On Location

The following photographs demonstrate the extent of Port Washington's sandmining operations and the glaciation that made Port Washington sands special.

	Scene in sandbanks, Hempstead Harbor, N.Y., c. 1900 Photo courtesy of Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society
	"JS" and "HEW"on bluff near Tom's Point, Port Washington, N.Y., 1903 Photo courtesy of Cow Neck Peninsula Historical Society
	Glenwood Landing, N. Y., sandbank diggers, 1897 Photo courtesy of Suffolk County Historical Society
	Cliffs reached heights of 200' in some places, revealing sections of glacial delta. King's Pit, Hempstead Harbor, N.Y., 1910 Photo courtesy of Port Washington Public Library
	Aerial view of "Sand Alley" looking west, showing most of the 1200 acres mined for sand and gravel since before the turn-of-the-century at Hempstead Harbor, N.Y., 1931 Photo courtesy of Port Washington Public Library
	Building sand tunnel for McCormack plant, Port Washington, N.Y., c. 1940 Photo courtesy of Port Washington Public Library
	View of sandbanks' basins Photo courtesy of Harvey Weber
	Boulder bed, Hempstead Harbor sandbanks, N.Y. Photo courtesy of Harvey Weber
	Sand cliffs Photo courtesy of Harvey Weber
	Sand processing overview, 1950's From bottom: sand is loaded onto conveyor belt, then crushed and screened, goes into washing plant (top, middle), deposited in raw storage, delivered under tunnel to barges for trip to NYC. Photo courtesy of Al Salerno
	Standard gauge rail operation at the sandbanks, 1952 Photo courtesy of Arthur Raabe
	Standard gauge rail operation at sandbanks, 1952 Photo courtesy of Arthur Raabe
	Hempstead Harbor sandbank, cross-section, 1980 Photo courtesy of Mitch Carucci
	Aerial view of sandbanks Photo courtesy of Port Washington Public Library
	Drawing rendition of green washer plant, West Shore Road, 1982, by Donald Sclare Courtesy of Donald Sclare
	Drawing rendition of sandbank, with artist's caption reading "Methods of mining sand have changed greatly since 1889 when Peter Gallagher began lowering the bluffs north from Plum Point." Artist unknown, n.d. Courtesy of Port Washington Public Library
	Geological view of the sandbanks 1910 United States Geodetic Survey
	Geological view of the sandbanks 1910 United States Geodetic Survey
	Geological view of the sandbanks 1910 United States Geodetic Survey
	Geological view of the sandbanks 1910 United States Geodetic Survey
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	Color photograph of Colonial Sand and Gravel plant #2 in the 1950's, taken by retired worker, Vincent Bezmen
	View of Hempstead Harbor from Roslyn, with Port Washington's sandbanks in the background, 1840 Courtesy of The Bryant Library, Local History Collection, Roslyn, New York
	Sand washer, sand bank, Hempstead Harbor, n.d. Photo courtesy of M. Ries
	Sandscapes, 1983 (Click on image to view entire gallery) 36 Images in gallery Port Washington photographer Dorothea Hahn penetrates the lands and environs of the sandbanks to reveal a "bird's eye view" of the state of the vegetation, soil, views, constructions and geological features along West Shore Road in 1983. Her documentary record helps contrast current conditions with those that existed nineteen years ago.
	Virtual Field Trip, c. 1985 (Click on image to view entire gallery) 37 Images in gallery Found in a Reference Room file at the Port Washington Public Library, these color snapshots are from a larger collection that sheds light on the now-unreachable areas in and around the West Shore Road sand embankments.