Written Histories of Shoreham Village

A Short History of of Shoreham Village by Mervin G. Pallister, 1908-1986 (portrait at left), Village Historian 1972-1986.

A History of the Incorporated Village of Shoreham, also by Mervin G. Pallister, (Complete 63 page text). Published July 4, 1976. This is the definitive history of Shoreham Village by the son of Claude V. Pallister, Shoreham Village's 1st President and a pivotal figure in the incorporation of the Village in 1913. Much of the early history of the Incorporated Village was witnessed first-hand by the author. It very well written and has some stunning illustrations. Many thanks to Mervin Pallister's daughter, Kathryn M. (Pallister) Spier for granting permission for its posting.

History of Shoreham by Mary Lou Abata (1979). This is an excellent history of Shoreham, its natural history and settlement, as well as the evolution of Shoreham Village and its institutions. The author is a long-time resident of Shoreham Village and a widely recognized educator and principal (retired) in the Shoreham-Wading River School District. (Mary Lou is also a scholar-athele, well known for her prowess on the Shoreham tennis courts.) This is a well-referenced, scholarly work, but it is also very well-written, readable and widely illustrated. Unfortunately, the original document cannot be located, so we had to scan an old photocopy of mediocre quality, resulting in some degradation of the illustrations. We will re-scan these if the original document is located. Many thanks to Ms. Abata for granting permission for the posting of her work here. 

A History of Shoreham Village by Ivy Frei, Shoreham's first official Village Historian  1950-1972.  Written in 1958, this is a detailed, personal, intimate and amusing history of early Shoreham by Ms. Frei, old enough to have witnessed much of early Shoreham Village history first-hand as a member of the Callendar family who owned a grand estate on Briarcliff Road, still standing at the end of Hillcrest Road, which had been the estate's grand driveway.

Remembrances of early Shoreham Village by Mary McCarrick Ryan-- transcript of an early 2001 oral history by Ms. Ryan, then age 87.  Born in 1908, Ms. Ryan was a member of the McCarrick family that provided a number of vital services to the early Village.  Ms. Ryan frequently visited the Village with her older brothers and provides a vivid description of the Village, including the early Shoreham Store and the people of early Shoreham whom she got to know.

The Shoreham-Wading River Tennis Tournament-- a friendly annual rivalry since 1924.  Authored by Wes Oliver in 1994 with suggestions by John Bates and Tom Adams of Shoreham and Ed Wattecamps of Wading River.

A Brief History of the Shoreham Country Club, 2016, written on the occasion of its Centennial by Village Historian Mimi Oberdorf and Joe Falco (in photo at left.)

Biography of Capt. Melvin Baldwin, Civil War Veteran and Shoreham Hero  (2017), by Shoreham Village Historian Mimi Oberdorf (in photo at left.)  Baldwin died saving Shoreham from a fierce brush fire in 1901.