History of the South Side Signal

You may never have heard of the South Side Signal but without it, there may never have been a Babylon. You can thank publisher Henry Livingston for starting the paper in 1869 and taking up the crusade to make Huntington South into Babylon Town.

On a new episode of the Long Island History Project, Babylon Town Historian Mary Cascone tells us more about Henry, his paper, and journalism in the late 19th century. We also talk about the challenges of researching newspaper databases and learning the vocabulary of an older time - when men wore plug hats, married women were never known by their first names, and the railroad was king.

You can listen to the whole episode here.

The Long Island History Project is a podcast that looks at Long Island history in all its aspects. Co-hosts Connie Currie and Chris Kretz interview authors, historians, archivists, collectors; anyone with a story to tell and a pasion for Long Island history. You can send any comments or suggestions to longislandhistoryproject [at]gmail.com.