THE SHIRLEY COMMUNITY
taken from a pamphlet by
The Mastics- Moriches- Shirley
Community Library
THE SHIRLEY COMMUNITY
Walter
T. Shirley was
stationed at Camp Upton in Yaphank during World War 1.
Years later he returned to the nearby area to take a
gamble and bought 10,000 acres of undeveloped land from
the Smith and Dana Estate. In 1941, he divided this
property into small lots, selling many of them on an
installment plan, with little money down. The buyers were
generally working class people looking for an affordable
summer home.
As the community grew, so did its needs. Walter
Shirley and his land
development company were Instrumental In procuring a post
office, drive-in theater, supermarkets, a Howard Johnson
restaurant and a railroad station for the landowners. The
development, known as Mastic Acres, slowly began to
change from a vacation community to one of year-round
residences. With the extension of the Sunrise Highway and
the relocating of the LIRR station to Shirley, commuting
became more feasible.
During 1986 and 1987 an attempt was made to change the
name of the community from Shirley to Floyd Harbor in
honor of William Floyd. The supporters of the name change
believe that this change will bolster the community's
self-image and reflect its new economic growth. Opponents
to the name change feel that it is unnecessary and that
the community should continue to be named after its
developer. No formal action has been taken in recent
years regarding the name change.
Shirley is continuing to grow with an estimated 1988
population of 20,885. In 1954, the number of families who
were year -round residents was between 300 and 350.