Updates to the Sandminers Monument Depict Port Washington History

Written by Taylor Fleming Friday, 24 June 2011 00:00

Sandminers Monument, Inc. recently began the construction of several updates to the monument, which they plan to have completed by the end of the month. The Sandminers Monument, located on West Shore Road just north of Northern Boulevard, was unveiled on September 25, 2010. The current construction, however, is the final piece of the initial proposal of the foundation. Thus, once the updates are finalized, Sandminers Monument, Inc. will cease to exist and the land granted by the town board in March of 2005 to the foundation will return to the Town of North Hempstead. The Board of Directors of Sandminers Monument, Inc. hopes to hold an additional unveiling of the monument in the upcoming months.

The foundation decided upon a number of updates for the monument, all of which help to create better access to and understanding of the history of sand mining and its significance to the Port Washington area. One accomplishment of the construction was the placement of a bronze plaque just under the bronze statue of three life-size sand miners. The plaque reads, “The many immigrants who came to this country brought not just hopes but a vision,” and goes on to commemorate the hard labor and sacrifice of these workers.

Additionally, the parking lot has been repaved to allow for three newly marked parking spaces and one handicap spot. Two stonewalls, one small wall with a sign introducing the monument and one large wall with another bronze plaque, are to be placed in the site of the monument.

One of the major problems the directors found with the original construction of the monument was its inaccessibility to the public. The original gate to the site was constructed in 1972 during operations of the Colonial Sand and Stone Company, the last company to use the site for sand mining. The significance of the first gate to the history of sand mining in Port Washington was undeniable. However, the original welder of the gate, Carmine Meluzio, is also an honorary director of the foundation and agreed to refurbish the gate and hinge. The original gate will be cut and permanently set open.

Funding for the new constructions extend from the original, private donations to the foundation, a major contributor, Kenneth Langone, and the land from the Town of North Hempstead.

Leo Cimini, chairperson and member of the board of directors of Sandminers Monument, Inc. cannot overemphasize the importance of the history of the sand miners to Port Washington. And that history is demonstrated in every aspect of the monument. Six large timeline plaques guide viewers through the individual lives and stories of the men who helped to mine over 140 million cubic yards of sand or 90 percent of the concrete used in the New York City skyline.

The updates to the Sandminers Monument are symbolic to the history of the site as a whole. The monument is built around two pre-existing, historical structures, the gate and the tunnel, which were modernized and refurbished only to commemorate and educate. As viewers move throughout the site it becomes clear that the monument was erected geographically in the center of history, and as far as Cimini knows the only one ever to be dedicated to these workers. He believes this is, “something to be proud of,” not only for the foundation but also for Port Washington.