Long Island facts you might not know

Brooklyn to Lynbrook

Once known as Pearsalls Corners, the area was rechristened Lynbrook in 1894 when former Brooklyn residents reversed that city's syllables to give their new homeland a new name. Lynbrook has long said it is the only community in the nation with that name, thus the moniker Lynbrook USA.

"Mean" Gene's son played for Isles

The late "Mean" Gene Okerlund is a WWE Hall of Famer and one of its great voices. But what does he have to do with Long Island? Well, his son, Todd, was a mid-round draft pick by the New York Islanders in 1982. Todd only played four games with the Islanders, as knee problems shortened his career.

Nixon's dog is buried here

When vice presidential nominee Richard Nixon was under attack for misusing a political expense fund, he turned to a national television audience and admitted to only one campaign gift -- a dog named Checkers. That 1952 speech may have saved Nixon, who went on to serve as President Dwight Eisenhower's second in command. In 1968, Nixon would be elected president. As for Checkers? It died in 1964 and is buried at Bideawee Association Pet Cemetery in Wantagh.

America's first ranch in Montauk

These horseback riders at Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk are enjoying a trail on the first working ranch in the United States.That's right, the oldest ranch isn't in the American West or the heart of Texas. It's Deep Hollow Ranch, established in 1658.

Credit and crash

Long Island's Franklin National Bank claimed to have created the nation's first drive-up bank window and also issued the country's first credit card. Unfortunately for Franklin, its record setting didn't end there. The bank's collapse on Dec. 9, 1974 was, at the time, the nation's largest U.S. bank failure. Seen here is the interior of the Franklin National Bank in Southampton on Dec. 6, 1973.

Diner and a movie

Tim's Shipwreck Diner in Northport, which is housed in a steel rail dining car, arrived on a flatbed via the Long Island Rail Road in 1912. The 1997 film “In & Out,” starring Tom Selleck, Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack and Matt Dillon, was shot inside the diner for seven days.

Tennessee on LI

Did you know that the windmill on the campus of Stony Brook Southampton is considered a literary landmark? Tennessee Williams lived there in the summer of 1957, when he wrote the one-act play "The Day on Which a Man Dies."

First vineyard on LI

Hargrave Vineyard became Long Island's first vineyard in 1973, thus giving birth to what would become a wine region. Today, it's hard to find a wine store on Long Island that doesn't have a section dedicated to local products. According to the Long Island Wine Council's website, the region creates more than 500,000 cases of wine each year.

Fire Island Lighthouse II

Did you know that the original Fire Island Lighthouse, completed in 1826 at 74 feet, was a failure because it wasn't high enough? Thirty one years later, Congress approved $40,000 for a new, 168-foot-tall tower. Since 2006, the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society has owned and operated the iconic light.

Cemetery at Home Depot

Home Depot shoppers in Commack might be surprised to see a 17th century cemetery in the parking lot. The land used to be part of the Burr Family Farm before becoming Brindley Airfield in World War I.

The old ball game

Old Bethpage is recognized by the Smithsonian as the "birthplace of vintage baseball," with the first game of its kind played on the restoration grounds during a Civil War re-enactment in August 1979. Athletes who play vintage baseball follow historic rules and wear traditional baseball uniforms, similar to how the game was played in the mid-1800s.

Rangers in Long Beach

When Long Beach officials and former New York Rangers cut the ribbon signaling the 2013 grand reopening of the Long Beach Arena, which had been out of operation since Sandy, it also rekindled a historic connect between the city and the Broadway Blueshirts. Did you know the Rangers practiced at the arena for much of the 1970s? Star winger Steve Vickers lived in Long Beach during the 1970s and said "everywhere you went around Long Beach, people knew you."

Bingo illegal?

Louise Sciaccia of Kings Park plays her bingo cards at the VFW Hall on Church Street in Kings Park on April 14, 1982. Although the popular game of bingo has been played on Long Island for years, it was technically illegal here until 1958.

Merchant Marine history

Curious male eyes examined Nancy Wagner as she strolled into the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point in 1974. The prestigious institution was the first training academy in the United States to admit women. Wagner, along with fellow females Francis Yates, Terry Olsen Preston and Ivy Barton Suter, graduated in 1978. She went on to become the first female harbor pilot in U.S. history.

Adams family

The sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, bought a home in Deer Park in 1835 and spent many summers there until his death in 1848. The boundaries of the Adams place are long forgotten, but it was somewhere in the vicinity of Adams Street, about a half-mile west of Deer Park Avenue. John Quincy Adams Elementary, named after him, opened in 1964 on Old Country Road in Deer Park.

It's a water tower

That iconic structure you drive by at Jones Beach is not a monument. It is a water tower. Here, the full moon looms over it.

Cannons at the park

Two cannons are nestled along a trail at Belmont Lake State Park in the Town of Babylon. Those cannons were captured from a British warship during the War of 1812 and placed in front of the family mansion by Mrs. August Belmont, the niece of the commodore who won the battle. While much has changed on the property, those cannons have never been moved.

Hicksville's eagle

The 5,700-pound eagle that's perched at the Hicksville Long Island Rail Road station was one of 22 on the facade of the original Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan before much of it was demolished to make way for a new Madison Square Garden. The statue has lived in Hicksville since 1965 and was renovated in 2010.

LI's first state park

Robert Moses State Park in Babylon was the very first Long Island state park when it was signed into creation by former New York State Gov. Charles Evan Hughes in 1908. It was originally named Fire Island State Park.

Presidents fish on LI

Several sitting presidents have gone trout fishing in the Connetquot River including Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant and Grover Cleveland (not to mention Civil War Union General William T. Sherman and Great Britain's Duke of Windsor). This photo was taken at the Connetquot River State Park in Oakdale on Oct. 23, 2002.

Long before cellphones...

Did you know that one of the first telegraphs in the United States was sent from a small shack on Long Island? This is a replica of the Marconi House, one of the first telegraph communication outposts in the United States. The actual house was originally in Babylon Village from 1902 to 1907, but was then moved to be a part of the RCA Corp. Today, the original 12-foot by 12-foot shack stands in Rocky Point.

Phelps Lane Park

Phelps Lane Park, which hosts the Town of Babylon's Parks and Recreation Department headquarters, a pool, playgrounds, a pond and sports fields, only became a public park after the Stratford Country Club and Day Camp failed in the late 1950s. In 1960, the town bought the 25-acre North Babylon country club property.

Suffolk Theater

The Suffolk Theater in downtown Riverhead, which was originally built in 1933, was once called the "Radio City Music Hall of Long Island." The theater closed in 1987, but was restored and reopened in March 2013.

Two Robert Moses parks

There are two Robert Moses State Parks in New York. One is in Suffolk County with sandy beaches, lifeguards and a lighthouse. The other is on Barnhart Island in the St. Lawrence River, which is closer to Montreal than Malverne.

Calling bull on the bull

There's a famous story about how Englishman Richard Smith jumped on a bull, Whisper, and traced out the boundaries of Smithtown. It makes for a wonderful tale. It's also not true. But the legend lives on, and a 14-foot-tall bull, which was placed atop a concrete pedestal in 1941 at the intersection of Jericho Turnpike and Route 25A, remains the iconic symbol of the Suffolk County town.

Net effect

Who are the Pittsburgh Condors? The American Basketball Association team was the first visiting team in Nassau Coliseum history, as they took on the New York Nets on Feb. 11, 1972. The Nets were led by future Hall of Famer Rick Barry, who scored 45 points in a 129-121 win over the extinct Condors in front of 7,892 fans.

LI Girl Scouts on the cover

These are some of the forty-seven Girl Scouts from Nassau County who were chosen to appear on millions of newly designed $2 boxes of Girl Scout cookies to be sold during the nationwide annual cookie drive that began on Jan. 16,1988. Meredith Finn, 10, of Floral Park, autographed yellow boxes of Trefoil shortbread cookies on which she appears holding binoculars in a camping scene.

Amityville Horror house

Yes, the Amityville Horror house is on Long Island. That, everyone knows. But did you know the original 112 Ocean Ave. address has been changed at least twice since the 1970s-era hauntings? The house number was changed to stop out-of-towners from stopping and staring at the house.