Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino announced the return of the Long Island History Hunt at Raynham Hall Museum, unveiling a Revolutionary War-themed edition of the regional program that encourages residents and visitors to explore historic sites across Long Island.
Speaking at the historic Oyster Bay museum on Monday, Saladino said that “Red Coats and Rebels” would commemorate the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution while promoting local history and tourism.
“Last year we joined together to unveil the Long Island History Hunt program, which has been a great success,” he said. “We’ve been asked to bring it back again, and so we are. But this year it has a special twist, as it’s the ‘Redcoats and Rebels’ edition.”
The free interactive program invites participants to visit designated historical sites, take selfies at each location and upload the photos online for a chance to win prizes.
“This year’s Long Island History Hunt will feature 26 museums, landmarks, historical sites like this one throughout the region,” Saladino said. “Everything with ties to the Revolutionary War.”
The hunt is sponsored by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation, and presented in partnership with the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.
Participants can register online and then travel to participating museums, monuments, historic homes, parks and taverns from Brooklyn to Montauk. In addition to Raynham Hall, sites include the Oyster Bay Railroad Museum and the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center.
The program will begin May 23 and run through Sept. 30. Participants who complete challenges at the sites are eligible for prizes, and those who visit every participating location will be entered in a grand prize drawing. The grand prize, according to organizers, includes cash, museum memberships and other themed items.
Saladino highlighted Oyster Bay’s centuries-long history, noting that the town predates the founding of the United States. He added that the event will be an opportunity to bring visitors into the downtown and waterfront areas.
“What you’re really seeing here is quite simple,” he said. “Go to LIHistoryHunt.com … and you sign up, you go to any of the 26 sites and take out your phone and take a selfie with yourself, your family and your friends to enter.”
Representatives of Raynham Hall said the program will give participants a chance to engage with Long Island’s Revolutionary War-era history in a hands-on way.
“We just wanted to say that Raynham Hall is proud to participate for the second year in the Long Island History Hunt,” Justine Lake-Jedzinak, the museum’s director of education and public programs, said, “an initiative that has doubled in size in terms of its participants, and now spans the entire geographic Long Island, from Brooklyn to Montauk.”
Lake-Jedzinak added that the museum’s connection to the Revolutionary War and the Culper Spy Ring makes it a fitting stop for the program. “For us, it’s a very special initiative, because we are the home of the historic Townsend family,” she said, “and we’re connected to George Washington’s covert spy ring, which was instrumental in winning the American Revolution.”
The event makes history more accessible and engaging for families and visitors,” she continued. “Something that Supervisor Saladino was saying that I really connected with is the idea of fun,” she said. “When we talk about history, we don’t always talk about having fun, and this is an opportunity to get involved in a fun contest.”
