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A Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation Fellowship · Stony Brook University

Town of IslipHistory ProjectTown of Islip History Project
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Digital Exhibit

The Promise of Independence

Marking 250 years of American independence through one Long Island town — its land, its people, and a promise still being kept. Seven short chapters, in English and Spanish.

This exhibit follows the promise of independence through the Town of Islip, one panel at a time — from the land before the town had a name to the community it is today.

Read it straight through, or open any single panel on its own. Each has its own web address, so a panel can later live on a printed sign in a library, opened with a phone.

Begin the story

The seven panels

Read in order, or jump to any chapter.

  1. The PromiseWhat independence promised — and the question this exhibit asks.
  2. Before the TownWhy Islip has no single founding date.
  3. Revolution Comes to IslipHow the Revolution entered Islip's homes and farms.
  4. Washington's VisitA president's 1790 stop, and what local tradition tells.
  5. An Unfinished PromiseLiberty's language, and the people it did not yet reach.
  6. Many Roots, One TownThe communities that kept widening who belongs.
  7. The Promise ContinuesWhy this history is still being written.