Democratic Sentinel, Volume 20, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1896 — The Legend of Fireplace. [ARTICLE]

The Legend of Fireplace.

Imng Island has two places of which its inhabitants are very proud—Brooklyn and Fireplace. Fireplace is said to be one of the smallest villages in the world. And it is rather curious that Fireplace is just about as far from Brooklyn as it can get. being near Motitauk Point, at the extreme eastern end of the island. Fireplace consists of t wo stone houses about sixty years old. There is a curious legend about how Fireplace was founded and the way in which it received its queer name. Here is tiie legend: Two hundred years ago Garditier's Island was bought from the Indians by the Gardiner family for a very low price. The purchasers of the island and their descendants lived there for many years. When they came over to Long Island to make any visit to the mainland their servants took the boats back to Gardiner's Island until they should he needed again. When the family wished to return to the island they lighted a big bonfire on Long Island, which was the signal for the servants to fetch the boats over. This was directly opposite the Gardiner homestead. In time two stone houses were built, where tin* Gardiners list'd to light their signal bonfires. When it came to selecting a name the occupants of the houses thought of these old fires and selected what is certainly a bizarre name for a village—Fireplace.—New York Herald.