Camp Wikoff

One of the best-known officers in Teddy Roosevelt’s famous First United States Volunteer Cavalry, or “Rough Riders,” was Colonel Charles Wikoff, who died in Cuba in 1898 during operations in the Spanish American War. The second part of the battle was the war against the tropical diseases brought home by the returning soldiers. Montauk was chosen as the ideal site for “Camp Wikoff,” because of its relative isolation, railroad access, climate, and geography. As part of East Hampton Historical Society’s Winter Lecture Series last Friday evening, the Clinton Academy welcomed guests to enjoy a presentation of the camp’s role in our community, by local history experts Richard Barons and Jeff Heatley.