Barrier Beach Communities - the Name, the Zip Code, Etc.

The Town of Babylon’s barrier beach communities, from west to east, are: West Gilgo Beach, Gilgo Beach, Oak Island, Oak Beach and Oak Beach Association, and the western part of Captree Island.  Here is a brief look at some community names:

Captree – Reportedly, the name Captree appears on nautical maps and charts dating back to the 17^th century.  In the collection of Huntington Town Records, the name “Cap tree” first appears in a lease dated June 1, 1802.  Throughout the Huntington Town Records both Cap Tree and Captree are used.

Oak (beach/island) – Books about Long Island, written in the 1600-1800s, often describe that the landscape was covered in scrub oak and pine trees.  The scrub oak may have been an inspiration in naming the area “Oak.”  In 1913, some of the boardwalks at Oak Beach were named for local shipwrecks:

• Savannah Walk – wrecked in 1821, it was the first American steamboat to cross the Atlantic Ocean
• Brilliant Walk – wrecked in 1831; it washed up near the shore, allowing people to get to safety
• Drumelzia Avenue – wreaked in 1904, on Christmas Day; no lives were lost
• Sullivan Street – wrecked in 1852, on New Year’s Day.
• Elizabeth Street (no longer exists) – wrecked 1850; among those who died was Margaret Fuller, a well-known writer and suffragist.

Gilgo – There is a widely circulated story that the name “Gilgo” was derived from a man named Gil Burch, a fisherman whose family lived on the South Shore, across the Great South Bay from Gilgo Inlet.  It has been said that people wanted to go to the fishing spot used by Gil Burch and it became the place where “Gil Goes.”

A few “Gils,” all of whom were born in the 1800s, have been reported to be the “Gil” who inspired the name.  However, in the Huntington Town Record, the first record of the name Gilgo appears in 1793, well before those “Gils” were born.

The Gil Burch story is a fun tale, but appears to be a myth.   For more information:  “Where did the name Gilgo come from?” by Rachel Uda, Newsday, May 10, 2018 (https://www.newsday.com/long-island/suffolk/were-did-the-name-gilgo-come-from-174914; accessed April 19, 2022

As listed, there are five distinct communities on the Town of Babylon’s barrier islands.  By road, West Gilgo is about 8-miles from Captree Island, but for the purposes of postal and municipal services, the communities are similar.  They are all part of the Babylon School District, the Babylon Postal District (using zip-code 11702), and are protected by the Babylon Fire Department.  Here are four examples of addresses in these beach communities:

For information about the Babylon Post Office and the 11702 zip code, please visit here.  Please link to the “Babylon – the Name, the Zip Code, Etc.” section.