Historic Gay Beach Town - Cherry Grove, NY
Here is how an island forest, a theater pipeline, and a devastating natural disaster combined to build this historic gay beach town.
Cherry Grove got its name from the lush black cherry tree forest that covered the barrier island in the late 1860s. In 1868, Percy Archer bought this dense tract of land from the town of Brookhaven for just $1,250, establishing it as a private enclave.
In the 1930’s, prominent theater professionals, designers, and actors from Broadway began renting and purchasing summer homes here. Seeking freedom from the rigid societal constraints of the mainland, they quietly invited their friends. Word of this secret "beach sanctuary" spread rapidly through underground urban creative networks.
The future of Cherry Grove was permanently altered on September 21, 1938 when the catastrophic Great New England Hurricane flattened the hamlet, destroying most of its 60+ original pioneer cottages.
This disaster created unexpected real estate opportunities, since many of the original conservative families chose to abandon their ruined properties rather than rebuild. In their place, creative, working-class gay men and lesbians bought up the cheap, destroyed plots of sand. They constructed simple, inexpensive, DIY cottages, laying the physical and cultural groundwork for a unified, resilient community.
By the late 1940s and early 1950s, Cherry Grove had officially solidified its status as a definitive refuge. In 1948, residents pulled off an extraordinary feat: they literally floated an old, barn across the Great South Bay, and this structure became the Cherry Grove Community House, securing its place in history as the first collectively funded, self-governed queer community space in the United States. The Community House provided a safe, physical stage for campy, boundary-pushing skits, art showcases, and vibrant drag performances.
Decades later, the wooden planks of Cherry Grove still echo with that same spirit of freedom, performance, and community.
Here’s what caught my eye, I hope you enjoy!
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What you should know:
Tickets for the ferry can be purchased at the ferry terminal in Sayville, NY
Parking at the terminal is an additional cost.
There are many boardwalks or the beach for walking.
There are several dining options.
You may want to bring you bathing suit for a dip in the ocean.
