[3] Later in the century, landlords throughout much of Lewis ousted their tenants to install sheep farms and deer forests, industries which used huge swathes of land with few farmers.

Tong in particular was considered particularly radical; John Maclean, a Scottish socialist, who visited the area after World War I, "saw it as a "hotbed of insurrection" during a visit after World War I, and even through the 1990s, Tong’s residents were called "Bolshiveeks" by a Stornoway slang dictionary.

[3] Tong's economy struggled in the early 1900s – crops were failing, the herring industry lost its main clients due to American Prohibition and the Russian Revolution, the 1918 flu epidemic killed many, and World War I killed thousands more of Hebridean men and the government failed to keep its promises of land for the survivors, pulverizing the summer social seasons where young people found their future spouses over putting the sheep out to graze.

The land nearby is described as flat and marshy with fields of peat, with fishing and sheep farming still parts of the local economy.

Every July the Lewis Highland Games and Western Isles Strongest man are held at the community centre with heavy events such as tossing the caber, Highland dancing, bagpipe competitions and other attractions taking place on the football pitch.