Gilgo State Park

Description

Gilgo State Park is a 1223acre undeveloped state park in Gilgo Beach, Suffolk County, New York. The park is located on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island off the southern shore of Long Island.HistoryPrevious use of the land was for a United States Life-Saving Service called "Station Gilgo" and referred to as USLSS Station #27. At the western edge of the park are the remains of this station and is known locally as the Old Coast Guard Station. No markings on the site identify its history of life saving. It is thought the first building was erected in 1853, serving as a base for volunteer life savers who would walk/patrol the beach and observe ships in distress. It was to aid in recovery of life and property aboard the ships which ran aground. The service was merged into the US Coast Guard in 1925 and later developments in technology made this service inefficient, which caused it to be abandoned.For some years later, it stood unused until Robert Moses negotiated with the federal government to include it in his Long Island Parks Region. Land around the former Coast Guard Station was acquired in phases from the Town of Babylon from 1928 through 1930.The terms of this transfer are still being explored, though it appears, the parties agreed that this land would be forever wild and available to all residents for their wholesome recreation. No one user group would have exclusive privilege to its use and it would not be closed for whatever reason, with the exception of occasional clo