Contact: Kristen Matejka Director of Marketing/Communications LICVB&SC 631 951-3900 kmatejka@discoverlongisland.com

HAUPPAUGE, NY-(Apr. 4, 2016)- Come discover a fascinating history filled with spies and intrigue on Long Island. Although it was largely occupied by the British during the Revolutionary War there were many brave Patriots who risked their lives in the Washington Spy Ring to get George Washington the information he needed to win the war.

The AMC TV show Turn is the true story of America’s first spy ring, a secretive group based on Long Island in the Stony Brook/Setauket area who are credited with helping General Washington win the War. Long Island will be doing commercials during the 2016 TV show airing.

Recently, the State University of NY at Stony Brook Frank Melville, Jr. Memorial Library acquired letters from George Washington that help prove the identity of this most secretive of spy rings. These letters are newly acquired by the State University of NY Stony Brook and are available for the public to view. The collection includes primary and secondary source material on the history of Long Island  with a strong emphasis on the period of the American Revolution through the War of 1812 (1764-1812).

Stretching along Long Island’s North Shore is Route 25A. President George Washington traveled this same route in a 1790 horse-drawn carriage tour on a mission to thank his Long Island Revolutionary War supporters and the ‘Culper Spy Ring’ for their help in winning the American Revolution. Among the sites to visit are Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, where the Townsends became part of the Washington Spy Ring; The Arsenal in Huntington, where  Job Sammis hid stores of gun powder in his attic during the onset of the British occupation; the Conklin House where Sybil Conklin lived and worked here while her husband, David was held prisoner by the British during the Revolutionary War; and the Brewster House in Stony Brook where American Patriot Caleb Brewster spied on British soldiers during the Revolutionary War.

More at www.discoverlongisland.com/spytrail