Tag Archives: “Roaring ’20s.”
Rum-Running: Montauk’s Economic Engine, 1919–1932
Montauk is the fishing capital of the world, a small town with more world fishing records than any other town anywhere. It is also one of this country’s great surfing spots. A recent rating organization ranked it #8 for surfing on the East Coast. There was a time, however, when Montauk was the rum-running capital of America. In 1919, Congress passed the 18th Amendment, making it illegal to buy and sell alcoholic beverages in America. For the next 13 years, the people of this country, the vast majority of them anyway, ignored the law, drank as much illegal alcohol as they could find and partied every weekend late into the night. The era was called the “Roaring ’20s.” Read the story here 15:12
