DIAMOND CITY

Early Shoalwater Bay settlement on the northern tip of Long Island, 1867 to 1878. Isaac Doane secured patent to the oysterlands off the north tip of the island in 1867 and sold them to local oystermen. Eventually the settlement had around 75 inhabitants, mostly single men living in shanties. The only access was by boat.

The name is said to be derived from the heaps of white oyster shells that covered the beach. The setting sun, reflecting on the glittering shell linings, gave them the sparkle of diamonds when viewed from across the water at Oysterville and Nahcotta. (Some sources say the reflection from shanty windowpanes made the settlement glitter like diamonds). The oystermen moved on when native oyster stocks were depleted by natural disasters and over-harvesting.

A few homesteaders remained in the 1880s. Ferdinand John Katzer built a two-story house on the northwest edge of the island near Diamond City around 1893. In 1900, Ferdinand, and his brother Frank bought Diamond City and salvaged the remaining buildings for lumber. The Katzer house was moved by barge to property on Freshwater Creek, south of Nahcotta, where it stands today.

The abandoned Diamond City site is today littered with driftwood and debris.