Thursday, October 1, 2026
Residents will have the chance to travel back in time to the Colonial era in downtown Oyster Bay, and across Long Island, during the first-ever Long Island History Hunt.
At a news conference in front of Raynham Hall Museum on July 2, Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joe Saladino described the summer-long event as a fun seasonal activity as well as a way to learn about what life was like for Long Islanders during the Colonial period.
“Oyster Bay is a time capsule” he said “to the years that came before us, not the least of which is the Colonial period,” Saladino said, adding that the “spies that won the American Revolution came right from this home and family” while pointing to the museum, the second historical site on the hunt.
There are a total of 12 sites altogether. The first stop is the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, and the final one is the Montauk Point Lighthouse. In addition to Raynham Hall, the Town of Oyster Bay is home to two others, the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum and the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center.
"This is only for people who love history, people who love Long Island and people who love Oyster Bay,” Harriet Gerard Clark, the museum’s executive director, said. “I hope that families and individuals participate.” She encouraged participants to take a few days to complete the challenge, which involves sites from Brooklyn to Montauk.
The event is sponsored by the Robert David Lyon Gardiner Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the study of Long Island history, in partnership with the state Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The contest began on July 1 and will end on Sept. 30.
Gerard Clark also shared a statement written by Kathryn Curran, the foundation’s executive director. “The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation’s mission is to support the advancement of Long Island’s important historic role in the American experience,” it read. “All Long Islanders, as participants in the daily events of their towns and neighborhoods, are builders of the legacy and heritage of the places we call home.”
Registration for the history hunt is free and can be completed online, at app.otocast.com/guide/LIHistoryHunt. Participants are encouraged to take selfies in the historic locations.
Those who complete any site challenge are automatically eligible to win prizes. But participants who visit all 12 sites and upload their selfies will earn the title Revolutionary Trailblazer, and be automatically entered in a drawing for the event’s grand prize: $500, a Colonial-style luncheon at the Ketcham Inn, in Moriches, and a gift basket full of surprises.
“Oyster Bay is first in something that is so important to our residents, history buffs and to those who realize that learning about the history of the community tells you so much about the place in which we live,” Saladino said. “We’re going to take the history of the past, combine it with the modern technology of the new era and make something that will make for an enjoyable summer.”
Among the other sites are the Smithtown Historical Society; the Meadow Croft Estate, in Sayville; the Oysterponds Historical Society, in Orient; and the Shelter Island History Museum. In addition, the Planting Fields Arboretum, in Upper Brookville, is one of 11 parks that participants can visit to take a break during their journeys, according to the event website.
“Local history connects us to the people, places, and stories that shaped our communities,” Ann Balderston-Glynn, marketing director for Motion Media Entertainment, a digital media and marketing company working with the Lyon Foundation to help spread the word about the contest, wrote in a statement. “It’s not just about the past, it’s about understanding where we come from.”
“The Long Island History Hunt Contest brings that to life in a fun, interactive way that invites families and history lovers to explore, discover, and make lasting memories together,” Balderston-Glynn added. “It turns learning into an adventure.”
