Ellis Island the region. The oyster beds remained a major source of food for nearly three centuries. Landfilling to build the railyards of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Central Railroad of New Jersey eventually obliterated the oyster beds, engulfed one island, and brought the shoreline much closer to the others. During the colonial period, Little Oyster Island was known as Dyre's, then Bucking Island. In the 1760s, after some pirates were hanged from one of the island's scrubby trees, it became known as Gibbet Island. It was acquired by Samuel Ellis, a colonial New Yorker and merchant possibly from Wales, around
South Oyster Bay South Oyster Bay South Oyster Bay or East Bay is a natural harbor along the western portion of the south shore of Long Island in New York in the United States. The harbor is formed by Jones Beach Island, a barrier island on the southern side of Long Island. It is approximately 3 mi (5 km) wide between the two islands, and approximately 15 mi (24 km) long. It links to Great South Bay on its eastern end and opens to the Atlantic Ocean through inlets on either side of Jones Beach Island. The name refers to its history as