Fire Island:: Beach Resort and National Seashore (Images of America)

Fire Island is a string of communities and parks, gay and straight bars, boats and bridges, beach umbrellas and bungalows--all bound together by the pristine white sand of the island's beach. This 32-mile-long barrier island off the coast of Long Island has been defined by legendary shipwrecks and heroic lifesaving in the 19th century, but also kindled by menacing storms and a web of sociological intrigue as an upwardly mobile American middle class sought out vacation homes and coastal recreation during the 20th century. From cholera protests at the Surf Hotel in 1892 to a grassroots campaign to prevent a highway that ultimately established Fire Island National Seashore in 1964, Fire Island's history is a grand melodrama that has caught world attention.