Trivia: Bayless, Barnum and a Secret Spy Ring

How much do you know about Port Jefferson? Think you know it all? Or are you just good at sniffing out the truth? Below we present three stories about Port Jefferson. Two of them are true. One is a bald faced lie that we invented. Try your luck at guessing which story is a tall tale.

1. Bayless Boat Yard Was Village's First Foray Into Waterfront Property

The Bayless Boat Yard on the harbor off East Broadway has a long history. During World War I the U.S. government created the Emergency Fleet Corporation to construct ships for the war effort. One of the shipyards they purchased in 1917 was the Bayles Boat Yard. After that, Mobile Oil purchased the shipbuilding site in 1932. In the 1990s the village bought the property that is the current site of Harborfront Park, the Port Jefferson Village Center and the Bayless Boat Shop. Hard to believe but the village of Port Jefferson never owned waterfront property up to that time.

2. The Circus Almost Came To Town

Port Jefferson's association with PT Barnum is infamous. Barnum had his circus headquartered right across the Sound in Connecticut. Frequently Barnum brought his circus to New York but it was a long route and a water crossing was virtually impossible in those days. (Every see an elephant on a sailing ship in a storm? It's not a pretty sight.) Barnum owned a swath of land in Port Jefferson and he proposed relocating his circus to the village. The village leaders voted down Barnum's proposal. Frustrated, Barnum sold all his land, donated other lots and the legacy of the property he onced owned is in Barnum Avenue that runs along the west side of town.

3. Spies Like Us

This village prides itself on its ship building history but what is not known is that the CIA was practically founded right here on the north shore of Long Island long before a keel or a transom was ever assembled here. A secret spy ring that wasn't even known to historians until the early 20th century had operated right here in Port Jefferson and some of the village's most famous early residents were a part of the intrigue. The Roe family helped transmit coded secret messages to General George Washington on British Tropp movements during the Revolutionary War. So important was this information that without the Culper Spy Ring, as it was known, the British most likely would have crushed the rebellion and America would still be a part of the Commonwealth.

Do your best to uncover the truth (no cheating). Tell us by email or in the comments below which story you think is the plant. Good luck.