St. James sits among a variety of old and intensely interesting communities that dot the north shore of Long Island, many of which date to the mid-1600s. After being named in the mid-1800s, it quickly became one of the hot spots that stars of the American vaudeville stage made their own. Built beside the homes of farmers and millers were hotels, a casino, and the mansions of the rich and famous, giving the community a fascination all its own—a fascination that is clearly captured in the pages of St. James.