
| Location: | |
| City: | Ridge |
| County: | Suffolk |
| State: | New York |
| Boxes: | 1 |
| Found by: | Lumberjack1 |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Sep 1, 2009 |
| Status: | FFFFFFFFFOF |
| Last edited: | Jul 31, 2005 |
The Legend of Whiskey Road Letterbox
A pleasant drive down Whiskey Road to experience its twists and turns, coupled with a short .4 mile walk to the box. The narrow trail is reminiscent of the dense wilderness that early Long Islanders had to contend with. You will need to climb over 11 trees that have fallen across the path. Bring your own pen, and stamp pad.
Directions: Take the Long Island Expressway to exit 64 (Route 112). Take 112 north to Route 25. Head east on Route 25 about .2 mile to Coram- Mount Sinai Road. Turn left and travel about 2.1 miles. On the right you will see Whiskey Road. Take Whiskey Road for about 3.6 miles until you see the Rocky Point Natural Resource Management Area on the left. (As some of the land along this old road is still heavily wooded, and other parts still farm fields, it is not too hard to imagine what this area was like two hundred and fifty years ago. As you travel note the road’s twists and turns.) Park in the parking lot.
Clues for The Whiskey Road Letterbox:
More than 200 years ago, a young man Stephen Randall of Randallville fell in love with his neighbor, Elizabeth Swezey who lived several miles to the west in Swezeytown. Courtship by way of Middle Country Road (which was cut through sometime before 1700) was long and roundabout, so it is said that Stephen, by frequent passage to and from Elizabeth’s wore a path through the woods due west from the Randall farm to that of the Swezeys. The courtship was successful, for Steven married Elizabeth in 1763, and they remained together 55 years until his death in 1818.
Later, Brookhaven Town Road Commissoners were petitioned by the Randalls to cut a road through from “Mr. Swezey’s gate unto Stephen Randalls…” In May of 1796, work began. Legend has it that as an incentive for the workers, a jug of whiskey was placed some distance ahead of the laborers who were allowed to have a drink when they reached the jug if the road had been satisfactorily cleared of trees and stumps. Then the jug would again be set a distance ahead. With the copious amounts of whiskey being drunk, the jug was not always set in the place where the road was supposed to go. When completed, the road was so crooked that three years later, (and several times after that), the town attempted to straighten out some of the worst sections. ( Hence the name and erratic course of this road.)
After parking in the lot, walk to the signboard. Just to the right you will see a trail marked with a white blaze. Follow this trail .4 miles until you will come to an unmistakable 12’wooden signpost pole in the middle of the path. Walk to the pole, then turn completely around and count out about 16 paces. Look to your left. About 10 feet off the trail you will see 3 oak trees growing close together. The Legend of Whiskey Road Letterbox is planted at their base.
Continue driving eastward on Whiskey Road. You will pass Randall Road going north, then Randall Road heading south, and .1 mile later Whiskey Road ends at the William Floyd Parkway.
A pleasant drive down Whiskey Road to experience its twists and turns, coupled with a short .4 mile walk to the box. The narrow trail is reminiscent of the dense wilderness that early Long Islanders had to contend with. You will need to climb over 11 trees that have fallen across the path. Bring your own pen, and stamp pad.
Directions: Take the Long Island Expressway to exit 64 (Route 112). Take 112 north to Route 25. Head east on Route 25 about .2 mile to Coram- Mount Sinai Road. Turn left and travel about 2.1 miles. On the right you will see Whiskey Road. Take Whiskey Road for about 3.6 miles until you see the Rocky Point Natural Resource Management Area on the left. (As some of the land along this old road is still heavily wooded, and other parts still farm fields, it is not too hard to imagine what this area was like two hundred and fifty years ago. As you travel note the road’s twists and turns.) Park in the parking lot.
Clues for The Whiskey Road Letterbox:
More than 200 years ago, a young man Stephen Randall of Randallville fell in love with his neighbor, Elizabeth Swezey who lived several miles to the west in Swezeytown. Courtship by way of Middle Country Road (which was cut through sometime before 1700) was long and roundabout, so it is said that Stephen, by frequent passage to and from Elizabeth’s wore a path through the woods due west from the Randall farm to that of the Swezeys. The courtship was successful, for Steven married Elizabeth in 1763, and they remained together 55 years until his death in 1818.
Later, Brookhaven Town Road Commissoners were petitioned by the Randalls to cut a road through from “Mr. Swezey’s gate unto Stephen Randalls…” In May of 1796, work began. Legend has it that as an incentive for the workers, a jug of whiskey was placed some distance ahead of the laborers who were allowed to have a drink when they reached the jug if the road had been satisfactorily cleared of trees and stumps. Then the jug would again be set a distance ahead. With the copious amounts of whiskey being drunk, the jug was not always set in the place where the road was supposed to go. When completed, the road was so crooked that three years later, (and several times after that), the town attempted to straighten out some of the worst sections. ( Hence the name and erratic course of this road.)
After parking in the lot, walk to the signboard. Just to the right you will see a trail marked with a white blaze. Follow this trail .4 miles until you will come to an unmistakable 12’wooden signpost pole in the middle of the path. Walk to the pole, then turn completely around and count out about 16 paces. Look to your left. About 10 feet off the trail you will see 3 oak trees growing close together. The Legend of Whiskey Road Letterbox is planted at their base.
Continue driving eastward on Whiskey Road. You will pass Randall Road going north, then Randall Road heading south, and .1 mile later Whiskey Road ends at the William Floyd Parkway.