The local sandy soil and high rates of precipitation create a fragile homeostatic balance between fresh water and saltwater.

The summer concerts had performers including The Allman Brothers Band, Edie Brickell, James Brown, Jimmy Buffett, The Cars, Ray Charles, Foreigner, Don Henley, The Highwaymen, Billy Joel, Lyle Lovett, Paul Simon and James Taylor, drawing as many as 10,000 attendees to each event.

During summers, as many as 6,000 cattle, horses and sheep roamed pastures in Montauk, having been brought from as far west as Patchogue, a distance of approximately 70 miles (110 km).

[8] Benson made Third House his residence, hoping to develop the area as a summer resort following Austin Corbin's extension of the Long Island Rail Road to Montauk.

Benson failed to realize his plans, and sold much of the land to the federal government, which used it for Army, Navy, and eventually Air Force bases.

Camp Wikoff, constructed on 5,000 acres (20 km2) of land, was used to quarantine 29,000 soldiers, including Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, at the conclusion of the Spanish–American War to prevent the spread of yellow fever and other tropical diseases.

During World War II, sections of Camp Wikoff were developed for massive gun emplacements and concrete observation bunkers as part of the New York coastal defense.