Heckscher State Park was once the 19th-century estates of George C. Taylor and J. Neal Plum, and William Nicoll, founder of Islip, built his estate there. New York bought the land with a gift from August Heckscher. Acquiring it was one of Robert Moses' hardest fights for public recreation on Long Island, won with the help of Governor Alfred E. Smith. Today the park fronts the Great South Bay.