Meadow Island

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An island located in the township of Freeport New York, with a few 'bay houses' located on the Eastern shore. Comedian Eddie Cantor is said to have had a shack (bay house) on the island as well. The island was also once home to the New Inlet Hotel (also known as Scott's Beach Hotel or Dick Smith's Place). The hotel's original owner was Richard (Dick) Smith (1814-1886) who ran the hotel with his wife, Mary Ann Smith (nee Wanser, 1816-1881). In addition to the hotel business, Dick Smith held the title of wreck master. The original hotel was three stories in height and may have stood on 30 acres. The first floor included a spacious kitchen, dining room and dance hall. The second floor had guest rooms and the third floor was occupied by the family. The hotel had a well that provided fresh drinking water and a spring-fed pond where ice was cut during the winter and stored for summer use. Kerosene lamps provided lighting. The hotel was known for its tasty seafood dinners. The hotel served alcohol, and music was furnished by Augustus F. Bishop of Babylon.
Tragedy struck on May 5, 1862, when a lightning strike injured Dick Smith and killed his son, Charles Augustus Smith, while they were in the hotel. In 1872, the hotel was destroyed by fire. The loss was estimated at $15,000, which would be over 316,000.00 today. A new hotel was opened in the summer of 1873.

Later, the hotel would be operated by Smith's daughter Mary Elizabeth, and her husband Andrew J. Scott. Due to erosion, the hotel was dragged to higher ground. The Scotts also added two wings to the building. In 1898, the Scotts' son died on the USS Maine in Havana Harbor. In 1905, Mrs. Scott had a monument erected on the island to honor both the Smith and Scott families. In 1913, Mrs. Scott began selling plots of land on Meadow Island. In 1920, she placed a classified ad for the sale of her 23-room house on the island.
Sometime later, the hotel was destroyed in a storm. Remnants still exist today.

Some bay houses still remain standing, a remnant of Long Island's maritime history. It was also a site of frequent rum-running.

www.nytimes.com/2002/09/08/nyregion/long-island-journal...
www.pbs.org/video/a-world-within-a-world-the-bay-houses...