NEW SUFFOLK - The quiet cottages, the tree-shaded streets, the little red school house, the expansive views of Little Peconic Bay.

It's hardly the sort of place you'd look for a secret submarine base, which is exactly why Irish immigrant John Philip Holland took a liking to it a little over 100 years ago. He had a submarine design that he thought was better than anyone else's but he needed someplace to develop it without drawing a lot of attention.

He built the prototype in Elizabeth, N.J., and moved it to New Suffolk in September 1899 for experimental cruises. It turns out his sub was good enough for the government. The Holland VI was purchased by the U.S. Navy on April 11, 1900. It was the first one the government had ever bought, giving this smallest of East End hamlets a serious claim to fame and something to celebrate a century later.

"This is the one thing for which New Suffolk might be known," said Tom Samuels, president of the New Suffolk Civic Association. "This is the one thing that happened here that the rest of the world knows about."

Birthplace of the fleet

Mr. Samuel's civic pride is justified. New Suffolk is the birthplace of the United State's submarine fleet: a naval power now pretty much unparalleled through out the world.

As the U.S. Navy's Submarine Service celebrates centennials around the country, the crowd that will be gathering outside a small monument shrouded in plastic at the town beach in New Suffolk will be sharing something all the others won't.

"It was the site of the start of the U.S. Submarine Service we knew what we had out there," said Ben Volpicello, chairman of U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc., the organization sponsoring Saturday's event. "We knew all about New Suffolk," he said. "New Suffolk may have thought that they were the only ones who knew."

While the USSV is staging its event, all the Navy brass and politicians will be up in Groton and New London, Conn., the ex officio birthplace of the U.S. Submarine Service. A little history may explain this.

When Mr. Holland moved here, he was a private inventor and entrepreneur. He rented the Goldsmith and Tuthill boat basin and set up shop in what's now the restaurant Cafe Sant Trop.

1st run off Nassau Point

He went to work refining and testing his boat in the shallows of Peconic Bay. The first test run underwater was a two-mile stretch paralleling the east side of Nassau Point.

The 54-foot vessel was powered by a 50 horsepower gasoline motor when she was on the surface. A bank of batteries and an electric motor took over when she was submerged. She had torpedo tubes and room for a crew of nine: every bit a warship.

Uncle Sam was impressed and Holland landed his first government contract 100 years ago. Soon he was joined by Issac Leopold Rice, who brought badly needed funding with him. The Holland Torpedo Boat Company became the Electric Boat Company.

Five more of the early subs were built in New Suffolk: the Adder, the Porpoise, the Shark, the Plunger and the Moccasin. The Plunger was used to give President Teddy Roosevelt his first sub ride in 1905.

That's about it for New Suffolk's involvement in the genesis of the U.S. Submarine Service. Electric Boat moved to Groton, Conn., and is now called General Dynamics. The 54-foot subs are now closer to 400 feet long, with nuclear power plants for propulsion and nuclear warheads for weaponry.

No place more deserving

There are a few who can claim firsthand knowledge of New Suffolk's days as a U.S. Navy submarine base (see separate story). But the USSV felt there was no place more deserving of a centennial celebration.

Three years of fund drives, donations and hard work have produced the granite monument seated on a cobblestone bed at the town beach. Unveiling ceremonies start at 11 a.m. Saturday.

There were rumors that President Jimmy Carter, a former submariner, would be attending, but he is appearing at a centennial in San Diego. Southold Supervisor Jean Cochran will be on hand: a "terrific lady" who provided the land the monument stands on, said Mr. Volpicello. The Cutchogue Fire Department Band will play and the Mattituck High School NJROTC will conduct drills.

No other dignitaries are expected to honor the 100th birthday of the U.S. Submarine Service at its birthplace. Most of them will be in New London. But it's not about the politicians. It's about the boats, and the people who sailed them, said Mr. Volpicello.

"The U.S. Navy is in New London, the admirals are in New London, the politicians are in New London," he said. "But this is about the sub service. We're honoring the Holland, but it's not specifically about the Holland. It's the base's anniversary and all who served on that base."

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