What is that? Nov. 7, 2025

If you know, let us know. Send your responses to [email protected] or phone 631-275-1859.

Roger McKeon met expectations by being the first to identify last week’s mystery photo (see below).

He emailed us: “Unless I am hopelessly mistaken this time around, it’s the Gaso Duplex irrigation pump at the entrance of the Old Lima Bean Fields Preserve on the corner of Cobbetts Lane and Manhanset Road.” Roger that, Roger.

Jennifer Allen emailed to locate the entrance of “the old lima bean farm.”

Richard Loper and Christian Voigt also nailed it on our Facebook page.

Thanks, to all.

In the 1950s, Shelter Island was one of the premier lima bean producers in the Northeast. The Island produced hundreds of thousands of pounds of beans until hurricanes, mildew, and the Mexican bean beetle rendered the fields unsuitable for lima bean growth.

Now, the property — cleared for walking in April 2018 — contains a fun trail to hike, marked at the beginning by an old red pump, which was used to water the bean fields. 

Full of unique paths, this walk is a way to literally touch Shelter Island’s history.