^ >• .^' «$. ; / \ *, '•^ 0* \ <^Ss, ? ^ °* * < ~z^yy * © N <<* V » * * ° J* cv vrV i 2* ^ V *b *??>,* A ? .•IZL'* > %J **% 1 /\ / ISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE SKETCHES — OF — iff SUFFOLK COUNTY, AND ITS TOWNS, VILLAGES, HAMLETS, SCENERY, INSTITU- TIONS AND IMPORTANT ENTERPRISES; "WITH A Historical Outline of Long Island. FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT BY EUROPEANS. By RICHARD M. BAYLES. - • ■ £5 POBT JEFFERSON, L. L ^ PUBLISHED BY THE AXJTHOE. 1874. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by RICHARD M. BAYLES, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. W. A. OVERTON, Jb., & CO., Printers and Publishers, Pom jesterson, L. I., N. Y. PEEFACE. When the author commenced work on this book, about two years since, he had become impressed with the idea that the time had arrived when some attempt should be made to bring forward the record of history from the time when Thompson and Prime wrote, to. the present. During the thirty years that had elapsed since the writing of the last History of Long Island, a new generation of people had en- tered upon the field of life, and the greatly increased num- bers of our population seemed to demand a more available history of the past. At the same time, those thirty years had developed many and important changes in the history of the Island or County. During that time we had made more history than for a century before, and the times seemed to demand the production of a work which should retain the principal historical items of the former period, to which should be added a continuation down to the present day. Then it appeared that a more complete effort in the matter of description than history generally received would add to the interest of the work. Lastly it appeared that to do jus- tice to the whole field of Long Island would be an undertak- ing too great to be accomplished within a reasonable length of time, and would require a volume of such size and ex- pense as to be beyond the convenient reach of the masses, and would thus prove a pecuniary failure. Acting upon these impressions the compiler set about the work, with but a very imperfect idea of the amount of labor, perplexity and time that would be required to carry it to a successful end. He has the satisfaction of knowing, however, that the work, though it has required a larger outlay than ho anticipa- VI PREFACE. ted, is more complete and more thorough than he intended at the outset to make it. At the same time it is not perfect — not as nearly so as he would have been pleased to make it. Nevertheless, a reasonable amount of pains have been taken to avoid mistakes, and to insure as far as possible correctness. But in this point the compiler meets with numerous difficul- ties. He experiences perplexity at times for want of sufficient information, and at other times on account of too much in- formation. In consulting different authorities on the same points there often appears such discrepancies that the in- quirer turns away in disgust, and despairs of finding the truth. In these sketches very many important items have been omitted on this account — because the various authori- ties from whom they must be gathered, could not be recon- ciled. The author does not claim this work to be free from the power of criticism, by any means, but would ask in all seriousness that those who feel disposed to censure or criti- cise will first make sure that they know more of the items they question than the author does, before setting him down in error. To relieve the monotony of digging, and searching, and solving contradictory problems, which this work has cost, the author remembers with a grateful heart the many favors he has received at the hands of his friends — generous deeds and kind words of encouragement, which have fallen at times like sun-beams across his path, and inspired him to persevere in the work he had set about. Taking this means to return the most sincere thanks and heartfelt gratitude, to the scores of Mends who have ren- dered him assistance in the enterprise of preparing these Sketches of Suffolk County he lays down the pen, and hands the book over to the public. Port Jefferson, L. I., Dec. 20, 1873, INDEX. PAGE. Aquebogue, 300 Atlanticville, 318 Aniagansett, 414 Amityville, 172 Brookliaven, school districts, 120 — 121 Babylon, town of, 170 Breslau, 173 Babylon, village, 177 Bellport Station, 261 Blue Point, 267 Bellport, 272 Brookliaven, 274 Brentwood, 205 Bohemia, 207 Bay Shore, 210 Bayport, 221 Brookliaven Town, 223 Baiting Hollow, 284 Beaver Dam, 313 Bridgehampton, 333 Clay Beds, 77 Climate of L. I., 82 Cordwood business, 83 County Clerks, succession of, 126 County Treasurers, succession of, 127 Colonial council, members from Suffolk, 1"J/ Cold Spring Village. - ' - > Vlll INDEX. Central Islip, 200 Crane Neck, 235 Centre Moriches, 278 Calverton, 287 Canoe Place, 321 Coram, 2G3 Cutchogue, 36.9 Colonial Period, 31 Centreport, 158 Crab Meadow, 1(55 Cuba, 166 Clay Pitts, 166 Comae, 169, 191 District school statistics, 119 Dix Hills 169 Deer Park, 171 Dutch, settlement by, 16 Discovery of L. I. , '. 13 Description of L. I. , 74 Easthampton school districts, 121 Eaton's Neck, 138 Elwood, 166 English, settlement by, 23 East Moriches, 279 Eastport, 279 East Marion, 385 Easthampton Town, 399 Easthampton, 409 Early customs, 71 First settler on L. I., 15 Fort Neck, battle of, , 68 Fish and oil, 80' Forest trees of L. I., 81, Fruits, wild of L. I., .' 83 Fire in the woods, 84 Fivsli Pon J. 165, 136 r View 1GG Island, 221 Flanders, 359 Fmnklinville, 367 Fisher's Island, 390 Greenlawn, 165 Genola,.. 166 Good Ground, 319 Gr^enport, 378 Gardiner's Island, 406 General description of L. I., 74 Holbrook, 207 Hauppauge, 194 Hay Ground, 336 Holtsville, 267 Hills and bluffs, 76 Huntington school districts, 119 Huntington town, 133 Huntington village, 144 Half Hollows, 168, 172 Irnlians of L. L, 61 Islip school districts, 120 Islip Town, 196 Islip village, 211 Judges, succession of, 126 Janesport, 301 Kf tchaboneck, , 314 Lloyd's Neck, 144 Litftle Neck, 160 Lopg Swamp, 168 Li-Mand, 206 Lower Aquebogue, 300 La'fie Grove. 265 Me;lville, 168 Modern Times, 205 Meichanicsville, , 211 X INDEX. Mills' Pond, 195 Mastic, 275 Moriches, 277 Middle Eoad, 299 Mount Sinai, 251 Miller's Place, .V//.V. ............. .... . ....'. ....'. 252 Manorville, n 254 Medford Station, .' .261 Middle Island, .261 Mattituck, .367 Montauk, +415 Northport, f 160 Nicoll's Patents, .|197 North Islip, ^206 Nissequague, .192 North ville, ./////////.V.V.^Z.T////".!i!!!!.!r.".. j.285 North Sea, ' ...j.332 Nassakeag, j.241 New Tillage, j.265 Noyack, j.359 New Suffolk, k .371 Northwest, J 409 Napeague, t,415 Oil factories, L 80 Officers of Suffolk Co., 126-^-131 Oakdale L219 Onock, h.314 Old Field, Orient, , Peat beds, Population of the towns, Ponquogue, Penataquit, Poosepatuck, Pautuck, Port eTeffeison, p.241 i.386 ; . 76 .132 .320 .211 277 .314 ,242 Pr.tchogue, 268 P iconic, 37 2 Plum Island, 388 Qiiogue, ,...315 Q logue, ,., 316 B* verhead school districts, 121 R verhead Town, 282 Eoanoke, , 285 E verhead, 287 Red Creek, 321 Bocky Point, 253 Bilgeville, 202 Bobbins' Island, 371 Shipwrecks on L. I. coast, 8-1 Southold school districts, 122 Southampton school districts, 113 Shelter Island school district, 123 School Commissioners, 121 Schools of the county, statistics, 125 Smithtown school districts, 119 Sheriffs of Suffolk Co., 131 Sweet Hollow, 1(8 Smithtown, Town of, 183 Sunk Meadow, 188 Southampton, , . . 3^7 Scuttle Hole, 336 Sag{ Harbor, 3 7 Selclen, ' 264 Southold Town, 3C0 SouAhold, 372 Shelter Island Town, 392 Springs P. O., Ill South Haven 275 Settlement of L. I. by English, 23 » " " Dutch, 16 iftblk Station, 206 Xll INDEX. Sayville, 219 Stony Brook, 234 Setauket, 236 St. Johnland, 186 Smithtown, Head of the River, 191 Smithtown Branch, 193 St. James, 194 Success P. O., 28(5 Southampton Town , 30& Speonk, 311 Springville, 3^0 Squiretown, 32 1 Shinnecock, 324 Treasurers of the Co., 127 Thompson Station, ' 206 Tanners Neck, 313 Union Place, 313 Vernon Valley, 164 West Hills, 167 Winne-comack, 169 West Islip, 208 West Moriches, :278 Wading River, 254, 9.83 Westhampton, <$12 Watermill, 333 Wickapogue, > B33 Woodville, !253 Wainscott, t09 Youngsport, '2.17 Yaphank, ^56 CHAPTER I. THE DISCOVERY OF LONG ISLAND BY THE DUTCH — THE SETTLEMENT OF THE WESTERN TOWNS THE DUTCH GOVERNMENT AND THE GENERAL DISCONTENT — FROM 1G09 TO 1G61. In the early part of September, 1609, Henry Hudson, an Englishman, employed by the Dutch East India Company, in the vain search for a Northwest passage to India, discovered the West end of Long Island, at the time he explored New York Bay and the river which bears his name. He had been fitted out by the said Company in the early part of the same year, with a crew of twenty picked men, with a vessel called the '" Half Moon." This expedition sailed from Amsterdam on the 25th of March. While exploring the neighborhood of New York Bay, a party of men went ashore from the "Half Moon,''' and landed on that strand now known as Cone}- Island, being the south- western extremity of Long Island. Here, we are told, they found plum trees and grape vines growing and bearing fruit hi the midst of the untutored wilderness. Thus it appears, Coney Island was the spot where the first white man ever set foot upon Long Island. The members of this expedition also reported, that they found great numbers of birds of different kinds on the shores, and multitudes of fishes in the waters. 14 SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. A day or two later, as a party of Hudson's men were out in a small boat fishing, they were attacked by Indians and one of their number, John Coleman by name, was killed by an arrow from the latter. Hudson ordered him taken ashore and buried. The spot of his interment was called Coleman's Point, to commemorate the event. This place is supposed by some to have been on Coney Island, but by others it is located on the opposite or New Jersey shore. The first discovery of Long Island, having thus been made under the auspices of the Dutch, they laid claim to its owner- ship, as they did also of the island of Manhattan, or Manhat- toes, as it was then called by the Indians. In 1611, Dutch merchants came over and established a trad- ing post with the Indians, ux3on the latter island. In 1614 they erected a fort on Manhattan Island, which they named New Amsterdam, and refused to acknowledge the superior claims of the English to the neighboring territory. The same year Adrian Block sailed down the Sound, on a voy- age to Cape Cod, and was the first to discover that Long Island was entirely surrounded by water. On this voyage he also discovered and gave name to Block Island. Four years later Thomas Dermer sailed up the Sound from New England, on his way to Virginia, and in describing his passage through Hell Gate he says: — " We found a most dan- gerous cataract amongst small rocky islands, occasioned by two unequal tides, the one ebbing and flowing two hours before the other." The Dutch East India Company, under whose employ Hud- son had discovered this part of the American Continent, was SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. 10 in 1621 merged into the Great West India Company, and to this organization the "States General" granted the exclusive monopoly of trading with the natives in the province of New Netherlands, for a term of twenty-four years. In the year 1G23, or 4, this Company appointed Peter Min- uit to the office of director general, or governor of NeW Netherlands under them. Previous to that time a few houses had been erected, and were occupied by the Dutch temporary settlers, on Manhattan Island. It is evident that the matter of establishing permaaeat settlements here by the Dutch, received at first but little attention. The main objects which they sought, were the pecuniary benefits arising from a trade with the Indians. The principal articles exchanged were guns, ammunition and rum, for which they received furs. In this way the early Dutch speculators enriched themselves, by placing in the hands of the Indians the instruments and destructive ele- ments, which a few years later were turned with such fatal and distressing consequences upon the innocent white settlers. The first settlements under the Dutch on the west end of Long Island were m?.de by individuals, in a hap-hazard manner, just as circumstances might suggest, without any associated attempts at government. The first white settler upon Long Island of which history gives any account, Avas one George Jansen de Rapalje, a Frenchman, who established himself during the administra- tion of Peter Minuit, in the vicinity of Wallabout Bay, in the spring of the year 1C25. His daughter Sarah Rapalje, born June 9th, of the same year, was the first, child of Euro- pean parentage born upon the Island. 16 SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. Permanent settlements were commenced on both ends of the Island nearly at the same time : on the west end by the Dutch, and on the east end by the English. Thus it will be seen Long Island was virtually claimed by three different powers, — the Indians, the Dutch and the English; though no very fierce measures were taken to establish the supreme rights of either in opposition to the others. The English allowed the Dutch to hold authority over the western part, and the Dutch allowed the English to hold authority over the eastern part. Both powers admitted the superior claims of the Indians to the lands, and neither attempted to force them away, but in all cases purchased their lands of them, at prices which seem to have been perfectly satisfactory. On the west end large tracts were purchase d by the governor, and by him sold to individuals or companies of settlers. The first regular settlement of the Dutch towns was made about the year 1 636 or soon after. Slaves were introduced by the Dutch very soon after their first arrival. The towns settled by the Datch are as follows, with the date of their settlement as near as can be learned: — Brooklyn, at first called Breuck-landt, meaning broken land, settled in 1630; Flatlands, originally called New Amesfort, after a place in Holland from which it is probable the first settlers came, settled in 1636; Flushing,* named by the Dutch Ylissengen, after a place in Holland, first settled in 1645; Flatbush, first named Midwont or Mid-wood, probably signifying middle of the woods, settled in 1651; New Utrecht in 1657; and Bush- wick, meaning Woodtown, in 1660. SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. 17 The following towns though in the Dutch territory and under the Dutch jurisdiction, were settled by the English. Hempstead in 1643, Gravesend in 1045, Oysterbay in 1653, Jamaica in 1655, and Newtown in 1656. The territory of Oysterbay, though at first claimed by the Dutch, remained for many years in a sort of neutral position, and finally came under the dominion of Connecticut. The other four towns were under the control of the government of New Amsterdam, until the conquest of 1664. The original name of Newtown was Middleburgh; and that of Jamaica, Rustdorpe. The Dutch allowed English immigrants to settle within their borders, on taking the oath of allegiance to the States General and the West India Company. The English settlers on Dutch territory purchased their lands of the Indians, having first obtained license from the governor to do so. These lands were generally purchased by companies in large tracts, which were afterwards divided up among the individual proprietors. The inhabitants of the English towns in the Dutch limits, were allowed to elect their own local officers and magistrates, which elections however were subject to the approbation or rejection of the governor. The common method seems to have been for the people to elect double the number of candi- dates required, and from these the governor made his choice of which should act. They had their town-meetings, and managed their own affairs, as near after the model of the towns on the east end of the Island as their circumstances would allow. Unlike the English towns of Suffolk County, where the 18 SETTLEMENT B¥ THE DUTCH. voice of tlio people was the sovereign power, the Dutch towns of the west end were subjected to the whimsical domination of a bigoted tyrant, who held the prerogatives of granting lands to settlers — of making laws by which they were to be governed — appointing the officers to enforce and execute those laws— hearing and deciding such cases of disagreement as he chose to call from the hands of subordinate magistrates — ordering churches to be built — installing ministers, and dictat- ing where and when they should preach — and in fact exercising unlimited authority over the people in all their characters — corporate and individual — civil, military, social and ecclesiasti- cal. He employed the assistance of a council, but that body of professed associates, were simply his tools, among which as elsewhere in the province of New Netherlands, his own word was the highest law. The governor appointed magistrates and constables in each of the Dutch towns, and delegated to them j^ower to act., subject to his discretion and £>leasure. In some cases the people were allowed the privilege of suggesting measures, which if approved by the governor were carried into effect. ■The Dutch government at New Amsterdam was thus but little less than an absolute monarchy. This burden of tyranny in addition to the perils of the wilderness, to which they were exposed, and the otherwise unfavorable circumstances with which they were surrounded, in a wild, new country, far removed from the advantages of civilization, rendered the situation of the settlers under the Dutch jurisdiction, pecu- liarly unpleasant and discouraging. Discontent arose, and the pioneers sighed for the blessings of a more secure and liberal government. SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. 19 September 19th, 1650, four commissioners, two from the Dutch government, and two from the United Colonies of New England, met at Hartford, to settle if possible the disputes which had risen between the Dutch and English, respecting the boundary between the two powers on Long Island. They decided upon a line which should commence at the "western- most part of Oysterbay " on the north side, and extend south- ward to the sea, as a proper division of the territory. This line however was not wholly regarded, for the Dutch governor still persisted in his claim of authority over the town of Oysterbay, which by that treaty belonged to the English . In the Dutch settlements, the management of church affairs, like all other matters, was more or less subject to the pleasure of the governor. In 1654 he ordered the erection of a house for public worship at Flatbusli. This was the first one erected under the Dutch rule on Long Island. Its dimensions were thjrty-five by sixty feet, and twelve or fourteen feet high. In 1655 the governor directed the people of neighboring towns to assist in getting out timber for the church. It was proba- bly completed some four or five years later, at a total cost of 4,637 guilders. A guilder was equal to forty cents of our money. The necessary funds for the erection of this church were raised by contributions from fthe people of Flatbusli, and neighboring towns who were united with them in church relations. Assistance in the enterprise was also received from the settlements of Fort Orange (Albany), and New Amster- dam. Governor Stuyyesant himself contributed 400 guilders. The Dutch settlers, as w'ousld appear most natural, brought with them the religious inclinations of the Fatherland. The .churches they established were under the care of the £&88SJS 20 SETTLEMENT BY WIE DUTCH. of Amsterdam, and so continued for more than a century, before an independent union on tlie same model was organized in America. The popular discontent which seemed all the time to be on the increase, was at last ventilated by a meeting of nineteen delegates, representing the people of New York, Brooklyn, .Flushing, Newtown, Hempstead, Flatlands, Flatbush, and Gravcsend, who met at New Amsterdam, December 11th, 1653. They then drew up a remonstrance against the arbitrary meas- ures and action of the government, in which they, set forth their grievances, and prayed for a relief from the oppression under which they groaned. This remonstrance was respect- fully submitted to the governor and council, but they made no reply to it, beyond disputing the right of some of the towns to be represented in the delegation, and protesting against the meeting. Two days later the delegates presented a further remonstrance, in which they intimated an intention of appeal- ing to the highest powers of the Netherlands, if they could not obtain redress for their troubles here. At this suggestion Gov. Stuyvesant became so indignant, that he peremptorily ordered the delegates to go home and never to assemble again on such an errand. Thus the situation was made worse if possible than before. No attempt appears to have been made to carry out the hinted intention of appealing to the Dutch authorities at home. To fill the cup of discouragements and hardships under which the settlers labored, their dominion about this time was infested by " land pirates " and thieves, against whose incur- sions the government offered but a very feeble protection. These parties were supposed to be wandering exiles, who had SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. 21 been banished from the colonies of New England for some misdemeanor or other. In some of the towns, the people took the matter into their own hands, and organized military companies to protect their villages against the approach of these marauding vagabonds. George Baxter and James Hubbard were, the two delegates from Gravesend to the meeting of 1653, which presented the offensive remonstrances, and it was to the former that Gov. Stuyvesant ascribed the authorship of those documents. These two gentlemen were leading spirits, and charter mem- bers of the town of Gravesend. Baxter had been employed as private secretary to Gov. Kieft, and had also been appoint- ed by Gov. Stuyvesant as a commissioner to the treaty of 1G50 which defined the bounds between the English and Dutch jurisdiction on Long Island. In 1G54 these men having been elected by the people for the office of magistrate, were set aside by the governor. It appears they had served before in the same capacity, and this action of the governor in ejecting from office those whom the people had tried and found faith- ful, gave rise to an ominous storm of indignation, which the wooden-legged veteran found some difficulty in quieting. He succeeded however by enlisting the influence of Lady Moody, a woman of prominent standing and popular connections with the settlement. Her influence among the people restored con- ciliation, and passive acceptance of the governor's decision. Finding there was no encouragement to hope for better things under the Dutch rule, the English settlers determined if possible, to obtain a connection with the colony of Con- necticut. In February, 16G3, the people of the English towns under the Dutch (whether in a body or represented by dele- 22 SETTLEMENT BY THE DUTCH. gates does not appear), held a meeting at Hempstead, and there decided and agreed to dissolve their compulsory connec- tion with the Dutch government, and unite with the newly organized colony of Connecticut. A new charter had been granted to that colony the year previous, which charter included the former colony of New Haven, and also, according to the construction placed upon its language by the General Court of Connecticut — Avhether that construction was the one intended or not — embraced the whole of Long Island. To this interpretation the eastern towns had gladly assented, and availed themselves of its benefits, and their English neighbors within the Dutch limits sought to do the same. It is evident that they, having long been burdened with the yoke of Dutch tyranny, saw in the new charter of Connecticut a glimmer of encouragement to strike for deliverance. The earnest wishes of the people as expressed by this meeting having been set before the General Assembly of Connecticut, March 10th, 1G63, two commissioners, George Wyllys and Mathew Allyn, were aj^pointed to go over and organize the government among the English towns on the west end of Long Island. Whether these commissioners fulfilled their mission or not does not appear. The histories are silent on the subject of their further action in the matter. It is therefore probable, that either from the neglect of the commissioners, or the opposition of the Dutch governor, the project of annexation was abandoned. Thus, no effort of the people to rid themselves of the yoke •of bondage was successful, and the loose-jointed and unsatis- factory state of affairs seems to have continued till the •conquest in 1664. CHAPTER II. SETTLEMENT OF THE ENC4LISH TOWNS OF SUFFOLK COUNTY UP TO THE CONQUEST OF 1664. In the year 1497 the English, through their representative, Sebastian Cabot, claimed to have discovered North America, from thirty to fifty-eight degrees north latitude. Voyages were made to different parts of the coast, by English navigat- ors, before the year 1606. In 1620 King James I. of England, granted a patent to the Plymouth Company for all the land lying between forty and forty-eight degrees north latitude, extending through from "sea to sea," or in other words from the Atlantic to the Paci- fic, though it is evident that in those times the people of the Old World had but a very imperfect idea of the distance through the "howling wilderness," or across the continent. These bounds of course included Long Island. The territory thus granted was called New England, and the privilege of "planting, ruling, and governing" it was given to the Ply mouth Company. After granting the Plymouth patent in 1621, the Massachu- setts patent in 1628, and the Connecticut patent in 1631, the Plymouth council on the 22d of April, 1635, granted a patent for the whole of Long Island to William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. This was done in compliance with the request or order of King Charles I. 24 SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. In June of the same year the company surrendered its patent to the crown. April 26, 1636, the Earl of Stirling appointed James Farrett as his agent, to dispose of real estate on Long Island, and authorized him to act by a power of attorney to that effect. In consideration of his services Farrett was allowed to take up a certain amount of the land for his own benefit, wherever upon the island he might choose. In exercising this right he made choice of Shelter Island and Robbins Island. Earl Stirling died in 1640, and was succeeded by his son, who also died a few months afterwards. His heir surrendered the grant of Long Island soon after, and it was embodied in the King's patent to the Duke of York in 1664. During several years that passed between the time Stirling's patent was abandoned and the reception of the new charter of Connecticut in 1662, the eastern part of Long Island was not claimed by any power, consequently the settlers held the controlling power in their own hands, and disposed their gov- ernmental affairs according to their own wishes. During this interim they purchased lands of the Indians, without being- obliged to obtain patents for the same from any other source. Purchases were however regulated somewhat by the towns, and afterward subject to confirmation by the governors who presided over the Colony under the Duke. The first English individual settlement within the bounds of Suffolk County, was made by Lyon Gardiner on Gardiner's Island in 1639. Ho was probably the first English settler within the territory now occupied by New York State. The following towns were settled by the English, and held undisputed control over their own affairs, until the organiza- SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. 25 tion of the Duke's government in 1664. Southampton settled in 1640; Southold settled the same year; Easthampton in 1648; Shelter Island in 1G52; Huntington in 1653; Brook- haven in 1655; and Smithtown in 1663. Oysterbay settled in 1653, as is also stated in another chapter, was on territory claimed by the Dutch, so the freedom of its local government was in a measure restricted by the partial control which the latter were able to exercise over it. The settlers were mostly Englishmen, who had emigrated, and after remaining a short time in the colonies of New Eng- land, came across to the Island in companies of eight to fifteen families each, and planted themselves here in independent colonies. Their numbers were speedily increased by other companies of immigrants joining them. They were very zealous in. their devotion to religious mat- ters, earnest in cherishing and extending the genial influence of Christianity, and profound in their reverence for the Bible and its teachings. Like the patriarch Noah, whose first act on emerging from the ark was to set up an altar and offer sacrifice to God, who had preserved him from the flood which had swallowed up a Avicked world, so one of the first acts of the early settlers of Long Island, after landing upon the soil of a new world, was to set up their altars and offer up the sacrifice of thankful hearts to Him who had preserved them and brought them safely hither. Before the echos of the Indian war-whoop had died away, or the camp-fires and hunting grounds and wig- wam.; of the savages were supplanted by the paraphernalia of civilization, the pure principles of the Christian religion were established and cultivated here, on the wild shores of a new 26 SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. land. From religious persecution at home our fore-fathers had fled to this new country, to enjoy the exercise of their own liberal opinions. The organization of churches, and provision for gospel preaching, and attention to the spiritual interests of the colo- nies, were to them matters of the first importance. The settlers of Southampton, and Southold, were organized into chuches before coming to the island, and brought their minis- ters with them. The churches and their affairs seem to have been regarded as being under the fostering care and legitimate charge of the people and officers of the town, in their organized capacity. Each town was at first an independent government, the people in their assemblages making their own laws, and choosing their own executives, without any connection or allegiance whatever, with any other civil power on the face of the earth. Each little colony was a combination of civil, military, social, and religious government. Forts were built and garrisoned; companies of militia kept organized for pro- tection; civil laws enacted and enforced; the social condition of the people guarded, and vices which threatened its wellfare punished and restrained; churches and schools established, and ministers and teachers supported; — by one and the same authority — the people in their character as an organized town. The expense of sustaining these various departments, includ- ing the salaries of ministers and teachers, was met by a tax upon the people. Assessments were made upon each indi- vidual in proportion to the amount of land he had taken up. The towns kept a vigilant eye upon the character of their inhabitants. Individuals who proposed to join the settle- SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH, 27 ments, were generally placed on probation for a term of from three to six months, and if at the end of the term, their behavior and character was approved, they were admitted to the privileges of freemen and allotted certain proportions of land, with a share in the rights of other settlers. Committees were appointed to investigate the character and reputation of those who proposed to become fellow residents and freehold- ers. Whenever the character of such candidates did not prove satisfactory to the townspeople or the committee, they were directed to ieave the jurisdiction, generally within a specified time. No individual inhabitant was allowed to sell or lease real estate, to a stranger not accepted by the town or investigating committee as a proper person to become a mem- ber of the colony. By enforcing these restrictions, society was kept measurably free from the presence of undesirable neighbors. The judicial and executive functions of each town were exercised by two or three magistrates, a clerk, and a constable. These officers were elected by the people at their annual town- meetings . In the town courts juries were drawn for the trial of a case, when either party desired it. Seven men were required for a jury, and a majority of them was competent to return a verdict. These town courts were not only intrusted with judicial power, but legislative also, and frequently passed laws and orders which were accepted and enforced, the same as those passed by the people in their public congregations. These public congregations of the people of a town, were held annually, for the election of officers, enactment of such laws and regulations as the times required, and the decision 28 SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. of important cases of dispute between individuals, or the hearing of heavy criminal cases which might be referred to them from the subordinate town court. The people in this their sovereign capacity were called the general court of the town. Whenever important matters required attention, a special session of the general court* was called. The town at an early date adopted precautionary measures to guard their society against the spreading evils of intem- perance. The unrestricted sale of intoxicating drinks was forbidden, and the few who were authorized to deal in them at all, were held responsible for their obedience to certain laws and regulations in the matter. The general courts pre- scribed the maximum quantity which might be sold to a single individual within a specified time, and a heavy fine, or for- feiture of his license, was M\e penalty imposed upon the vender avIio should disregard the rule. Inn-keepers were not to allow any one to become intoxicated, or to continue drink- ing, after a certain hour of the night, under penalty of being expelled from the position. Special regulations were pre- scribed for dealing out strong drinks to Indians. In some cases it was prohibited altogether. Sabbath-breaking and profanity were crimes, for which most of the towns prescribed punishment. Lying, slander, and drunkenness, were provided for by rigid enactments. The stocks and the whipping-post were common instruments of punishment in those days. There was no union or combination of these towns into counties, or "ridings," until the conquest of 1G64, when the SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. 29 whole of Long Island fell under the English government of New York. After managing their own affairs in an independent manner for a few years, the English towns of Long Island that were in possession of the power to do so, voluntarily placed them- selves under the protection of the New England colonies. This was done by the different towns at different times. Southampton, the first to take the step, sought the protection of Connecticut in 1614 In 1G57 Easthampton followed suit. Brookhaven did the same in 1659, and Huntington followed in 16G0. In 1618 Southold joined the colony of New Haven. Shelter Island appears to have been united in its government with Southold. These were all the independent towns which had been settled previous to the year 1662. It is not to be supposed that these towns placed themselves under the New England colonies because their efforts at self- government had not proved satisfactory. The alliances thus formed, were desired for the better protection of these exposed towns, and did not subject them to the control or taxation of. the New England colonies. The territory occupied by these towns, not having been claimed by any of the colonies, and as it appears to have been abandoned by the holder of Earl Stirling's patent, was in a poor condition for defence against invasion by hostile Indians or the Dutch. In 1662 the colony of New Haven was united to that of Connecticut, and a new and more liberal charter granted to the united colony by King Charles II. On the strength of a clause in this new charter, including the "islands adjacent," Connecticut now claimed Long Island. This claim was sec- onded by the towns of Suffolk County. Seeing the provisions 30 SETTLEMENT BY THE ENGLISH. in the new charter, which allowed the people a voice in legis- lation as well as the election of their own officers, these towns were desirous to become a part of the Connecticut colony, and as such they were in a measure constituted. Each town was represented by deputies in the Colonial Assembly, and was required to contribute its proportionate amount of funds, from which to pay the general expenses of the government. In 1662 the people of Oysterbay, who had previously main- tained a sort of neutral position between the Dutch and English, expressed their preference for the authority of the latter, and voluntarily placed themselves under the jurisdiction of the government of Connecticut. In the early part of 1664, the General Court proposed to perfect the new arrangements, by organizing and establishing courts of justice in the towns on the island. On this mission they sent the governor and two others, who called a meeting at Setauket in June. It is needless to inquire into the arrangements which that commission may have made, for whatever they were, they were rendered inoperative by the opening of a new epoch in the history of the island. That epoch was the conquest of 1664, a revolution which left Long Island in the hands .of a new power. CHAPTER III. LONG ISLAND UNDER THE COLONIAL GOVERNMENT — FROM THE CONQUEST OF 1664 TO THE REVOLUTION. The year 1664 was the commencement of a new era, which burst upon the oppressed English towns on the western part of Long Island, like the light of better days to come. It brought a revolution of affairs, which revived the drooping spirits of a people, whose hopes were well nigh crushed out beneath the tyrant's foot. We can imagine the light of gladness, and the glow of rising hope, that flashed across the worn faces of those pioneers, when they received the welcome tidings, that the scepter of New Netherlands had been surrendered to the Duke of York. Something like, it must have been, to that which sparkled in the eye of Israel's captive children, when Moses called them to go out from beneath the rod of their Egyptian task-masters. IIow free they breathed the pure air of heaven, as though a great burden, long carried, had rested from their shoulders. How the mist that had fogged their ideal picture of a good government vanished, and faith saw the beautiful details of peace, liberty and prosperity intensi- fied, and brought nearer. The prospect was indeed "fair to look upon," and it inspired fresh hope and new energy in the desponding hearts of the inhabitants. The English towns under the Dutch had held a mass-meet- ing at Jamaica, in November of the year }3reyiQus. to devise 32 THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. if possible some means of relief, but that meeting seems to have been about as fruitful of good results as former demonstra- tions had been, and no more so. Both the Dutch and English settlers were alike prepared to welcome any revolution which might promise to liberate them from the unjust and offensive rule of that government, whose insults they endured because they could not avoid. On the 12th of March, 1664, Charles II. of England, by virtue of his claim to this part of the American Continent, as before stated, made a grant of land to his brother James, Duke of York, including within its liberal boundaries, the territory then occupied by the Dutch at New Amsterdam, with the whole of Long Island. The Duke immediately fitted out an expedition, to take possession of the field covered by this patent. Richard Nicolls was commissioned Deputy Governor of this Colony, and Robert Carr, George Cartwright, and Samuel Maverick, were appointed to associate with him in governing the colony. Under their command, four ships were sent, carrying nearly one hundred and fifty guns, and some six hundred men. The fleet arrived in New York Bay in August of the same year, and Col. Nicolls sent word to Gov. Stuyvesant, demanding a surrender of the premises and fortifications held by him. Gov. Stuyvesant at first stoutly refused to comply with the demand, but after a few days spent in consultation with the burgomasters and people of the city, and finding the latter strongly in favor of such a course, he was forced to } T ield to the popular sentiment, and with much reluctance agreed to a surrender. While the authorities on Manhattan Island were holding THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 33 controversy over the subject of surrender. Col. Nicolls and the Commissioners landed at Gravesend, and held a consulta- tion with the people of the island, and Gov. Winthrop of Connecticut. To the members of this meeting he exhibited the Duke's patent, also his own commission, and those of his associates. At the same time, officers were sent to the Eng- lish towns, to recruit volunteers for service in an attack upon New Amsterdam, should the obstinacy of the governor render such a measure necessary. About this time, at least before the surrender was made, Col. Nicolls and his associate commissioners issued a procla- mation, dated August 20th, directed to the people under their prospective jurisdiction, in which they promise to those who shall submit to "His Majesty's" government as good subjects, the peaceable enjoyment of "whatever God's blessing and their honest industry have furnished them with, and all other privileges with his Majesty's English subjects." By this moans the people were led to suppose that a government was to be established, in which they would be allowed to partici- pate through their chosen representatives, and they hailed with gladness the installation of the new regime. On the 2Gth of August, old style Gov. Stuyvesant agreed to surrender, and the governmental reins of the colony passed into English hands. He retired upon a farm in the neighbor- hood, which he continued to occupy until the time of his death, several years afterward. It was with much unwillingness that the formerly independ- ent English towns on the eastern part of Long Island, consented to the transfer of their political connection and patronage, from Connecticut, to the Duke's government 34 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. Connecticut also at first insisted upon her claim to them. Gov. Winthrop, however, endeavored by his influence and authority to reconcile both parties to the change. Colonel, now Governor Nicolls, and his associates, called together a few representatives from Connecticut and Long Island, on the 30th of November, 1664, and after listening to their reasons why the eastern towns of Long Island should not be separated from the allegiance of their choice, decided that Long Island Sound should be the boundary between that colony and the colony or province of New York. To this decision the colonial deputies, having really no alternative, assented, and Long Island, for the first time united in its government, came wholly beneath the rod of English royalty. In February, 1665, in order to establish the government uniformly in the towns, Gov. Nicolls issued a proclamation, directing the people of each town on the island to send two deputies to a meeting to be held at Hemj^stead on the first of March ensuing. When the deputies assembled, they were so much pleased by the prospects of better things than they had before enjoyed, that they drew up and signed a memorial of gratitude and loyalty, addressed to "His Koyal Highness the Duke of York." In this address tlie signers express their humble acknowledgement of the honor bestowed upon them, in being made the subjects of His Majesty's government, and pledge themselves and their constituents to the respect and obedience of all such laws and statutes as shall be made by virtue of his Majesty's authority; naming this address as a memorial and record, to witness against them, should they ever fail in the discharge of their duties as loyal subjects; and praying for His Majesty's speedy consideration of their THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 35 "poverties and necessities in this wilderness country," and soliciting further, his protection, favor, and encouragement, in their efforts for the improvement of His Majesty's western dominions. The deputies whose signatures are appended to this document, represent the towns of New Utrecht, Graves- end, Flatlands, Flatbush, Bushwick, Brooklyn, Newtown, Flushing, Jamaica, Hempstead, Oysterbay, Huntington, Brookhaven, Southold, Southampton, Easthampton, and Westchester. It is perhaps unnecessary to say that the latter town was not on Long Island. This expression of the deputies appeared all very well at the time, but developments which immediately followed, proved it to have been premature. Not long were they per- mitted to enjoy the "dear delusion," under whose flattering influence they were prompted to make this demonstration of submission and reverence. The fact soon became apparent, that the people were not to have a voice in the legislation of the colony, nor the privilege of electing their own magistrates. When these facts became known to the people, they censured their deputies for signing the address to His Koyal Highness, with such severity, that the court of assize in October, 1666, deemed it necessary to pass a resolution to the effect that whoever should use vindictive language against any of the said deputies should be arrested, and held to answer for slan- der before the court of assize. At the Hempstead convention the boundaries of the towns were settled more definitely, and differences adjusted in real estate matters between individuals. The Governor furnished the deputies with duplicate copies of a code of laws which had been compiled at his dictation, and by which the colony was j6 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. to be governed. These laws were similar in general to, and had probably been taken from those of other English colonies. They were called the Duke's laws, and contained many of those regulations for the suppression of sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, profanity, and slander, which were so common among the enactments of the English towns of Suffolk county before the conquest. The towns of Long Inland were now for the first time or- ganized into combinations. They constituted, in connection with Staten Island and Westchester, a political division of the government, called Yorkshire. This was again subdivided into three parts called "ridings." The East riding comprised the territory now occupied by Suffolk county. Hempstead, Flushing. Jamaica, and Oysterbay, were included in the North riding; and the towns at present belonging in Kings county, with Newtown, were set off in the West riding. The ridings were established principally for the accommo- dation of courts, and the convenience of apportioning taxes. Each town had a justice of the peace, appointed by the governor; and at first eight, afterwards four overseers, and a constable, elected by the people, and charged with the duty of assessing taxes, holding town courts, and regulating such matters of minor importance in the government of the town, as should not be provided for by the laws or orders of the governor. The jurisdiction of the town court was limited to cases not exceeding £5. A court of sessions, composed of the justices of the peace, was established in each riding. This court was held twice a year, and was competent to decide all criminal cases, and all civil ones where the sum of difference exceeded £5. Judg- « THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 87 ments rendered in this court, for sums under £20 were final; but in cases exceeding that amount, an appeal to the court of assize was allowed. Criminal cases involving capital punish- ment, required the unanimous concurrence of twelve jurors; but all other cases were decided by the majority of seven jurors. The high sheriff, members of the council, and the secretary of the colony, were authorized to sit with the jus- tices in this court. The court of assize was held once a year, in the city of New York. It was composed of the governor, council, and an indefinite number of the justices. It enter- tained appeals from the inferior courts, and had original jurisdiction in cases where the demand exceeded £20. The governor appointed a high sheriff for the shire, and a deputy sheriff for each riding. All the towns were now required to take out patents for their lands. The court of assize was the nominal head of the govern- ment — legislative and judicial. It was in reality however, nothing more than the governor's cloak, under cover of which he issued whatever regulations his judgment or fancy dictated. All its members held their positions during his pleasure, and were no doubt virtually obliged to sanction his views, and second his opinions. If therefore the English governors directly after the con quest, were less despotic in their rule than the Dutch had been before them, their leniency was owing more to disposi- tion than the limitation of their power. The political situation under the new regime was but little better than before. Many of the laws, amendments, and orders enacted by the governor through the name of the court 38 THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. of assize, were arbitrary, obnoxious, and oppressive to the people. October 9, 1669, several towns on the west end of the island petitioned the governor for redress of their griev- ances, but without producing the desired effect. The early governors imposed duties on imported and exported goods, disposed of the public lands, and levied taxes on the people, for the support of the government. The financial department of the colony, like everything else per- taining to its government was under their control, and this power over the treasury was, no doubt, in many cases used to enrich their own pockets. October 8, 1670, a special levy was made upon the towns of Long Island, to raise funds to repair the fort at New York. In reply to this demand, Southold, Southampton, and East- hampton, in a joint meeting by delegates, expressed their willingness to submit to the tax, if they could be allowed the right of representation in the legislature, to which the latter town by the voice of her people added, " but not otherwise." The towns of Huntington, Flushing, Hempstead, and Jamaica, in their town-meetings, refused to submit to the order, on the same grounds — because they were denied the rights of Eng- lishmen, to a voice in the law-making of that government which they were thus called upon to support. Whether this tax was ever collected in these towns or not we do not know, but in their refusal to submit to the order, we see the first fruits of that spirit of desperate resistance against ' ' taxation without representation," which, a little more than a hundred years later, culminated in the war for independence. This tax was ordered during the administration of Francis Lovelace, who succeeded Bichard Nicolls in 1667. It was in THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. 39 keeping with his views on the subject of holding the people in submission, as expressed by himself in a letter to a friend, by imposing "such taxes on them as may not give them liberty to entertain any other thoughts but how to discharge them." The administration of Governor Lovelace was brought to an unexpected end, by the surrender of the colony to its for- mer masters, the Dutch. While England was engaged in war with Holland, the latter sent out two small squadrons, to destroy the commerce of the former with the West Indies. These Dutch squadrons, after achieving a very brilliant suc- cess in the line of their original undertaking, capturing a hundred and twenty sail of French and English merchant- men, turned their attention to the re-capture of the former Dutch possessions in America. Arriving at Sandy Hook on the 30th of July, 1673, they demanded the surrender of the fort and colony, which demand was yielded to without a word of opposition, or the firing of a single gun. The command- ant of the fort, Captain Manning, was afterward tried for treachery and cowardice, and sentenced to have his sword broken over his head. Anthony Colve was immediately appointed governor of the colony, and at once commenced the work of obtaining the submission of the people to his authority, and re- organizing the government according to his own notions. This was a comparatively easy matter in the towns which had been under the Dutch before, but with the towns of the East riding it was quite different. After modifying the conditions, however, so that none but the magistrates were required to take the oath of allegiance, and the promise of like privileges in the 40 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. choice of their officers, and so forth, as had been enjoyed by the English towns under the Dutch, Huntington and Brookhaven submitted, but Southold, Southampton, and Easthampton, rejected all attempts at compromise. They sent deputies to Connecticut, to solicit protection from that colony against the advances of the Dutch. Their request was granted, and the three towns were organized into a county, under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. October 30, the Dutch governor sent three commissioners to these towns, to induce them to submit. They sailed down the Sound, and visited Shelter Island and Southold, where they found the people assembled and armed for resistance. Nothing could be done to induce submission, and the commissioners return- ed from a fruitless errand. The Dutch were so enraged at the obstinacy of these towns, that they threatened to reduce them by fire and the sword. In execution of this plan, an armed force was sent down the Sound to the east end. Mean- while Connecticut sent a re-inforcement of troops to the \ assistance of the refractory English towns. The Dutch forces made several attempts to gain a foot-hold but were rebutted in every attack, and finally were driven from the island. November 26th, 1673, Connecticut, in conjunction with the other New England colonies, declared war against the Dutch, and commenced preparations accordingly. Before these preparations were completed however, or any attack had been made, the news arrived that peace had been declared between the mother countries, on the 9th of February, 1674, which news was of course a signal for a stay of proceedings. By the conditions of that treaty of peace, all conquests made during the war were to be restored to their former THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. 41 owners, so it was clear that Long Island would be restored to the English authority. Notwithstanding this, it would seem that the Dutch governor cherished some hopes of retain- ing his authority here. He seems at any rate to have determined on holding it .as long as possible, and as late as March 27, 1674, made preparations for defense against the expected attacks of Connecticut. It is possible that at that time he had not learned the conditions of the treaty of peace. The three eastern towns which had effectually resisted the attempts to subjugate them, now dreaded the return of the Duke's arbitrary government, and determined if possible, to retain their connection with Connecticut. Accordingly they sent a committee to solicit a firmer establishment of their alliance, and May 14th, the general court of that colony, after considering the application, decided to grant the request as far as it was in their power to do, and appointed commission- ers to go over and settle the government of the county on a more permanent basis. In June these towns appointed a committee to petition the King, to allow them to remain under the authority of Connecticut. The petition, if ever made, seems not to have been granted. June 29th, 1674, the Duke of York obtained from the King a new patent for the province of New York, and soon after, appointed Edmund Andros governor of the colony. The new governor arrived in America, and received the surrender of New York on the 31st of October, the same year. He at once set about reinstating the Duke's government. The three eastern towns of Long Island declared themselves under the government of Connecticut, and expressed their intention "so to continue." They presented to the governor 42 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. a memorial to this effect. This was signed by their deputies, John Mulford of Easthampton, John Howell of Southampton, and John Youngs of Southold. November 16th, the gover- nor ordered these deputies to appear before the council, to answer for their action. The same date, a messenger was sent to these towns, to require them to re-instate the former con- stables and overseers, under penalty of being declared rebels. Their endeavors to cling to their favorite government of Connecticut were unavailing, and they were obliged to submit with the other towns of the island, to the Duke's government. This was simply a repetition of the former despotism. In April, 1682, it appears a meeting of delegates from some, or all of the towns, had been held for the purpose of devising some means of relief from present grievances. Five of the inhabitants of Huntington, who attended this meeting, were arrested at the governor's order, and imprisoned without charge or trial. The authoritative disposition, and almost unlimited power of the governor, was exhibited by several other similar instances. It is probable that at this period the general discontent had become so manifest, and the clamor for representation so strong, that the governor was impelled, either by compassion- ate regard for the j)opular feeling, or more likely through fear of a general uprising, to give heed to the demand of the people. The subject seems to have been referred to the Duke, and by him favorably considered. Col. Thomas Don- gan having received the appointment of governor, took the position on the 27th of August, 1683, with instructions from the Duke, to call a general assembly of the pe.\.jie's repre- sentatives. THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 43 The first assembly of the colony of New York, in accordance with these instructions, was convened at the city of New York, on the 17th of October, 1683. This assembly "adopted a bill of rights, repealed some of the most obnoxious of the Duke's laws, altered and amended others, and passed such new laws as they judged the circumstances of the colony required." At this session an act was passed abolishing the "ridings," and organizing in their stead the counties of Kings, Queens, and Suffolk, with some alterations in the constitution of the courts. In October, 1684, the same assembly met again. Among the acts passed at this session was one by which the court of assize was abolished. The election of a new assembly took place in September, 1685. In October following, this assembly was organized. Only two or three unimportant acts of this assembly remain on record, and it is probable that whatever other acts it may have passed, if any, they were never enforced. Charles II, King of England, died February 6th, 1685; and the throne was taken by his brother, the Duke of York, under the title, James II. After assuming this position, the latter abolished the colonial assembly of New York, and re-estab- lished the governor as its supreme head, subject only to such instructions as the King himself might from time to time dictate. It is possible that this decree went into effect while the assembly was in session. This was the end of the people's voice in legislation, under the Duke's government. By the accession of the Duke of York to the throne, all the colonies of New England came under his power. He appoint- ed Sir Edmund Andros governor over the whole, New York 44 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. included. July 28, 1688, Gov. Dongan received orders from the King to deliver the seal of the province to his superior. Gov. Andros had authority to appoint a deputy or lieutenant governor in each colony. He appointed Francis Nicholson over New York, and went himself to Boston. In April, 1689, the news reached the colonies of America, that James II had been driven from the throne, by the English revolution, and that William and Mary succeeded him. On hearing this the people of Massachusetts, who had suffered under the tyranny of the royal governor Andros, rose up, seized him, imprisoned him, and sent him to England. Encouraged by this demonstration, a company of the inhabitants of New York, led on by one Jacob Leisler, a man whose ambition for authority exceeded his principles of justice and honor, seized the fort at New York, and drove the lieu tenant governor away. This was done about the first of June. Leisler professed that his object was to hold the government from being seized by the enemies of the revolution, until the authorized representatives of William and Mary should be sent to take command. By persuading the people that there was real danger of such an event, he succeeded in obtaining their assistance. As Nicholson himself is said to have been in sympathy with the revolution, the action of Leisler was uncalled for, and not warranted by the reason which he asserted, but as his subsequent record clearly shows, his movements were dictated more by personally selfish con- siderations than by the patriotic motives which he pretended. After his expulsion Nicholson returned to England. Leisler and his votaries in trying to get command of the helm of government found at first strong opposition to their THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 45 authority, in some of the towns of Long Island. The eastern towns whose attachment to Connecticut had not died out, made another attempt to unite themselves with that colony. In this attempt they were unsuccessful. June 26th, a com- mittee of safety was organized, which was composed of two deputies from each county in the province. This committee left the management of affairs with Leisler, subject however to their advice and approval. In December, letters from England were received instruct- ing whoever might be in temporary authority over the colony of New York, to take command as lieutenant governor, and to appoint as many officers as he saw fit, to assist him in the administration of the government. These instructions Leisler interpreted as being addressed to himself, and accordingly assumed the position of commander-in-chief, and demanded submission to his own authority. A few of the counties sub- mitted, and others did not. He however managed to sustain his position. Huntington expressed a willingness to accept Leisler's authority, but the other towns of Suffolk County appear to have absolutely refused any connection with the usurper or his government. In the spring of 1690 he called for a general assembly. Suffolk County refused to send any delegates. One delegate elected for Queens County refused to act. Strong opposition to his authority was manifested in that county. He appears to have made two or three attempts to reduce the people there to submission, by force, but with what success we do not know. Leisler's administration was attended wren acts of despotism that would be wearisome to recount. The colony continued 46 THE COEONIA1. period. in ci discordant and unsettled condition throughout his reign. On the 19fch of March, 1691, Henry Slaughter, having been appointed governor of the colony, arrived, and demanded possession of the fort and reins of government. Leisler refused to give up the post, but was compelled to do so, and was afterwards tried and executed for high treason. Thus, for more than half a century after the first settle- ment of the island, the public mind was kept in almost constant agitation and discontent. The frequent changes of rulers and consequent revolution of political affairs; the constant dread and fear of hostilities from the Indians; the insecurity experienced from the imperfect legal machinery of those times; the oppressive acts of the governors, and their utter disregard for the people's rights; all conspired to make the situation of our forefathers extremely unpleasant and discouraging. Under such distressing circumstances as they were obliged to contend with, it would not appear strange, if the progress of civilization was slow; but strange indeed it does appear that it progressed at all — strange that society did not degenerate into absolute barbarism, or the people aban- don the naked island to the savages and the tyrants. We cannot but wonder that in the face of these facts which history hands down, settlers should continue to migrate hither. From this time forward, until the disruption of the colonial government in May, 1775, the throne of Great Britain held undisputed control, through its governors, over the colony of New York, of which Long Island was a part. The government as then constituted and afterward main- tained, was composed of the governor and council, appointed THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. 47 by the throne, and the assembly, whose members were elected by the freeholders of each county. The council at first numbered seven members, but was afterwards increased to twelve. The governor was the chief executive. The legisla- tive power lay in the governor, council and assembly. All laws were further subject to the revision of the King, to whom they must be sent within three months from their date. Governor Slaughter appears to have shown more regard for the rights and wishes of the people than his predecessors had, or many of his successors did. "He succeeded, as far as the nature of the government would allow, in quieting the com- motions that had disturbed the peace of the people, and in restoring harmony and friendly relations in the colony. Among his first acts was the confirmation under the seal of the province, of all grants, charters or patents which had previously been issued. We may say that with his adminis- tration a new era commenced. The colonial government was established on a more permanent and satisfactory plan than it had before been, though in its improved condition it was still very far from what the people would have wished. As then established it continued in general features with but few alterations up to the eve of the American revolution. The gubernatorial reins passed in frequent succession from one to another, at the pleasure of the British crown. Though the introduction of the general assembly was an important check upon the unlimited abuse of power by the governor, he yet retained considerable authority, which he used for his own pecuniary benefit. The disposal of all such lands as had not been taken up by individuals or companies, rested in him. The profits arising from the exercise of this 4:8 THE COLONIAL PEBIOD. prerogative, in the way of fees and quit-rents on the patents and grants issued by him, afforded a very handsome revenue. The following items of history illustrate somewhat the character and disposition of the governors and their acts, as well as the condition of society, and the progress of improve- ments and civilized ideas, during the period which elapsed between this time and the suspension of the colonial govern- ments. During the reign of Gov. Fletcher, which commenced in 1692, a farmers fair or market, held every week for the sale or exchange of cattle, produce, or anything in the line, was established at Jamaica. It was probably conducted on a plan similar to the custom in England. April 10th, 1693, a statute was passed giving to Long Island the name "Island of Nassau," which though never repealed seems to have been but little regarded. Custom, more power- ful than legislation, established in preference the homely but appropriate title by which the island has been known ever since it fell into the hands of white men. It was also during the administration of Gov. Fletcher that an act was passed providing for the support of the ministry by a tax on the people. The benefits of the act are supposed to have been intended, by the assembly at least, to apply to all denominations of Christians. This understanding of the matter by that body was expressed by a resolution to the same effect, passed in 1695; but it is said the governor refused to accept their version of it, and contrary to the wishes of the assembly and the people, appropriated the patronage of the act to the exclusive benefit of the Episcopal party. All the THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. 49 "way through, the patronage and favor of the colonial gover- nors were given to this denomination, to the discomfort and actual oppression of others. During the administration of Lord Cornbury, which com- menced in the year 1702, he and his council were obliged to flee from the city of New York, to avoid a very fatal epidemic (supposed to have been yellow fever) which was raging there. They sought refuge from the pestilence in the quiet suburban retreat of Jamaica. Here the parsonage, the best house in the town, then occupied by a Presbyterian minister, was generously given up to him for a residence. When the gover- nor returned to the city, instead of restoring it to its former occupant, he left it in the hands of the Episcopal party, as he also did the elegant stone church which the town had but a few years before completed, and which he, the bigoted gover- nor, had unjustly seized during his stay at Jamaica. He furthermore, as is supposed, instructed the sheriff to seize certain lands, which had been set apart by the town for the benefit of its ministry, and to lease out the same, appropriat- ing the profits to the support of the Episcopal ministry. It was not until some twenty-five years afterwards, that the property thus arbitrarily seized, was restored to its rightful owners. On another occasion this same governor, who is spoken of by Thompson as the ''miserable tool of royalty," caused the arrest and imprisonment of two Presbyterian ministers, for no other crime than preaching the gospel without obtaining liberty from him so to do. November 2d, 1717, an act was passed by the colonial gov- 50 THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. eminent, offering a reward of nine shillings for each wild cat, and five shillings for each fox killed on Long Island. In 1721, a very curious bill was presented to the assembly, entitled "an act against denying the divinity of our Saviour Jesus Christ; the doctrine of the blessed Trinity; the truth of the Holy Scriptures; and spreading atheistical books." The assembly, whose members evidently did not believe in trying to control private opinion on religious subjects by legislation, refused to give the bill their sanction. In June, i726, an act was passed, prohibiting the setting on fire, and burning of dead grass upon Hempstead plains. Before that, it seems the habit of firing the plains had been frequently indulged in, by lawless individuals, much to the annoyance and hazard of the neighboring inhabitants. This act named twenty-two persons who were appointed by it to assist in extinguishing such fires. It was during the administration of Gov. Cosby, in October, 1732, that an act was passed regulating the New York and Brooklyn ferry, and establishing the rates of passage for peo- ple and various animals, carts, wagons, &c. In the year 1741 the famous "Negro Plot" was partially carried into effect in the city of New York. Its supposed object was the entire destruction of the city by fire. A reign of terror and excitement, comparatively equal to the draft riots of 1863, or the burning of Chicago in 1871, was the con- sequence. The city at that time contained about ten thousand white inhabitants, and two thousand negro slaves. "During this dreadful consternation," Thompson says, "more than one hundred and fifty negroes were imprisoned, of whom fourteen THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. 51 were burned at the stake, eighteen were hanged, seventy-one ransported, and the remainder ijardoned, or discharged for want of proof." Some of the New York governors appear to have made a pretty good use of their opportunities for manipulating the bag-strings of the colony. Here are two instances. George Clarke, who had held the position a little less than eight years, retired in 1743; with the snug little sum of a hundred thousand pounds sterling. Whether he belonged to the " Tammany Ring " of that day, or not we don't know, but these figures look decidedly as though there had been some nice financial engi- neering somewhere in his policy. His immediate successor, George Clinton, drank too much wine and didn't manage to save quite as much money. He filled the chair about ten years, and retired in 1753, with about eighty thousand pounds sterling, as the reward of his industry. Sir Danvers Osborne was appointed to the governorship in 1753. This gentleman brought with him a good reputation — a rare virtue in the colony governors; and he evidently con- sidered its unspotted preservation a more important object than making money. Five days after his arrival he hung himself. Sir Charles Hardy was appointed governor in 1755. Hardy was a fighting man, and didn't care to trouble his brain a great deal with the government of the colony. He left its administration in the hands of his deputy, James DeLancey, while he himself held a commission in the British navy. This was during the war between the English and the French, in America, which commenced in 1755. This was ended and the treaty of peace signed February 52 THE COLONIAL PEEIOD. 10th, 1763, by which all the French possessions east of the Mississippi were ceded to Great Britain. Immediately after the close of the war, Great Britain began to be jealous of the increasing strength of her colonies in America, and in order to make her power over them more secure, decided to maintain a standing army among them, and to raise a revenue here, to help pay the national debt incurred in carrying on the war against the French, determined to im- pose an indirect tax on the people. Soon after the appointment of Sir Henry Moore as gover- nor, in 1765, the colony began to be disturbed by those violent commotions of the public spirit which immediately preceeded the revolution, and resulted in wrenching the colony from the grasp of English royalty. The odious stamp act, which required all written instruments, as well as printed news papers and pamphlets, to be executed upon stamped paper, on which a duty was to be paid to the crown, was passed that year. This met with such determined opposition, that it was repealed the following year. In 1765, the assembly of Massachusetts passed a resolution, calling for a convention of the colonies for the defense of their rights. Nine colonies responded to the call, by sending delegates to the first convention, which met at New York in October. That congress, as it was called, passed a declaration of rights, in which they deny the right of Great Britain to tax the colonies, without allowing them to be represented in parliament. In 1767, Great Britain imposed a tax on paper, glass, paint er's colors, and tea. This again aroused a tornado of excitement and opposition throughout the colonies. In 1770 THE COLONIAL PEBIOD. 53 the duties were removed from all but the tea. The duty remaining on that article was but three pence a pound, but the determined colonists would not submit to the principle of taxation without representation, be the amount ever so small. September 4th, 1774, another continental congress was held at Philadelphia, and still another on the 10th of May, 1775. The last colonial assembly of New York adjourned on the 3rd of April, 1775. On the 22d of May following, the provin- cial congress of New York was convened. This congress recommended the people to appoint county and town com- mittees for the management of the government, which was done. William Tryon the last of the colonial governors of New York abandoned the position and left the city on the 13th of October, 1775, the date which is considered as the close of royal authority here. It is evident that the authority of the governor had for several months previous been somewhat cur- tailed, if not disregarded altogether, by the organization of the town and county committees, and the provincial congress. These representatives of the people administered the govern- ment, until the organization of the State government in 1777. Confusion and excitement at this period was rampant throughout the American colonies. The pent up feelings of a nation, which, though held in subjection by the hand of English royalty for more than a century, had all the while been gathering strength for the approaching conflict, now burst forth with all the determined energy of desperation. The voice of the people sounded through the colonies, in open rebellion against the power that would hold them in subjec- 54 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. tion, and gradually their uprising had broken asunder, one after another, the bands which English tyranny had thrown around them. Indignation meetings had been held in every city and village, and the dark and angry clouds of popular passion, which boded war, had been gathering thick and fast, until high above the political horizon loomed their ominous thunder-heads. The long brooding tempest was fast approach- ing, and the patriots of America with boiling enthusiasm, and a determination that would prefer death to the conditions of peace, bade it hasten on and finish its work, however distress- ing to them its consequences might be. One after another the revenue officers, stationed by the English crown in various parts of the colonies, had been compelled to resign their positions and flee for life before the tidal wave of public Indignation. New England soil had been invaded by the armies of the oppressor; immortal Bunker Hill had received its baptism of blood and fire; an army of seventeen thousand patriots had been organized, with Washington at its head; New Year's day of '76 had been celebrated by raising the national flag for the first time over that army; Howe with his eleven thousand British soldiers had been driven from Boston; North Carolina and Massachusetts in the front ranks of the movement had clasped hands in the great struggle of liberty against the invasions of royal power; and finally, the grand climax of the national commotion had been reached, by the passage of that bold assertion of the people's rights, and daring expression of the people's sentiments, embodied in the Declaration of Independence, by which the colonies of North America were claimed to be "free and independent SlatesJ* THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 55 This most important and decisive event, as every school-boy- knows, took place at Philadelphia, on the 4th of July, 1770. As the news of it spread through the country, the people were wild with patriotic excitement, and lavish in their enthusiastic demonstrations of approval. After the memorable event of that day, the first engagement of arms was upon Long Island. The British having evacuated Boston, Washington naturally supposed that the next point of attack would be New York, and made preparations to defend it. To resist an approach by the way of Long Island, a line of works was extended from Wallabout Bay to Gowanus Cove, with the strongest fortifications upon Brooklyn Heights. The- British forces having arrived in New York Bay some time before, landed near New Utrecht on the 22d of August, about 10,000 strong. On the morning of the 27th they came upon the American out-posts, in the neighborhood of the present site of Greenwood Cemetery, and after a severe struggle of several hours duration, drove them within the lines. On the night of the 29th the American army abandoned the works at Brooklyn, and under cover of a dense fog and the impenetra- ble darkness of the night, passed across the East River to New York. The American loss in killed, wounded and prisoners, is estimated at about 3,000. Among the prisoners were Gen- erals Sullivan and Stirling. General Woodhull, of the militia of Queens and Suffolk, engaged in driving the cattle which were pasturing upon the plains, beyond the reach of the British, was captured near Jamaica on the 28th. At the time of his surrender, he was inhumanly set upon by the party who took him, receiving severe wounds on the arm and head. His wounds, being allowed to remain without care for several days, proved fatal. Rfi THE COLONIAL PEKIOD. The island was now in the full possession of the British troops. They wandered up and down upon it, stationing them- selves in detachments here and there, as the fields for plunder invited them, committing whatever acts of violence and out- rage upon the property or persons of the unprotected people which their unrestrained propensities dictated. Civil govern- ment on the island was completely dissolved. Officers of the militia, members of the town and county committees, and many others who had taken an active part in the strike for liberty, fied from the island, or were seized and confined in loathsome prisons, where in many cases theii sufferings were only relieved by death. The property of such prominent * 'rebels," was often wantonly destroyed by the lawless soldiery. The people generally were compelled to take the oath of alle- giance to the King. Presbyterian churches and burying- grounds, were made special subjects of desecration and wanton outrage. Fences were demolished, buildings torn down, timber felled and carried off, grain and growing crops seized or destroyed, cuttle and other property taken from their owners, money and labor extorted from the inhabitants, dwelling-houses pillaged, or appropriated to the use of officers or troops, churches turned into horse-stables, grave yards leveled down, — in fact it would seem as though all the devilish inclinations that could find a place in the heart of a soldier, hardened by scenes of war and cruelty, were indulged without restraint or scruple, by the petty officers and soldiers of the British army who were stationed on Long Island during those long, dismal years of the revolution. When the state government was organized, in 1777, pro- vision was made for representation in Senate and assembly, THE COLONIAL PERIOD. 57 of those parts of the state in possession of the British, by persons who had removed from thence to other sections not so encumbered. In this way Long Island was represented in the legislature, until the withdrawal of the British troops, in the early part of 1783, left the people once more free to act according to their pleasure in the re-organization of civil government. But after all the oppression and outrage with which Long Island had been burdened; even after the last yoke of English power had been removed, the people were not allowed to enjoy the brightening sunshine of peace and liberty, until another act of flaming injustice, imposed, not by the hand of a foreign enemy, but by their own friends, with whom they were associated and bound in the newly formed civil relations, was added to the list. It was not enough that the people of Long Island were made the servants and subjects of an army of ruthless invaders during those six long years; not enough that they were cut off from their civil connections; fettered and harassed continually by the presence of a military force stationed over them; not enough that their property was taken from them or destroyed, their most sacred institutions desecrated, their tenderest feeling blasphemously trampled upon, and their persons subjected to any extent of insult or injury that a brutal soldiery might impose upon them. To add to all this burden, and to fill the cup of bitterness quite full, the state legislature May 6th, 1784, passed an act by which the people of Long Island were obliged to return £37,- 000 to other parts of the state, for not having been able to take an active part in the war. However equitable this measure might have appeared to the imagination of that 58 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. legislature, unbiased posterity will brand it as an act of injustice to the oppressed people of Long Island, scarcely surpassed by tlie tyrannical acts of the royal governors of the past. The following paragraphs, which we take the liberty to copy from Onderdonk's preface to his " Revolutionary Inci- dents," presents a very conci.se view of the state of affairs in the three counties of Long Island, at the commencement of, and during that memorable struggle for liberty. " The counties of Suffolk, Queens and Kings, each played a different and yet approx3i*iate part in the great drama of the revolution." " At the first outbreak of rebellion in the port of Boston, we find the Puritans of Suffolk assembling in almost every town, and voting resolutions of aid and sympathy for their brethren of the Massachusetts Bay. Nor were these expres- sions heartless. The people were ready to follow their lead- ers in rebellion, the militia were organized, and Suffolk armed for the contest. " "Far different was the state of feeling in Queens County. Here the Royal Governors, and other crown officers had occasionally resided, and exerted an overshadowing influence. They were often connected with other wealthy and aristo- cratic families in the County, who had also their adherents and dependents. Then, there Avas the peacable Quaker, the passive Dutchman ; and the Church-of-England-man, bound to the King by a double tie, as head of Church and State. All these made a dead weight, that the rampant spirit of rebellion could hardly move, until the Congressional army marched into the County, disarmed the Loyalists and carried off their leaders. " " The population of Kings County was mostly Dutch, who made but a tardy and feeble show of resistance to the powers that be ; her deputies finally absented themselves from the Provincial Congress, and the flagging spirit of revolt quickly subsided at the approach of the British fleet." "After the American army abandoned the Island to the enemy, there was still a difference in the conduct of the Counties. The prominent Whigs of Suffolk fled to their brethren on the main, with what movables they could carry, leaving behind their stock, houses and farms to the enemy. THE COLONIAL PEKTGD. gg Those who remained, reluctantly took an oath of allegiance, which they never meant to regard, and were ever treacherous subjects of a King they had sworn to obey." "The great majority of the people of Queens County, took the oath of allegiance in good faith, and observed it. Most of the leading Whigs, trusting to British proclamations, and not knowing where to go, remained at home, and were pun- ished in various ways for their undutiful conduct. Many suffered imprisonment, which to some ended only in death." "The case of Kings County was somewhat similar to that of Queens. Many of its peace-loving inhabitants had already deserted their houses on the prospect of its becoming the theatre of hostilities. The leading Whigs fled among their Dutch brethren, some to New Jersey, and some up the North River, while a few who remained and trusted to the chances of British clemency, were thrown in the Provost." ' ' Within two months after the American army had given up the Island, the principal inhabitants of the three Counties had signed a representation of loyalty to King George the Third ; and in order that their wholesome example of dutiful return to obedience might have its influence on the other rebellious portions of the State, it was jmblished at length in the New York Mercury with the names of all the signers in Queens and Kings Counties." "During the entire period of the Revolution, the British held New York City, a part of Westchester County, and all of Staten and Long Island under military rule. There were no elections — no voting except at annual town meetings — none except town taxes to pay — no judges — no courts of civil judicature, their place being supplied by the arbitrary flat of a King's justice or some military character. True, a summary Court of Police was after a while established in New York City ; and at length, in the year 1780, for the greater conven- ience of His Majesty's loyal subjects on Long Island, a Court of Police was also opened in Jamaica. The inhabitants could not go to or from the city, or bring out goods, without a permit. The price of wood and farmer's produce was regulated by proclamation ; their horses, wagons and persons, could at any time be impressed into the King's service, at a stipulated price. In the winter season almost every village and hamlet was filled with British soldiers and wagoners, bil- leted in the people's houses, or cantoned in temporary huts. The consequence was, a ready market and high price for such of the farmer's produce as had not been previously pilfered. 60 THE COLONIAL PERIOD. The farmers flourished on British gold ; but as there were few opportunities for investing it, and no banks of deposit for sale keeping, they were compelled to keep their money by them, and were often robbed. The churches, not of the established faith, were mostly occupied by soldiers, or used as storehouses and prisons; some were even torn down. " ' ' In Suffolk County, the illicit trade forms a striking fea- ture. This consisted in buying imported goods in New York, (with the professed design of retailing them to faithful sub- jects in the County,) and then carrying them down the Island to secret landing places, whence they were sent across the Sound in whale-boats, under cover of night, and exchanged with the people of Connecticut for provisions, and farmer's produce, of which the British army stood in great need. Though this trade was prohibited by both American and British authority, yet the cunning of the smugglers (who often acted as spies) • generally eluded the sleepy vigilance of government officials. This trade was protected by the sparse population of Suffolk County, the extensive sea-border, the absence of a British armed force, and the proverbial insin- cerity of the people in their professed allegiance." " Owing to this Whiggish feeling of the inhabitants, every invading party of their brethren from the main — whether to Sag Harbor, St. George's, or Slongo — always found ready and effectual aid in guides, food or information. Indeed, Washington used to say, that he always had more correct knowledge by spies, of the position and designs of the Brit- ish army on Long Island, than at any other place. In fine, the British authority in Suffolk County, was little more than an empty shadow." At the close of the ^Revolution the population of Long Island was not far different from 30,000 : about seven thou- sand more than the city of New York, or about one seventh of the j)opulation of the state. Liberated from the burden of royal domination it now began like other parts of the coun- try, to improve more rapidly under the generous influences of the free state government. The progress of improvements, though for the most part slow, has been steadily maintained up to the present time. CHAPTER IV. THE INDIAN TRIBES — THEIR HABITS, DISPOSITION, LANGUAGE, COMMERCE, AND CIVILIZATION — EARLY CUSTOMS OE THE SET- TLERS. To go back and commence at the starting-point of history, we must quote the sacred writer when he said, ' ' In the begin- ning, God created the heaven and the earth." At a period not far remote from that referred to in this quotation, we have reason to believe Long Island was created, and brought to the light of day. Whether it was originally formed as it now lies, a distinct island, or whether it was as some suppose, a con- stituent part and parcel c f the main land, which, during some great natural commotion seceded from the mother continent and started out to ''paddle its own canoe," we have not the authority to assert. The above quotation is the only historical record we are able to find, touching the origin of this beautiful island. During the ages of time that intervened between that uncer- tain period known as " the beginning," and the early part of the seventeenth century of the Christian era, history is silent on this score. The record of events which passed here dur- ing that long period, sleeps in oblivion. The summer breezes that fanned these plains, and moaned through these forest pines ; the tempest that howled among the branches of mighty oaks ; the ocean surges that washed these shores, v. hen the first white man set foot upon our soil, told no tale of the rise and fall of savage powers — of chivalric fame — of 62 THE INDIAN TBIBES. conquests, exploits, and achievements, which had engrossed the attention of its savage inhabitants for ages past. They and their history were alike blotted from the memory of suc- ceeding generations. No memorial was left to tell us what scenes were passing here when Romulus laid the foundations of ancient Rome, or while the shepherds of Judea ' ' watched their flocks by night," on the eve of the Saviour's advent. The story of human love and hatred ; hope and despair ; success and failure ; that made up the lives of those who had for unknown centuries occupied these valleys and plains, was to the civilized world a sealed book, which nothing but the thunder that shall wake the dead at the last day will ever open. At the time the island was first discovered by Europeans, it was occupied by thirteen different tribes of Indians, who inhabited principally the north and south shores. On the north side, in respective order from west to east were 'the Matinecock, the Nissequag, the Setalcott, and the Corchaug tribes. On the south side in the same order were the Canarsee, the Rockaway, the Merric, the Marsapeague, the Secatogue, the Patchogue, the Shinnecock, and the Montauk tribes. The Manhasset tribe occupied Shelter Island. Wyandanch, the Montauk chief, was the Grand Sachem of Long Island. The Montauk tribe had subdued all the tribes of the island east of the Canarsee territory, and were themselves under tribute to the Pequots, who occupied the eastern part of Con- necticut. The Canarsee tribe occupied the western extremity of the island, on the south side. They were under tribute to the Mohawks. This tribute consisted of an annual assess- THE INDIAN TRIBES. 63 ment of wampum and dried clams. By the advice of the whites it is said they refused to pay their tribute, and the Mohawks, exasperated by their rebellion, came upon them suddenly and destroyed the whole tribe, except a few who happened to be absent. The language spoken by the Long Island Indians, was similar to that of the Narragansetts and other neighboring tribes, which was probably a dialect of the Delaware lan- guage, one of the two original languages of the North American Indians. From Wood's History we quote the following list of common words, with their corresponding English, taken down many years ago by John Lyon Gardiner, from the lips of a Montauk chief, and preserved as the only existing relics of a language now extinct. Massakeat mund, — Great, Good Spirit, Machees cund, — Evil Spirit. Saunchem, — King. Saeunskq, — Queen. Wonnux, — white man. Wonnuxk, — white woman. Tnchun. — Indian. We wau churn, — Indian corn, Mausqueseets, — beans. Ausgoote, — pumpkins. Quauhaug, — a round clam. Suxawaug. — a long clam, Tobaugsk, — tobacco. Cheaganan, — a hatchet. Niep, — water. Keagh, or Eage, — land. 64 THE INDIAN TRIBES. Mashuee, — a canoe. Machaweeskt, — a little child. Yunks quash, — young woman, Squashees, — little girl. Weenai, — old woman. Sumauna, — give . Cheesk, — small. , Chiauk, — large. Weegan, — good. Muttadeaio, — bad. Wedaums, — roast corn. Cut daus, — boiled corn. Seaump, — pounded corn. Yeokeheag, — roast corn pounded. The numerals were: — Nucqut, one; Neeze, two; Nisk, three; Yuaw, four; Nepaw, five; Conma, six; Nusus, seven; Swans, eight; Passecucond, nine; Pyunck, ten. In the matter of Indian names, which occur so frequently in the history of every locality, and in many cases are still retained, we find much perplexity, caused by the variety of different names for the same place, as well as the more fre- quent variations of , what appears to have been the same original word. Sometimes a dozen different authorities will show as many changes of the same name. In relation to this subject, J. Fenimore Cooper, in the preface to his "Last of the Mohicans" says: "The great difficulty with which the student of Indian history has to contend, is the utter confu- sion that pervades the names. When, however, it is recollect- ed that the Dutch, the English, and the French, each took a conqueror's liberty in this particular; that the natives them- THE INDIAN TKIBES. 65 selves not only speak different languages, but that they are also fond of multiplying their appelations, the difficulty is more a matter of regret than of surprise." The customs, habits, and dispositions of the Indians of Long Island, were similar in general respects to those of other tribes on the continent, but these Indians seem to have always been more friendly with the white settlers, than those on the opposite side of the Sound were. This may be accounted for by the fact, that the white settlers of Long Island were more careful not to arouse, by acts of injustice and oppression, the savage spirit of retaliation and hatred. The only occasion that we notice, where the government attempts to interfere with the religious exercises, or super- stitious notions of the natives, was in 1665, when among the Duke's laws it was enacted, ' ' that no Indian should be suffer- ed to pawaw, or perform worship to the devil, in any town within the government. " The shells of which they made their wampum, were found in plentiful quantities on these shores, and for a while, this wampum was* used by the English and Dutch settlers as a circulating medium, at a fixed valuation. This substitute fry money was made of little pieces of shells, with holes punched through them, by which they were run on a string. In this shape, they were frequently reckoned by the fathom. Shells of different colors were used — some white and some black. The latter were considered of double the value of the former. Custom at one time prescribed three black beads, or six white ones, as equivalent to a penny. Whenever an important treaty was made between two different tribes, belts of wam- pum were exchanged as witnesses to the agreement. 66 THE INDIAN TEIBES. The Indians were in the habit of training np young wolves, which they used for dogs, and these were frequently very troublesome to the white settlers, often destroying their cat- tle which were turned upon the open plains, so that it was necessary to employ herdsmen to watch them. The wolves though partially tame, retained their ferocious nature. The Long Island Indians were, with few exceptions, friendly to the whites. This was doubtless because the whites were friendly to them. Individuals, or small parties of Indians, were occasionally troublesome, but no general combination was formed against the settlers. The towns had frequent occasion to keep a close watch of their movements, and suspicions of danger from them were often aroused. Only one instance, however, of warlike engagement between the Indians and the whites occurred, and in that the latter appear to have been the aggressors. No attempt was made to force them from their land, but in all cases it was purchased of them, for considerations which seem to have been fair and satisfactory. Precautions were taken, by most of the towns, to prevent as much as possible the Indians obtaining guns and ammunition. Laws were passed forbidding the sale of those articles to them. Strict measures were also "taken to prevent the feeding of savage fire with alcoholic stimulants. The sale of rum to the Indians was restricted by heavy fines. Besides the regulations of some of the towns in these matters, the governors under both the Dutch and the English rule, at different times issued orders to the same effect. The Indians appear to have submitted at all times without resistance, to any reasonable demands made of them by the white settlers. In 164:4:, the chiefs of those tribes who occupied the east THE INDIAN TRIBES. 67 end of the island, placed themselves under the control of the Commissioners of the United Colonies of New England, for counsel and protection. To what extent they were submissive to the Commissioners, does not appear definite. About the year 1653, much unpleasant feeling existed between the English and the Dutch representatives in Ameri- ca. This state of things was augmented, if not caused by the war then going on between these nations at home. In the spring of the year mentioned, the English settlers suspected on the evidence that appeared to them, that the Dutch authorities intended to drive them out from the territory, .which they, the Dutch, claimed. This disputed territory included the whole of Long Island. From the " signs of the times," the English imagined, with considerable show of reason, that the Dutch were trying to enlist the prejudice and hostility of the Indians against them. Some of the chiefs on* the western part of the island informed the English, that they had been offered implements and munitions of war, by the Dutch officers, if they would use them in destroying the English settlers. Some of them had avowed rebellion against the authority of their Grand Sachem, and began to assume unfriendly attitudes toward their English neighbors. In consequence of these, and many other indications of an approaching outburst of the savage element, and impending hostilities of the Dutch, the people were thrown into a panic of fear and excitement. They ap- pealed to the Commissioners of the United Colonies for pro- tection, and placed themselves in the best possible position for defence. Strict watch was kept up in some of the towns, night and day. Every male inhabitant capable of military 68 THE INDIAN TKIBES. duty, was required to provide himself with arms and ammu- nition, and not to go beyond the limits of the town, but to remain where he could hear an alarm at any time, on hearing which alarm, he should repair at once to a designated rendez- vous, ready for action. Some of the towns forbade Indians coming to their villages, and resolved not to sell them any corn, while the cloud of war was overhanging. The culmination of this reign of terror, was a regular engagement between a company of English militia, mostly from Bhode Island, and a greater part of the Marsapeague tribe of Indians. The circumstances and details of this affray, are enveloped in obscurity and doubt. The few items that are preserved in the histories, are mainly conjectures, which frequently show considerable discrepancies between the calculations of different authors, and are therefore scarcely reliable. We shall strike not far from the truth, however, in stating, that during the latter part of the year 1653, a party of Marsa- peague Indians, together with a few from some other neighboring tribes, had assembled together within an entrenchment, on the south side of Oysterbay town, being within the territory occupied by the Marsapeague Indians, at a place called Fort Neck, from the circumstance that this fortification was located there. The manceuvering of these Indians spoke of warlike intentions, and whether the suspi- cions of the whites were well founded or not, it seems an attack was made upon them by the militia under command of Capt. John Underbill. A number of the Indians were killed and the remainder scattered. This is the only engagement of arms resorted to by the THE INDIAN TEIBE3 69 Long Island Indians against the whites, that appears in his- tory or tradition. Whether Capt. Underhill acted by direction of the Commissioners of the United Colonies ; or by authority of the legislature of Ehode Island ; or by the request of the people of the English towns on Long Island ; or simply on his own judgment and responsibility, does not appear plain. It is not impossible that he might have had the authority of all these. During the sanguinary -times of " King Philip's " war, it was feared that the Narragansetts might induce the Montauks to join them, in their war upon the whites in Connecticut. A precautionary measure was taken, to prevent the possibility of such a scheme being carried into effect, if ever considered. This was an order from the governor, (Andros,) issued in December 1675, requiring all the canoes on the island, east of Hell Gate, to be taken charge of by the constables, and all others seen in the Sound after that time to be destroyed. In the year 1658, Prime records, " a most terrible disease invaded the Indians, through the whole extent of the island ; and it was supposed that in the course of that year and the next succeeding, nearly two-thirds of their number were swept into the grave." What this disease which wrought such dire havoc among them was, we have been unable to learn. Thus, by pestilence added to war, and the vices introduced among them by the white man, these aboriginal inhabitants of the island, have been gradually diminishing in numbers, until.at the present time they have scarcely a representative left among us. Some attempts appear to have been made at an early day, 70 THE INDIAN TRIBES. to instruct (lie Long Island Indians in the arts of civilization, and the principles of the Christian religion. The Eev. Abraham Pierson, first minister of Southampton, it is sup- posed devoted some attention to the matter during his stay at that place. In 1662 the "Society for Propagating the Gospel in New England," paid to Eev. Thomas James of East Hamp- ton £20, for his services among the Indians. In 1741, Mr. Azariah Horton was employed by the same society, as a missionary to the Indians, and quite a reformation was insti- tuted among them under his instructions. Within two or three years some 80 adults and children were baptized. The mission, however, was maintained only about twelve years. In 1755, Sampson Occum, a native of the Mohegan tribe, in Connecticut, was engaged as a teacher, and afterward as a religious instructor, until 1761. He appears to have been a man of extraordinary brilliancy of talent, and zeal. In Europe where he afterwards went, his preaching attracted much attention. To him is ascribed the authorship of that familiar hymn, — " Awak'd by Sinai's awful sound ;" though it has probably been somewhat reconstructed since it came from his pen. At a very early period Bev. Mr. Leverich, one of the first settlers of Oysterbay and Hunting- ton, devoted some time to the religious instruction of the Indians in that vicinity. Somewhere about the middle of the last century Eev. Peter John, a native of the Shinnecock tiibe, labored, among his brethren, and was instrumental in establishing churches at Wading Eiver, Poosepatuck, and Islip. Before his labors ceased he was followed by his grand- son, the Eev. Paul Cuffee, who entered the missionary field EARLY CUSTOMS. 71 about the year 1790, These first efforts to educate and enlighten the Indians of the island, it will be seen wero directed more especially to those of the east end. We believe it is an established fact, and if so it is worthy of notice, that the tribes thus favored and cared for, were always more docile and friendly with the whites, and have survived others in their national and individual existence. The island, at the time of its discovery, was to a great extent bare of trees. The cause of this is found in the cus- tom which prevailed among the Indians, of burning off large tracts of land every year, for the purpose of inducing the growth of herbage and grass, which furnished subsistence for deer and other animals which they wished to hunt. There were, no doubt, large patches of forest trees here and there, and occasional brambles of wild vines and briars. The forests are said to have been clear of underbrush. The land was thus already cleared and the settlers had only to put up their fences, and dig up the soil, and put in the seed. They generally enclosed their land for cultivation in a large common field, belonging to the settlers of the town in undivided shares. Another field" was enclosed in the same way for pasturing whatever stock they did not wish to turn out at large. On the open plain all extra stock, more than they wanted for immediate or daily use, was turned at large, and each town employed herdsmen to watch their flocks and guard them from straying beyond the proper limits, or being- stolen or injured by marauding Indians or ferocious wild animals. When the island was first settled, the cutting of timber for manufacture into pipe-staves appears to have been common. 72 EAKLY CUSTOMS. This, in addition to the burning process which had been prac- ticed by the Indians, soon caused such a scarcity of forest growth, that during the first twenty years of the settlement, the towns at different times considered it necessary to pass orders regulating or prohibiting the removal of timber from the stump. At the same time, underbrush began to spring up so fast that the pasturage was greatly damaged. In Octo- ber, 1672, the governor and Court of Assize directed the towns to call out all their male inhabitants between the ages of 16 and 60, four days every year, to cut out this offensive under- growth. At the first settlement of the island but little money was circulated. All bargains were made in produce. The prices of wheat, corn, oats, butter and so forth, were evidently not so fluctuating in those days as at the present time. The salaries of ministers and schoolmasters were paid in produce, at specified prices. All transactions between the settlers were made in produce, even to the collection of taxes, fines, and the satisfaction of executions. The following list will give some idea of the average valuation of produce, during the middle and latter part of the seventeenth century, when this custom was in vogue. Pork, ... 3 pence a pound. Beef, 2 << «« Tallow, - ... 6 a tt Butter, ... - 6 tt asture fields of Mon- tauk. In reply to a petition from the people of South and East Hampton, C ongress gave permission to two companies of troops, which had been raised in the vicinity, to remain to guard the stock. On the 7th of August, thirteen sail of Brit- ish shipping were seen off Orient Point. To prepare for defense against a raid upon the stock about the east end, 94 SUFFOLK DURING THE REVODUTION. Congress ordered four companies from Gen. Wooster's com- mand at Harlem, to go thither under Col. Phineas Fanning; and voted two hundred pounds of powder to the order of Ezra L'Hommedieu and John Foster. Notwithstanding these precautions it is said that about one hundred cattle and near three thousand sheep were taken from Fisher's and Gardiner's Islands. The militia of Suffolk numbered a little more than two thousand. Companies of minute men were organized and preparations made for the best possible defense of the county. January 5th, 1776, Congress sent one thousand pounds of powder to the Huntington committee. April of the same year, three companies which had been raised in the eastern part of the county, for the Continental service were allowed to remain where they were, to aid in guarding that section. About the 22d of July the Independence of the American colonies was proclaimed among the people of Suffolk, and the resolutions of the provincial Congress approving the action of the Continental Congress were read amid the enthusiastic demonstrations of the people. At Huntington, an effigy of George III, wearing a wooden crown stuck full of feathers was hung on a gallows, and having been partly filled with powder, was blown to pieces and burned. The "Union," and the letters "George III," were cut from the flag which had been swinging on the breeze from the liberty-pole, and also burned with the effigy before a parade of the people. But the patriotic enthusiasm which then seemed to per- vade the whole country was quickly silenced by the turn of affairs which gave the British full possession of the island. After the disastrous battle of Long Island, followed by the SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 95 evacuation of Brooklyn by the Continental forces, the few companies of regular troops that were within the county withdrew to Connecticut, as did also the leading Whigs, and many others, and the militia disbanded and went to their homes. The committees, of the county and of the several towns were dissolved, and compelled to revoke their former actions and disclaim all allegiance to congresses and the cause of American Independence. Under date of August 29, Gen. William Erskine, who had received an appointment from Gen. Howe to the command of the eastern part of Long Island issued a proclamation to the people of Suffolk, enjoin- ing them to use their utmost efforts to preserve the peace of the county ; directing all committee men, and others acting under authority of the "Bebels" to cease at once all such action or connection ; and requiring all men in arms to lay them down and surrender themselves at once ; and exhorting all persons to aid and assist His Majesty's Forces by furnish- ing cattle, wagons, horses, and whatever else lay in their power ; and further intimating that if such requirements were not immediately complied with, he should march into the county and "lay waste the property of the disobedient." Levies were made upon the inhabitants for grain, forage, &c. , which generally required all that the farmers had to spare, and frequently much more, and sometimes even their whole supply. All such property as belonged to the open "Bebels" or those who had fled to them for protection, was taken with- out reserve. In October, a testimonial of allegiance to George III, at the same time petitioning that this county might be restored "to His Majesty's protection and peace," was signed by six hundred and fourteen persons, and 96 SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. addressed to Richard, Lord Viscount Howe, and General William Howe, the " King's Commissioners for restoring peace to His Majesty's Colonies in North America." During the war British troops were stationed in different parts of the county. Their numbers were increased by enlist- ments of Tories. A series of petty skirmishes and raids upon property was carried on by both parties. The inhabitants were plundered by Whigs, and Tories, and British troops, and there was no redress for the sufferers. Brute force was the highest law. We present in the following paragraphs some of the most important military exploits in the record of Suffolk County during the Revolution. In the early part of November, 1776, a part}' of three or four hundred troops crossed from New Haven to Setauket for the purpose of capturing a party of Tories who were stationed there, and to remove the effects of a gentleman whose sympa- thies with the American cause had compelled him to leave his home. The Americans encountered a detachment of newly enlisted troops belonging to Gen. Howe's army, under com- mand of one Smith, and after a sharp engagement in which six to ten of the British troops were killed, returned with twenty-three prisoners and seventy-five muskets. In April, 1777, the British troops had collected a large quantity of forage and provisions at Sag Harbor, and in order to destroy these, an expedition was planned by Gen. Parsons, which proved one of the most brilliantly successful exploits of the Revolution. A party of about two hundred men, under command of Col. Meigs left New Haven on the 21st of May to execute the design. Foul weather detained them at Guilford SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 97 a day or two. On the afternoon of the 23rd the expedition embarked from that place, in whale-boats, under convoy of two armed sloops, and crossed over to the Island, landing near Southold at 6 o'clock in the evening. Leaving the sloops, the party hauled their boats across a narrow isthmus (probably Ashmomogue) and pulled across the Bay, landing on the Southampton side about three miles from Sag Harbor. Here they secreted their boats in the bushes and placed a guard over them. Marching directly to the village, where they arrived at two o'clock in the morning, they impressed two men, whom they found taking care of the sick at a hospital, and compelling them to act as guides proceeded at once to the quarters of the commanding officer, and secured him while lying in his bed. After carrying the outpost at the point of the bayonet, Col. Meigs advanced with his force to the shipping about the wharf. Here he was exposed to the fire of the enemy from an armed schooner of twelve guns and seventy men at a range of one hundred and fifty yards. For about forty-five minutes he occupied this position, without the loss or serious injury of a single man. During that time the object of the expedition was successfully carried out. Twelve brigs and sloops were burned, together with one hundred and twenty to us of hay and a quantity of corn and oats. Ten hogsheads of rum and a considerable quantity of merchandise were also destroyed. Six of the enemy were killed, and ninety prisoners taken. Having thus achieved a brilliant suc- cess, Col. MeigG returned to Guilford the same day, where he arrived at two o'clock in the afternoon, after an absence of but little more than twenty-four hours. Not a man had been lost during the expedition. Of so much importance was this 98 SUFFOLK DUKING THE REVOLUTION. event considered, that Gen. Washington on hearing of the result addressed a letter of congratulation to Gen. Parsons, and Congress voted t 1 e presentation of a sword to Col. Meigs. In August, 1777, Setauket was one of the British outposts, and was occupied by two hundred and sixty men under com- mand of Col. Richard Hewlett. The Presbyterian church had been taken possession of and made a military stronghold, fortified by a mound of earth six feet high and five feet thick surrounding it at a distance of thirty feet. Pickets were set closely upon the top, and along the outer face of the mound, over the ditch. Inside the church four swivels were mounted, looking from the gallery windows. To break up this strong- hold, and capture the garrison was a very desirable object, and one which Gen. Parsons, stimulated perhaps by the encouraging result of Meigs' Expedition, undertook to accom- plish. In pursuance of this design he crossed the Sound with about one hundred and fifty men [some authorities say a much larger force] and landing on the Sound shore ap. proached the British fortification and demanded its immedi- ate surrender. This being refused, an attack was commenced with three pieces of artillery which were planted within three or four hundred yards of the fort. After a warm engagement of two or three hours' duration intelligence was received by Gen. Parsons that several British sh ips of war which had been lying at Huntington were proceeding eastward, and fearing that his retreat might be cut off by the capture of his sloop and whale-boats, the attack was abandoned and the Americans fled 1 3 their boats and returned to Black Rock, the point of their departure. Four of their number were killed SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 99 in the engagement, and several others wounded. The British loss was even less than that. One of the soldiers who volun- teered in this expedition was Mr. Zachariah Green, who about twenty years later was installed minister of that church. In the early part of 1778 the garrison left, and the fort was abandoned. In November, 1780, one of the most daring exploits in the history of Suffolk during the Eevolution was planned, and carried into successful execution by Maj. Benjamin Tallniadge. This was the capture of Fort St. George, located on the south side of the island, at Smith's Point, Mastic. At that point a triangular enclosure of several acres extent had been con- structed, at two angles of which were strongly barricaded houses, and at the third a fort, ninety-six feet square, well protected by an abattis of sharpened pickets projecting from the earthen mound at an angle of about forty-five degrees. The fortification had but just been completed, and two guns were mounted. It was intended as a safe depository for merchandise and munitions of war. The garrison numbered something more than fifty men. About four o'clock in the afternoon of November 21st, Maj. Tallniadge with two com- panies of dismounted dragoons, numbering in all eighty men, left Fairfield, Conn., in eight open boats, and crossed the Sound, landing at Mt. Sinai about nine o'clock in the even- ing. After securing the boats in the bushes and stationing a guard over them the troops were set in motion to cross the island. They had proceeded, however, but a few miles when a severe rain storm came on, which compelled them to return and take shelter under their boats. Here they remained all night and the next day. About seven o'clock in the evening 100 SUFFOLK DUKING THE KEV0LUTT0N. of the 22d, the ruin abated and the men again started on their march, arriving within two miles of the fort by three o'clock on the following morning. Here the troops were divided into three detachments, each of which proceeded by a different route for the purpose of making an attack upon the fort at different points. Maj. Tallmadge himself led the main column, whose approach was not discovered by the enemy until the pioneers were within twenty yards of the stockade. A breach was quickly made, and the troops rushed into and through the "grand parade" to the main fort, which they carried with the bayonet without the firing of a single musket. At the same instant the leaders of the other two detachments mount- ed the ramparts and from the three sides of the triangle a chorus of " Washington and Glory" was shouted by the elated victors. Just then a volley of musketry was discharged upon them from one of the barricaded houses in which a considerable number of the garrison were secreted. The attention of Tallmadge's men was immediately directed to that point, and for a few minutes a sharp contest ensued, during which the latter forced an entrance to the house and hurled a number of the enemy from the second story windows headlong to the ground. During the encounter seven of the enemy were killed or wounded. The fort was destroyed, fifty- four prisoners were taken, and a quantity of merchandise brought away. A vessel lying near the fort was also burned. Having thus accomplished the object of their visit, the Ameri- cans returned with their prisoners, Maj. Tallmadge at the same time with ten or twelve of his men going by the way of Coram where they set on fire a magazine of hay, estimated at near tl :ee hundred tons, which had been collected there by SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 101 the British. Arriving at the landing place simultaneously with the main body of his detachment, all returned to Fair- field the same night, reaching there about midnight. None of Tallmadge's men were killed nor but very few injured. A letter of commendation was addressed by Gen. Washington to Maj. Tallmadge on the occasion of the successful capture of Fort St. George and the burning of hay at Coram. On the evening of October 2, 1781, Maj. Tallmadge sent a detachment of 150 Continental troops headed by Maj. Tres- cott from Saugatuck River, Conn., to destroy Fort Slongo, a British fortification in the northwestern part of Smithtown. This fort was occupied by a garrison of 140 men, well armed. The Continental troops crossed the Sound under cover of night and at daylight on the morning of the 3d successfully attacked the fort. After a short engagement in which four of the enemy were killed and two wounded, the garrison was subdued. The fort was destroyed, the block-house and other combustible materials burned, and twenty-one prisoners taken. One brass field piece, and seventy muskets were cap- tured, and two iron guns destroyed. The detachment returned without the loss of a man, and with but one serious- ly injured. The following items, which we copy from Onderdonk's "Revolutionary Incidents" will give an idea of the distressing con dition of affairs during those years. Several of them we would explain are in the language of writers of that period, whose sympathies were with the British. 1 ' There are two companies of Tories stationed at Hunting- ton but not a man east of there ; also about ten or a dozen regular officers without any men. They are billeted on the inhabitants, all of them without pay, and have plundered, 102 SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. stole, and destroyed to such a degree, that the inhabitants must unavoidably starve in a little time, for want of food. Sundry of the principal men have been beaten in an unheard of manner for not complying with their unrighteous requests, particularly good Dr. Piatt and Mr. John Brush. The meet- ing-house made a store house of, no ^6^'c worship allowed of, and the good people assembled five miles out of town, at West Hills — they (British) followed them, and broke up their assembling together any more. Game, Feb. 17, 1777." " One night, week before last, a party of rebels came over from Connecticut to the house of Solomon Smith, of Smith- town, and robbed him of all the clothing of his family and some household furniture. On their return the boat overset, and 'tis supposed the whole party perished, as the boat and some dead bodies were found on the shore near Mr. Smith's within a day or two afterwards. Gaine, April 7, 1777." " New London, Bee. 19. A plan having been formed to bring off or destroy a magazine of military stores which the enemy had at Setauket, on Long Island, and to destroy some shipping loaded with timber at Southold, on Tuesday night of last week, part of two battalions of troops embarked from this State, under convoy of the sloop Schuyler, and Spy and Mifflin, schooners. Unfortunately next morning, just be- fore light, the Falkland, a British Frigate, in her passage from New York to Newport, came across the Schuyler and two smaller vessels, when the latter run ashore on the Island, but the former in attempting to get in with the land, run on a spit of sand (called Old Man's) and was taken with about 60 troops on board, among them Cols. Ely, and Samuel B. Webb, &c. On Thursday, a party of men under Capt. Hart, marched to Southold and were very near making prisoners of Capt. Ayscough and upwards of twenty men belonging to the ship Swan, who were in a house in Southold, but they get- ting intelligence of Capt. Hart's approach hasted to their boats. They were closely pursued, and as they were getting on board, were fired upon, when most of them were killed or wounded : seven marines and seamen were made prisoners. Our troops after tarrying several days on L. I. , returned to the Main, without opportunity to effect anything considera- ble — the shipping having left Southold, and we learn the magazine at Setauket has been removed. Dec. 24, '77. Con. Gaz." "New London, Jan. 2, 78. 130 tories from the west end SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 103 of Long Island, commanded by Col. Hewlett came down to Southold, Oyster Pond, &c, and robbed the honest inhabi- tants to a large amount in clothing, money, grain, cattle, &c. From one man they took £120 in cash." ''Feb. 16, '78, Gaine. About two o'clock last Thursday morning, a party of 12 rebels seized at Coram, two wagons loaded with dry goods, the property of Oba Wright of South- ampton. These marauders had been several days on the Island, visited most parts of the County and committed many robberies, especially at the house of Col. Floyd, which they robbed of goods and cash, to a considerable amount, and took thence some property of Mr. Dunbar, who rides down the Island occasionally and happened to lodge in the house that night." "FishMU, Mar. 5, 78. On Wednesday night a party of 30 volunteers, from Col. Meigs' Eeg. , in four whaleboats under command of Maj. Humphrey's Lts. Lay and Burret, made a descent on L. L in the neighborhood of Sniithtown, for the purpose of destroying several of the enemy's shipping, par- ticularly a large ship of 20 guns aground near that place. The ship was unfortunately got off the preceding day, but they set fire to and destroyed a brig, of 200 tons burthen, a a large schooner and an armed sloop, all employed in the en- emy's service. They brought off two captains and several seamen, together with as many sails, rigging, and furniture, as the boats could contain : all effected without loss, and the party returned to the Main, next morning. The enterprise was well planned and conducted, and such a one as in Gaine and Bivington's papers would have filled a column with " im- menses" and "infinites," and exhausted Johnson's Dictionary of all those terms which express enterprise, conduct, and res- olution. Con. Gaz. March 11, '78. "New London, Mar. 8, '78. Last Sabbath 21 sail of the enemy's shipping, which have lain for some weeks in Gardi- ner's Bay, taking in wood, came to sail, and stood eastward." ' ' Riv. , May 16, '78. The rebels have constant information by signals from many disloyal Islanders residing between Hunt- ington and Setauket of every vessel passing up the sound, as well as of the situation of persons and things in several parts of Long Island ; and they also convey all the informa- tion their emissaries daily procure of the several occurrences in N. Y. city. " ' 'Riv. May 20, 78. Sunday night, 10th inst. , 2 whale boats, 7 men in each, came to Blue Point, and took thence 5 boats HM i umi no? lying there with oysters, owned i\\ Tho'a Myng, ^.raoaUnd lull. John K:i|vil|o. S.itn'l I'oIm . ami Mr CiUllOroil This. p.irix was commanded by one Dayton from Coram, and wore m11 well armed They brought their boats from the north side >>t' the [sland, and Bent their pri ea to Now London, They | > 1 1 1 some women :i 1 1 v I children, and Tho's Myug fcsho] "The head of the Banditti who captured R vessels loaded with lumber and prodneo for the market of N v . w« Abe- ii,' or Dayton, a noted pedler, who lately lived al Coram. Next in command waa Win, Clark, formerly n rebel l.t.. who had taken the benefit of Howe's Proclamation; and after ■■•; the oaths to Government, he kept n shop near B. iron, [Setauket] where, by making private lotteries, &o,, he converted his effects into cash, ami about tour or five weeks ago eloped to Connecticut, This party (fourteen in number) ore a speoies of plunderers distinct from rebel troop* ;. 78 Got Tryon has marched down the [sland, and is now at Setauket with 1/200 men. Ho orders the farmers to thresh out the grain immediately. The stock on Long [aland, it is expeoted, will bo taken lor the ding's On Tuesday se'night, a party of Reb- els who had crossed over from Connecticut, having concealed themselves in a wood below Huntington, Ihvd upon three light dragoons, returning from the east end of the Island, and killed one of them on the spot ; the other two, with the horses, got off unhurt. A party was immediately dispatched from Huntington in quest y"\ these assassins: but they escaped to their brethren on the other side of the Sound.* 1 •• \ i S 18, *78 Major Ebeneser Gray, with b party oi Col. Meigs' Regiment wont to Huntington on Long [aland, mid brought off L6 priaoners, disaffected! (who had gone over bo the enemy from this state.) Three others were killed, and two made their escape. " •• Last Dueaday afternoon 3 men in a small achooner, with Ft swivels and a cohorn, was attacked by - whale-boats with it ten men in each, at Fire Place. The boats went up with full resolution to board the schooner, and when within about 20 yards they received such a dose from the cohorn, as obliged thom to sheer off, when most of their oars were seen to drop bj the people on shore who were spectators of the action, which was well fought on both sides; but the boats - ■ ■ - - ■ ( nd. — ! : . -- . . . Bef - . t iailitii. I 106 SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 3 miles east of Brookhaven. The well-known Eben. Dayton was at the head of this party, 2 sons of Israel Conklin, of Huntington South, Stephen Woodhull of Brookhaven, the noted Isaac Smith, of Coram, (commonly called Petticoat Isaac,) and one of his sons: the two latter joined the rebels about 3 months ago. Mr. Petticoat Isaac has been remarka- bly industrious in harboring and supplying the rebels with provisions and intelligence." ' ' Last Friday night a party of Rebels surrounded the house of Dr. Punderson, of Setauket, took him prisoner and carried him to Connecticut. In that night the same party took Wm. Jayne, Jr. The rebels told Mrs. P. they had taken the Doctor to exchange for John Smith, and Mr. Jayne for Wm. Phillips, who were seized at Smithtown, at Widow Blyenbury's, on a trading expedition. — Gaine, July 17, '80." Here we find a "notice to quit," which is likely to convey the suggestions of the writer as forcibly as though shrouded in any amount of legal verbosity. No name appears attached to it. Head Quarters, Aug. 25, 1780." "I have repeatedly ordered you, especially Apr. 15, to leave my farm. This is the last invitation. If you do not, your next landfall will be in a warmer climate than any you ever lived in yet. 20 days you have to make your escape. — Riv., Oct. 21, '80." "New London, Sept. 20, '82. Last week, two armed boats from Connecticut River crossed the Sound and landed at Ca- noe Place. The people going a mile or two on the Island met a man with a box of tea, and took it from him. They afterwards plundered sundry of the - inhabitants of cash and clothing. The next morning a number of people belonging to the Island assembled, and finding the boat's crews on a beach, dividing their goods, they fired on them, killed one on the spot, mortally wounded another, who died soon after, and badly wounded two others. They have de- tained five of the boat's crews." We have not space here to extend these quotations further. What we have given will serve as examples of the depreda- tions which w« re constantly being committed upon the inhab- itants or their property, and the frequent skirmishes between the opposing ljrces. Plundered by those who claimed to be SUFFOLK DURING THE REVOLUTION. 107 friends to the American cause, as well as by their armed ene- mies, the people of Suffolk County were placed in a position of continual fear and their property in constant jeopardy. On the return of peace, the State Legislature in 17{l4 im- posed a tax of £10,000 on Suffolk County as a compensation to other parts of the State for not having been able to take an active part in supporting the war. The many Whigs who had left home and property at the commencement of the war returned home to find their houses and barns divested of everything valuable, and in many instances wholly or partial- ly torn down, their fences destroyed, farms out of order, wood growth cut off, and every thing in that disordered and dilapidated condition which might naturally be expected as the result of seven years occupancy by a lawless military force, and the frequent invasions of adventurers for plunder. The real estate of a few individuals who were the most prom- inent in opposing and betraying the American cause, was con- fiscated and sold. During the revolutionary period Suffolk County was repre- sented in the Continental congresses by the following gentle- men. William Floyd, 1774 to 1782. Ezra L'Hommedieu, 1779 to 1783. Zephaniah Piatt, 1785. Representatives of this county in the convention which met at Poughkeepsie, June 17, 1788, and adopted the Constitution of the United States. Henry Scudder, Jonathan N. Havens, John Smith, Thomas Tredwell, David Hedges. 108 SUFFOLK DUEING THE EE VOLUTION. To the Provincial Congress of New York the following rep- resentatives of Suffolk County were elected. To the first congress, which met May 22, 1775 — Nathaniel Woodhull, John Sloss Hobart, Thomas Tredwell, John Fos- ter, Ezra L'Hoimnedieu, Thomas Wickham, James Havens, and Selah Strong. To the second congress, which met Dec. 6, 1775 — John Sloss Hobart, Thomas Tredwell, Selah Strong, Nathaniel Woodhull, Ezra L'Hommedieu, David Gelston, Thomas Wickham, and Daniel Brown. The same were elected to the third congress which met in May, 1776. To the fourth congress, which met July 9th, 1776— Nathan- iel Woodhull, Ezra L'Hommedieu, John Sloss Hobart, Bur- net Miller, Thomas Dering, David Gelston, William Smith and Thomas Tredwell. These were authorized by their con- stituents to "establish a new form of government," which that congress immediately set about doing, and completed the following year, in the organization of the State Government. CHAPTER VII. SUFFOLK COUNTY — DESCRIPTION — MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS — HIS- TORICAL EELICS — INSTITUTIONS — STATISTICS &C. Suffolk county occupies about two thirds of the whole territory of Long Island. Its western boundary is the east line of Queens county. On the north and east it is washed by the Sound, and its tributary bays and harbors, and the Atlantic Ocean, which also washes the south shore. It con- tains four hundred and twenty-four thousand, three hundred and eighty-eight acres, about two fifths of which is under cultivation. The east end is divided by several large bays, which contain a number of islands. The Great South Bay, and East Bay extend along the south side, half the length of the county, from the west end. These bays in connection with South Oyster and Hemstead Bays at the west end, form a continous opening inside the beach, from Rockaway to Ketchaboneck, a distance of sixty miles. The entire length of the county, from east to west, is about ninety miles, and its greatest width, which is at the west end, about twenty miles. The courts of this county, first established in 1683, were held at Southold, until the year 1729, when, a courthouse having been erected at Riverhead, the courts were removed to that place, where they have been held ever since. Negro slavery existed from an early colonial oeriod. and was sanctioned by statute under the State Government. 110 SUFFOLK COUNTY. During tha Revolution a law was. passed by which slaves enlisting in the army, with the consent of their owners should become free. In 1798, a law was passed for the gradual emancipation of slaves, and on the 31st of March, 1817, it was enacted that slaves born after July 4th, 1799, should be free ; if male at the age of 28 ; or if female at the age of 25. Those born before that period were to remain slaves for life. ''Jlie revised statutes of 1828 made a final ending of the sys- tem by enacting that all men were free within the state, except in punishment for crimes of which convicted. Before the introduction of church bells, religious assem- blys were called together on the Sabbath, by the beating of the drum. In 1665, James Herrick was employed by the town of Southampton, to "beat ye drum on ye Lord's Dayes " for 20 shillings a year. Among the most frequent and interesting relics that remain to speak to us of the dead past, are the old burying grounds, which we find in every place that can , boast of any antiquity. In these we frequently find head stones and monumental ta- bles, bearing dates as far back as the middle of the eighteenth century, but in very few instances only, do we find any monu- mental record of those who died previous to that period. Still we have enough to show that grave-stones were used here as early as the year 1700, and a little before. At that early period which preceded this date, when society as well as government was in its crude and unsettled condition, it is not strange that pilgrims in the wilderness, should neglect giving their immedi- ate attention to the matter of perpetuating the names of their deceased fellows, by the erection of appropriate tomb-stones. Add to this the great expense and inconvenience of obtaining SUFFOLK CCTONTN. Ill 'diem, at a time when there were but few if any stone workers on this side of the Atlantic, and we have a very good reason for the entire absence of any monument to mark the resting places of the first inhabitants. These old grave-stones were made of three different kinds of material. These were a brown, and a grey sand stone, the former being of finer and more substantial texture than the other, and a bluish colored slate, still more durable' than either. All these were probably hewn out of the quarries or ledges of New England. The slabs were low, and generally made with a rounded top, on which was frequently carved the rude outline of a cherub face, and beneath it the antique inscription begins with the common expression ''Here lyes ye Body of," etc. The lettering of these old inscriptions is done in that rambling style of typography which was in vogue cen- turies ago, and has lately been revived in fine book and pamphlet printing. Now and then we find the family coat of arms, represented on the monuments of those who were able to trace their lineage back to royal ancestry. On the beach which extends along the south side of this county, three tall light-houses have been placed : one at Fire Island, another at Ponquogue, forty miles east, and the third on Montauk Point, the easternmost extremity. The shore is almost literally strewn with fragments of wrecks. Some idea of the frequency of these casualties may be ob- tained from the fact, that between the first ot November 1854, and the 28th of June, 1857, less than three years, sixty-four vessels, mostly of large size, were either wrecked or in dis- tress upon this shore. In September 1816, a Spanish vessel came ashore on the beach a little west of Southampton, and 112 SUFFOLK COUNTY. was abandoned by the crew. Several months after, as her sides were torn off by the action of the sea, a stream of Span- ish dollars burst from between the planking and inside ceiling, and fell into the sand. It is needless to say the dollars were " divided " among the people who were fortunate enough to get there in time, on the " first come, first served " principle. It was supposed that there had been foul play on board the vessel while at sea, and that none of the crew who came ashore in her knew of the treasure thus deposited. The matter of shipwreck on this beach, develops one of the most forcible and deplorable evidences of the depravity of human nature that is often thrust before us. There is a class of people living in the villages and hamlets that lie along the shore, who seem to look upon any property per- taining to a wrecked vessel or its cargo as legitimate plunder, for whoever may be the first to seize it. Accordingly, when- ever a vessel is driven upon this beach, these persons may be seen, sometimes by hundreds, flocking toward the scene of disaster, for the purpose of making off with whatever article of any value they are able to lay hands upon. This class is not confined as one might naturally suppose, to the " scum " of society exclusively, but includes oftentimes men of honest reputation and respectable standing, who having been reared and educated in society where this abominable custom is tolerated, look upon it with less contempt than those to whose matured sense of honor it appears as a new subject. The Suffolk County Agricultural Society, or at least the society from which it grew, whatever its name might have been, was originally formed in 1841. Its first record is lost. In 1843 it was re-organized, and that year, and each year fol- SUFFOLK COUNTY. 113 lowing until 1853, including the latter, fairs were held under its auspices. These were held at different places, in the towns of Huntington, Islip, and Smithtown, with the single exception that the fair for 1849 was held at Greenport. From 1853 to 1865 the matter rested, and no fairs were held. February 1st of the latter year, a meeting was held at Thomp- son Station to revive the subject, and re-organize the society on a more permanent and liberal basis. A fair was held that year, and in 1866, at Eiverhead. In 1867 the annual fair was held at Greenport. In 1868 a permanent ground had been secured and enclosed at Riverhead, and the fair was held at that place, which arrangement has continued till the present time. The Society now numbers about 225 life members. In the matter of temperance, Suffolk County has long re- tained a high rank. The County Temperance Convention, a society which has given expression to the temperance senti- ment of the people for nearly a quarter of a century has beers the means of accomplishing much good in this direction. It holds monthly meetings, changing about from one place to another whenever the temperance element is strong enough to furnish accommodation. Its sessions usually last two days. Besides this, local societies are or have been maintained in most of the villages. The various orders of Temperance whose meetings are open only to their own pledged members are also represented here, that of fhe "Sons of Temperance" to the greatest extent. The last report of the Grand Division of Eastern New York gives twentynine Divisions in Suffolk county, located at the following places : — Yaphank, Babylon, Riverhead, Cold Spring Harbor, Bay Shore, Sag Harbor, Port Jefferson, Hauppague, Patchogue, Sayville, Blue Pcint, Hi SUFFOLK COUNTY. Stony Brook, Southold, Mattituck, Jamesport, Mount Sinai, Smithtown, Northport, Ronkonkoma, Holbrook, Cutchogue, Bellport, Huntington, East Marion, Orient, Islip, Setauket, Atlanticville, Southamton. The Suffolk County Sabbatli School Association a union de- signed for the advancement of the cause, and promotion of the interest in Sunday School work, was organized about fif- teen years ago and has been in operation ever since. The Bev. Samuel Gibbs of Bellport has the honor of being the first to suggest the idea, and the Rev. John Reid of Franklin - ville, and Charles N. Brown of Sag Harbor, were elected the first president, and secretary, respectively. Though the number of schools which have taken an active interest in this institution is not as large as might be desired to make it a complete success, the encouragement afforded by the interest which has been taken in it has been sufficient to insure it a prosperous existence. It holds conventions four times a year, and its meetings are generally well attended. There are one hundred and twelve Sunday Schools in the county, and the thirty-four schools from which the officers of this Association have received returns, report in the aggregate five hundred and fity-one teachers and officers, and three thousand and fif- ty-five scholars. During the great national commotion, which less than ten years ago was shaking the foundations of the Amer- ican Republic, and trying by the fiery test of war, the power of the people to sustain their own government, the towns of Suffolk County responded nobly and promptly to the frequent calls for men and money with which to carry on the war for the preservation of the Union. In the list below SUFFOLK COUNTY. 115 we give the n amber of those in each town who were between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, and liable to draft ; the number of soldiers who went from each town ; and the num- ber of those who died in the service, as we find them in the State Census of 1865. TOWNS. LIABLE TO DRAFT. SOLDIERS IN THE DIED IN ARMY. SERVICE. Huntington, 1430 158 39 Smithtown, 310 11 9 Islip, 733 121 18 Brookhaven, 1740 231 38 Riverhead, 610 61 16 Southampton, 1060 155 31 Southold, 1186 109 26 Shelter Island, 108 12 3 Easthampton, 404 71 22 Total, 7581 929 202 In the dark days of 1862, in the month of July, when Gen. McClellan had finished his disastrous campaign in the Vir- ginia Swamp ; while the Rebel guns at Vicksburg defied all attempts to open the Mississippi, and the heavy war bills were beginning to roll in on an empty Treasury, Congress was busy perfecting the famous Internal Revenue Act. It was a dangerous experiment. The Act provided for the most severe and searching taxation this Country had ever known. None but a free Country with its liberties in danger would have endured it. Nearly every business and profession was saddled with a license tax. The law was so skillfully framed that the government was enabled to lay its hands on almost every business transaction of daily life, and when men were dead a part of their legacies went into the U. S. Treasury. To set this stupendous and complicated piece of legal ma- chinery in motion, U. S. Assessors were apx^ointed over con- 116 SUFEOLK COUNTY. venient districts, and they in turn appointed assistants. The Assessor of the 1st Dist. of N. Y., (which comprised the counties of Suffolk, Queens, and Bichinond) appointed the following persons to act as assistant assessors for Suffolk Co. : Edmund A. Bunce for the town of Huntington ; Edwin A. Smith for Smithtown ; Philander J. Hawkins for Islip ; Geo. C. Campbell for the north part, and John Hoe, Sen. , for the south part, of Brookhaven, David F. Vail for Biverhead ; Jonathan W. Huntting for Southold ; Hiram L. Sherry for Easthamp- ton ; and Daniel Y. Bellows for Southampton. These officers were instructed to make themselves familiar with the law and proceed at once to make a thorough canvass of their respec- tive districts and lay on the taxes. Some amusing incidents occurred during the first canvass. The law required every person owning silver plate to weigh and report it for tax. One person claimed that his plate was only nickel washed with silver, and therefore not taxable, but when told that his next door neighbor had reported 500 ounces his American pride came to the rescue, and by an energetic search and throwing in one or two pewter coffee pots he contrived to make up five hundred and twenty ounces, on which he paid tax for several years. The income tax yielded a larger revenue in Suffolk County than all the other taxes combined. The largest ever paid in the county was by the late Thomas Garner, Sen. , of Islip, on an income of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars ; and the tax amounted to more than seven thousand dollars. The second source of revenue was the tax on manufactures, and the next on legacies and succession. The license taxes, though not amounting to a very large sum in the aggregate caused SUFFOLK COUNTY. 117 the most complaint, and seemed to bear harder on poor men. Congress has accordingly abolished them all except on liquors and cigars and a few others of that class. The whole amount of taxes paid in the county up to the present time is probably over a million dollars. There are at present about twenty cigar and tobacco facto- ries in operation in the county, yielding a revenue of about fifteen hundred dollars a month, and three or four banks and about five hundred license tax payers. The former system has been abolished and the taxes are now assessed and col- lected by collectors and their deputies. P. J. Hawkins of Islip is the Deputy for Suffolk, and the only officer in the county to transact all its Internal Eevenue business. To his kindness we are indebted for the facts embodied in this notice of Eevenue matters. The common school system is of course the same in general features in this county as in other rural counties throughout the state. In a few of the large villages, well regulated, graded schools, accommodated in spacious and magnificent buildings, are maintained with able management. These landmarks of civilization are the pride of our villages and a credit and honor to the county. A great part of our rising population is however, accommodated in the small, old- fashioned district school buildings, which are scattered at intervals of a mile or two all through the lesser villages and thinly settled portions. These buildings are in the main nearly all of the same model. They are usually sixteen to twenty feet wide, by thirty to forty feet long ; a single low story in height ; plainly built, and upon both exterior and interior, bear countless evidences of the early developments 118 SUFFOLK COUNTY. of that seething propensity which Americans have, for mak- ing their mark in the world. The following lists contain some of the most important items in relation to the schools of this county. They are gathered from the reports to the Commissioners for the year ending September 30, 1872. TO WN OF H UN TING TON. d •9g na o «S ■§ 85 e3 >> . £ 1 s co n > 1 "S | LOCATION. II o £ § 1 S u °° 1H M"S i 73 o 00 a. " 3 ° T Elwood, 78 $ 335.00 $ 900 $ 62,350 2 West Neck, 33 255.57 1,000 116,550 3 Huntington, 566 5645.00 17,208 517,150 4 Northport, 180 1265.00 1,400 96,500 5 West Neck, 73 232,50 500 22,400 6 Green Lawnf, 26 240.00 500 85,000 7 Centerport, 99 447.92 1,900 63,950 8 Crab Meadow, 49 373.00 60 57,200 9 Clay Pitts, 50 276.00 50 57,000 10 Commac, N. 60 288.00 500 64,225 11 Cold Spring, 37 * 12 Long Swamp, 31 225.00 200 40,000 13 West Hills, 30 275.00 650 80,100 14 Melville, 30 227.16 750 47,000 15 Lower Sweet Hollow, 44 261.24 150 45,275 16 Half Hollows, 54 333.34 500 57,450 17 Dix Hills, 35 321.60 600 48,000 18 Commac, S. 30 312.00 400 50,100 19 Eaton's Neck, 31 468.00 800 130,000 20 Cold Spring, 144 713.60 3,400 88,400 t Commonly called Old Fields. * This district extends into Oyster Bay town. The figures only cover fhe part which lies in this town (Huntington). The school house is located in Oyster Bay. SUFFOLK COUNTY. TOWN OF BABYLON. 119 d "c3 .ss CD c3 to ■s i o Value rty in ict. o CO LOCATION. o f£ 5 a ^ 8 is 8 & a to " s s 1 > W <4 O 1 Babylon, 183 | $1246.67 $6,000 $163,660 2 West Babylon, 62 252.00 1,200 41,240 3 North Babylon, 59 329.45 950 49,200 4 Breslau, 170 450.00 350 53,010 5 E. Ainityville, 70 393.71 300 47,680 6 Amityville, 165 1,020.96 3,400 112,430 7 Deer Park, 44 350.00 500 38,000 8 Farniingdale, 15 * * Part of this district extends beyond the limits of the town into Oyster Bay. rhe school house is located in the latter town. TOWN OF SMITETOWN. 6 el 00 u t i ■3 S .§ a u 02 w 3 <8 1 Bay Shore, W. 82 $ 686.97 $ 300 $160,425 2 Islip, 210 1,364.85 3,000 158,000 3 E. Islip, 101 614.64 1,500 130,000 4 Sayville, 256 1,445.24 2,500 107,275 5 Bayport, 105 740.80 3,200 73,475 6 Happauge, 53 308.33 350 70,300 7 Oakdale, 49 274.00 1,000 47,150 8 Bay Shore, 153 718.50 300 95,825 9 West Islip, 64 400.00 500 179,910 10 Holbrook, 33 336.02 500 40,000 11 Lakeland, 16 175.00 600 42,485 12 Brentwood, 48 527.73 1,000 50,025 13 Central Islip, 45 400.00 700 24,545 14 Bohemia, 35 216.48 500 5,000 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. Is ai • "co CD 1 i -3 2 co id § a ►f 1 "n co ft LOCATION. 2-3 CO ■5 4) CO a co t3 as n CD P< -£? co o 2 cS £ ft CO " 3 s 1 Stony Brook, N. 81 $ 395.83 $1,000 $ 61,400 2 Setauket, 80 497.50 1,600 150,000 3 Nassekeag, * 4 Stony Brook, S. 83 521.50 850 94,075 5 Lake Grove, 75 500.00 1,500 55,000 6 Port Jefferson, 353 2,586.00 5,000 270,100 7 Mt. Sinai, 77 430.00 2,000 63,150 8 Millers Place, 33 345.95 50 88,100 9 Rocky Point, 30 247.50 400 50,700 10 Woodville, 16 232.00 250 32,450 11 New Village, 15 300.00 775 38,500 12 Selden, 19 164.00 300 22,300 13 Farmingville, 30 152.00 500 20,000 SUFFOLK COUNTY 121 TO WJST OF BROOKHA VEN {concluded). 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 30 37 Coram, Coram Hills, Middle Island, W. Middle Island, E. Yaphank, Ridgeville, Muorville, N. Manorville, S. Manorville, E. Blue Point, Patcliogue, Brookhaven, W. Swan River, E. Piitchogue, Bellport, Brookhaven, E. South Haven, Mastic, West Moriches, Centre Moriches, East Moriches, Holtsville, East Setauket, Eastport, 39 25 38 52 64 18 31 30 19 88 461 38 36 70 92 56 24 79 77 117 17 154 224.00 100 150.00 175 208.00 200 203.00 200 288.00 400 206.40 50 205.00 200 206.70 500 180.00 10 479.20 1,700 2,896.01 14,000 280.00 400 257.23 500 413.00 450 904.90 3,000 281.00 400 150.00 600 260.00 200 480.00 1,000 541.00 1,200 140.00 300 1,195.00 450 37,156 22,950 25,100 41,000 84,575 43,500 32,450 28,027 30,800 45,700 283,225 22,000 38,625 70,200 105,500 59,600 32,150 45,100 65,500 85,500 19,000 149,150 * J?o report received. TOWN 01 RIVER HEAD. % 02 IiOCATION. .as i ■ s ll 03 w < ° 1 Wading River, 46 $ 337.80 $ 400 $ 46,320 2 Calverton, W. 26 209.00 60 19,055 3 Baiting Hollow, 65 1 260.00 400 38,000 4 Calverton, 57 1 318.75 100 44,000 5 Riverhead, 303 2800.00 5,000 290,000 6 Middle Road, 34 | 197.50 300 29,200 122 SUFFOLK COUNTY. TOWN OF BIVE8HEAD {concluded). 7 Aquebogue, W. 47 312.50 1,200 55,000 8 Aquebogue, E. 51 290.00 50 48,100 9 Jamesport, 43 192.00 500 71,200 10 Northville, W. 26 216.25 59,635 11 Northville, E. 48 205.00 450 72,050 12 Baiting Hollow, W. 38 168.50 300 13,500 13 Wading River, E. 22 182.50 200 21,550 14 Jamesport, 28 265.00 400 23,300 15 Roanoke, 51 249.40 400 38,040 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 6 U c4 -S .2 'u CO ft LOCATION. co _cS IS .a o CO 2 £ a ^ a o * m Assessed of Prope Distr 1 Shelter Island, 141 $1000.00 $3,500 $205,500 124 SUFFOLK COUNTY. TOWN OF EAST HAMPTON. & a ® "to H o S !■ CO -a Value cty in ict. O B tG s LOCATION. CO _g a* o • W m Qj ■+» w o .2 S £ A to " 3 =s 1 East Hampton, 55 $ 465.00 $ $227,950 2 Wainscott, 25 140.00 300 52,000 3 Amagansett, 94 320.00 300 100,000 4 Springs, 94 346.00 500 49,500 5 East Hampton, 78 350.00 200 98,650 6 Northwest, 10 154.00 100 The office of School Commissioner has been filled, since it was constituted, by the following : 1st Dist. 2d ** 1st 2d 1st 2d n tt 1st 2d tt tt 1st 2d a tt Jonathan W. Huntting, William Nicoll, E. Jones Ludlow, William Nicoll, Cordello D. Elmer, Thomas S. Mount, Horace H. Benjamin, Thomas S. Mount, Horace H. Benjamin, S. Orlando Lee, 1858 to 1861. 1861 to 1864. 1864 to 1870. 1870 to 1873. 1873 to SUFFOLK COUNTY. 125 CO £ CD pi < 6 £■£,.!-?£ £3 e+- ££ et- CD O" e-t-t^ ^ 2 o W OT M C5 00 Ci tC W ^ C. cncotf^oooi-'cn-qrf^cc OWH^IOt^OCObOC W O M o tc C O Ci 03 CO tO Ci C1<1 C rf^ GO 00 Cj C ^ CT tO 3 o-3oscoocosoti-' OS OOCOOGOGOrf^COtO o w col tO os ri^ os i-i toto-qtooc h-i I— 1 tO CO l-i H-i IH- H-i IH- I— 1 f5 GO CO ~aoTcocoorostf^i-im boo^co^oootocc Or 1— I OSOOOiCO-^GOiH-hH-H-i H-i o lc o M H-'COCOtOI-iGOtOGC-q c d to COh-itOC5©tOI-itOm CO COCOtOcoi-'Cntf^H^OS 2 Or OS tO tO CO GO tO CD 1— I to 1— i tO CO l-i HMWM^ I— 1 cc GO hi c OS Go O ^ ~q to i— 'h- 'a; CK CO OjCT--1C0<1OC0^<] os -qtcoococoaotf^rf^cc O* OS -qtO-q-^OT-qrf^rf^CO H- 1 y 05 OSl-i^qCOK^tOtOOTOS GO COo COLOODCOGOH-'CDOStO LC ~q 030050(^l^bO©M cocooos^mi^~qco o •H-CO^OSCnOS00 1-3 1 l) to| CO] tO ^ H-i MHI^HOI h- 1 GO cc lo M O WWbD 00 W h*| OS OsK^OiOsOTGOCOOtCncO CD|CJiOS~arf^H-irf».rf»-0*CO LC o u co o. - 1— i tO h-i Oi h-i OS h-i CO ^a tO "tO O* CO^b^^n-bo 00 CO to CO — 1 CC CO CO LC CO 1— i OS o\ H^ OsOiOtf^GCOOGOCOOs CHAPTER Till. TOWN OF HUNTINGTON — HISTOEY AND DESCRIPTION. The town of Huntington formerly occupied the whole breadth of the island, at the west end of the county of Suffolk. It was bounded on the west by Oysterbay township in Queens county, north by the Sound, east by Smithtown and Islip, and south by the Ocean. Its width on the north side was about eight miles and on the south side six miles, and its length from north to south — from sound to ocean — about twenty miles. The first purchase of land within the territory thus described was made by Theophilus Eaton, Governor of New Haven, in 1646, and consisted of that peninsula on the north side known as Eaton's Neck. This purchase was probably made of the Matinecock tribe of Indians who at that time were a powerful nation and occupied the north side of the island as far east as the eastern limits of this town. The first purchase made by actual settlers, of which we have any account, was made by Richard Holdbrook, Robert Williams and Daniel Whitehead, in 1653, and they were with- out doubt the first or among the first settlers of the town, and the date of their purchase is accepted as the date of its first settlement. This purchase was made of course like the previ- ous one, of the Indians, and comprised six miles square in the north-west corner of the present limits of the town. It lay from Cold Spring Harbor on the west to Northport Harbor on the east, and extended south to the middle Country road. 134 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. This tract is still known as the "Old Purchase." The price paid for it was six bottles, six coats, six hatchets, thirty eel- spears, thirty needles, six shovels, ten knives and ten fathoms of wampum. Another purchase was made of the Indians in 1656, extend- ing from the eastern bounds of the last one to the Nesaquake or Nissaquague Eiver. The right of the Matinecock Indians to the eastern part of this tract was disputed by the Nissa- quague Sachem who was sustained in the dispute by Wyan- danch the Grand Sachem of the island. The dispute was con- tinued by the purchasers of Huntington and Smithtown until 1675, when the line which strikes the Sound at Fresh Pond was decided upon as the boundary between the two towns. The part of this tract which by that decision remained to the town of Huntington is now known as the "Eastern purchase," and it extends south to the old country road. In 1657 and 8 several necks of meadow land on the south side were purchased by Jonas Wood and others, of the Seca- tag-.i3 and Marsapeague tribes. During the early years of the settlement of this town its government, like that of all the other towns in this county was independent, the supreme power, legislative judicial and executive resting in the hands of the people. This continued until 1660, when the town was placed under the protec- tion of the colony of Connecticut, and in 1662 was admitted as a part of that colony. This arrangement continued until the conquest of 1664, though it had hardly been perfected before the inauguration of the Duke's government broke off the con- nection. TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 135 The town was incorporated by a patent issued under Gov. Nichols, bearing date Nov. 13, 1666. The persons named in this patent were Jonas Wood, William Leveredge, Robert Seely, John Ketcham, Thomas Scidmore, Isaac Piatt, Thomas Jones, and Thomas Wicks. This patent covered the territory from Cold Spring Harbor to Nissaquague River on the Sound, and extending across to the sea. In 1686 Gov. Dongan com- pelled the people of this town to take a new patent to cover lands which had been purchased of the Indians since the date of the first patent. This was issued Aug. 2, 1688, and the ex- pense which the people were thus obliged to incur in satisfy- ing the quit-rent and fees charged by the governor was £29, 4s. 7d. A final patent was granted under Gov. Fletcher, Oct. 5, 1694, in which the former boundaries of the town were al- tered and established as follows : "being bounded on the west by a river called and known by the name Cold Spring, a line running south from the said Cold Spring to the South Sea, and on the north by the Sound that runs between our said Island of Nassau and the main continent, and on the east by a line running from the west side of a pond called and known by the name of Freshpond to the west side of Whit- man's dale or hollow, and from thence to a river on the south side of a neck called Sampawams, and from the said river run- ning to the said South Sea." In this patent Joseph Bayly, Thomas Wicks, Jonas Wood, John Wood, John Wicks, Thom- as Brush, and John Adams were constituted and "ordained" Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the town of Huntington. This patent cost the town £56, 18s. 3d. of which the Governor and his associates pocketed £50. The spirit with which the people of Huntington entered 136 TOWN 0\T HUNTINGTON. the great conflict for American Liberty is shown by the fol- lowing resolutions, which were passed at a general town meet* ing held June 21, 1774= ; Israel Wood, presiding. " 1st. That every freeman's property is absolutely his own, and no man has a right to take it from him without his con- sent, expressed either by himself or his representative. " "2d. That therefore, all taxes and duties imposed on Hia Majesty's subjects in the American Colonies by the authority of Parliament, are wholly unconstitutional, and a plain viola- tion of the most essential rights of British subjects." ' ' 3d. That the Act of Parliament lately passed for shutting up the port of Boston, or any other means or device, under color of law, to compel them, or any other of His Majesty's American subjects, to submit to Parliamentary taxations, are subversive of their just and constitutional liberty." ' ' 4th. That we are of opinion that our brethren of Boston are now suffering in the common cause of British America." "5th. That therefore it is the indispensable duty of all the colonies to unite in some effectual measures for the repeal of said Act, and every other Act of Parliament whereby they are taxed for raising a revenue." "6th. That it is the opinion of this meeting that the most effectual means for obtaining a speedy repeal of said Actsj will be to break off all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, Ireland, and the English West India colonies. " " 7th. And we hereby declare ourselves ready to enter into these, or such other measures, as shall be agreed upon by a General Congress of all the colonies ; and we recommend to the General Congress, to take such measures as shall be most effectual, to prevent such goods as are at present in America, from being raised to an extravagant price. " "And, lastly, we appoint Col. Piatt Conklin, John Sloss Hobart, Esq. , and Thos. Wicks, a committee for this town, to act in conjunction with the committees of the other towns in the county, to correspond with the committee of N. Y." The town plot, where the first settlement was made, was what is now the eastern part of the village of Huntington. This was divided into "house lots" and distributed among the inhabitants to be occupied and improved by them individually, while the remaining lands were held and used in common. TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 137 As the population increased the remaining lands were pur- chased of the natives, either by individuals or the Trustees in their corporate capacity, and allotments of land were made at different times to the original purchasers in proportion to the various amounts each had contributed to the expense of satis- fying Indian claims and the quit-rents and patent fees of the governors. Jan. 27, 1872, the people at a special town meeting voted to divide this town and form a separate one of the southern part. A petition to this effect was presented to the legislature, and March 3d, an Act was passed constituting that portion of the former town of Huntington lying south of a line one mile north of the Long Island railroad as the town of Babylon, and leaving the northern part to continue as the town of Hunt- ington. The Board of Trustees of the Freeholders and Com- monalty established first by the patent of 1688 and confirmed by the subsequent one of 1694, was abolished by an Act of the legislature passed May 3, 1872, and their powers and duties were vested in the Supervisor, Assessors, and Town Clerk. The town of Huntington as it now is, occupies the north- west corner of the county. It contains about forty-six thou- sand acres, more than one half of which is improved and di- vided into beautiful farms. The northern part and some of the interior is hilly, and the surface generally is elevated, but large tracts of rich level plain stretch "far and wide" in differ- ent parts. Farming is the chief industry of the people. The inhabitants are thinly scattered over nearly the whole surface of the town. The population would probably vary but little from seven thousand. The northern part of the town is thrown into irregular 138 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. necks and projections of land by counter irregularities of water, which form a labyrinth of bays, harbors and coves upon the north shore. Lloyd's Neck, once called Horse Neck, and by the Indians Caumsett, is a peninsula about three miles in length by one and a half to two in width, its length being parallel with the island, lying opposite the northwest corner of the town and at that extreme point connected to it by a narrow isthmus. It was supposed by the settlers to whom the In- dians granted the tract of land known as the "Old Purchase" that this tract of land was embraced in that grant, but it ap- pears the Indians did not so understand it, for in 1654, the fol- lowing year, they sold it again to three men living in Oyster- bay. In after years when it became necessary to fix the limits of the towns more definitely, the town of Oysterbay though geographically disconnected from it, claimed it as belonging to that jurisdiction on the ground that its owners had resided there. This claim was supported by the colonial legislature who in 1691 sanctioned the annexation of it to that town, and the arrangement is still maintained. Eaton's Neck, a ragged shaped body of land almost sur- rounded by water, lies something more than a mile to the east of Lloyd's Neck, and is joined to the island by a narrow sand beach extending from its southeastern extremity to near the eastern border of the town. Huntington Bay is the space of water lying between the two "necks" just noticed, and is the connecting link between the Sound and the several bays and harbors which lie within the enclosure which they form. From this bay, Lloyd's Harbor is a narrow body of water extending westward about three miles to the isthmus that connects that neck to the island. TOWN OP HUNTINGTON. 139 From Huntington Bay, Huntington Harbor opens southwardly about two miles. Behind Eaton's Neck, Northport Bay ex- tends eastward from Huntington Bay. South from this Cen- terport and Northport Harbors project inland. Little Neck is a peninsula lying between these two harbors. East Neck is that body of land situated between Oenterport and Hunting- ton Harbors, and West Neck occupies the space between the latter and Cold Spring Harbor. Cold Spring is a village of seven hundred and thirty inhabi- tants, in the extreme northwest part of this town, and of course occupying the same relative position in the county. A part of the suburbs lie beyond the line, in Queens County, but the principal part, and the business centre is within this town. The greater part of the village is scattered along the east side of Cold Spring Harbor for a distance of more than two miles, being near its head, and about four miles from the Sound. The road upon which most of the village is located follows a rather serpentine course along the shore of the har- bor, at the foot of a rugged succession of timbered hills. From near the middle of this, another street runs east, up the slope through a recess in the hills. The continuation of this street extends over to Huntington, two miles' east of here. The Indian name for this locality was Nachaquatuck, and the name of the harbor Wauwepex. The scenery around this har- bor is full of romance, wild and beautiful. Dark wooded hills rise on every side, and here and there homely cottages or lordly mansions find quiet hiding places between them. A smart stream of water, rising a few miles inland flows into the head of Cold Spring Harbor. This stream supplies three ponds, which follow each other in immediate succession, 140 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. furnishing power for driving a grist-mill which stands at the head of navigation on the harbor. The water is conducted to this mill by a canal from the lower pond, a distance of about a quarter of a mile. The upper pond is ' devoted to trout culture, and a large woolen factory now silent, was once in operation upon the second one. On the west side of the stream and harbor, several other factories were once busy, being supplied with water from springs in the hills above them. Just below the dam of the lower mill-pond, noticed above, and near the head of tide water is a curious and valuable spring of fresh, cold water, whose ever gurgling flow appears strongly impregnated with iron, and perhaps some other min- eral substances. The waters of this spring are believed to contain valuable medicinal properties, and instances are not wanting in which invalids, reduced to alarming extremes, have been greatly benefitted and even restored to health by drink- ing of it. We conscientiously believe that its recuperative effects upon the human system may be felt from even a single draught. This conviction is based upon our own experience. At the close of a day spent in fatiguing labor, when limbs were tired with walking — fingers tired with writing — brain tired with thinking — lungs tired with talking, — and the whole body well nigh wearied out, we stepped within the octagonal summer-house which encloses this fountain of health and drank of its waters,— and felt revived and strengthened — almost prepared for another round of toil. The water has a slight peculiarity in its taste, but not an unpleasant one, how- ever. The pebble stones and pieces of wood washed by it are thickly coated with a brownish deposit, somewhat resembling TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 1-11 iron rust. Near this remarkable spring is another whose waters are charged with sulphur; and still another, sending forth the pure element, as it gushed from the rock that Moses smote before the murmuring Israelites, in the bleak wilderness of Horeb. One of the principal features of this place is its shipping. About thirty-five schooners and large sloops §ail from this port. " It was at one time largely interested in the whale fish- ery. During the prosperous days of that enterprise, about thirty years ago, nine or ten vessels belonging to this port were engaged in the business. Over on the west side of the harbor near its head is a small settlement containing the sail- lofts, storage houses and cooperages which were built to accommodate the business. The enterprise here, as almost everywhere else is now about extinct, only its footprints being left to remind us of its faded grandeur. Marine railways, lumber and coal yards are located near the head of navigation on the east side of the harbor. Jones' Dock is about a mile and a half below, at the very northernmost extremity of the village. A steamboat plies daily between this and New York City, touching also at Laurelton Dock on the opposite side of the harbor and at Lloyd's Dock, two miles below, near the isthmus which connects Lloyd's Neck with the land of this town. The Wauwepek Hotel, a handsome building designed for the accommodation of summer boarders and pleasurists stood upon a grassy mound among the romantic hills near Jones Dock. This hotel was destroyed by fire on the morning of Nov. 2, 1872 ; loss estimated at thirty thousand dollars. The natural beauty of the scenery which surrounds this spot, and 142 TOWN* OF HUNTINGTON. its retirement, together with the convenience of approach attracts to it during the summer time flocks of excursionists and picnickers who come from the crowded city by special steamboats or other means, to pass a few pleasant hours in the cool retreat of these shaded hills. Several handsome country residences standing among the "everlasting hills" on the opposite side of the harbor may be seen from this point. Upon an irregular peninsula which projects into theliarbor from the lower part of the village site the business of demol- ishing condemned ships is carried on to a large extent. Some large ocean steamships are towed in here and "wrecked" for the purpose of saving the old material which they contain. The branch railroad which leaves the Long Island road at Hicksville runs about two miles south of this village, but the nearest station on that line is opposite Huntington, four miles southeast of here, or at Syosset four and a half miles south- west. It would be reasonable to suppose that a station on the railroad opposite this place would have been established, as it is evident the interests of the Company would have been augmented by such a measure as well as the accommodation of the people here more perfectly provided for. But when we become more familiar with the manner in which railroad enterprises are managed in Suffolk County, we shall learn that the Long Island Railroad "Company " has a policy of its own, which, to say the least is peculiar, and whose directions are not always to be anticipated by the suggestions of reason. The omission of a stopping place at a point near Cold Spring appears to be consistent with the general management of things under this railroad administration. We will mention an item which as we understand it, has a close connection TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 143 with this circumstance and out of which grew the "little matter " that gave rise to it. When the branch from Hicks- ville was completed as far as Syosset a few wealthy men of this neighborhood, belonging to the Jones family, undertook the enterprise of continuing the road to Cold Spring. After the investment of a ruinous amount of capital in grading the road clear to the village, a disagreement arose between the "Joneses " and the Long Island "Company " about the termi- nus, and the result appears that the latter determined to have nothing more to do with the proposed extension, so when the branch was continued to Huntington and Northport it left Syosset by a more inland route and the village of Cold Spring was ignored. The extension thus graded and abandoned approaches the village along the west side of the stream and mill-ponds. It is in order here to say that the Jones family have de- scended from some of the early settlers of this neighborhood, and still retain the ownership of a large part of the real estate and business enterprises of the place, which have been handed down through successive members of the family for many generations. Not only in wealth but in political, judicial and literary standing the representatives of this family have held enviable positions. The village contains, besides the enterprises already noticed, a hotel, four or five stores, three churches, and " last but not least," a handsome new two-story school house. This was built in 1870, and stands in the eastern part of the village, on the Huntington road. A Methodist church, erected in 1812, and a Baptist church erected in 1845, are upon the same street, nearer the harbor. These are both of moderate di- 144 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. mensions but neat appearance. St. Thomas' Episcopal church, a handsome specimen of architecture stands at the west end of the lower mill-dam, a few rods west of the line of the town. The extensive brick yards of Charles H. Jones, and F. M. Crossman are upon the eastern shore of the harbor two miles below the village of Cold Spring and near the connecting point of Lloyd's Neck. Lloyd's Neck, belonging to Oyster Bay town, contains about three thousand acres of good land. It fell into the possession of James Lloyd of Boston in 1679, and from him received its name. It has extensive beds of fine white clay and yellow ochre. During the revolution the British erected a fort upon it and cut and removed nearly a hundred thou- sand cords of wood from it. Huntington, two miles east of Cold Spring, is the principal village of this town. By the last census it contains two thou- sand four hundred and thirty-three inhabitants. The main centre of the village is about one mile above or south of Huntington Harbor, and about a mile and a half north of the station bearing its name, on the North Side railroad. It is built on a comparatively level step lying between the marshes at the head of tide water and the elevated plain which is reached by a gentle slope of nearly three miles in length. In the vicinity of the railroad station we find but few evi- dences of civilization or improvement except a hotel, some cultivated fields and a few farm houses. The pleasant street which runs down the slope to the village is called New York Avenue and it strikes Main Street at about right angles near TOWN OP HUNTINGTON. 145 the business centre. The average course of this street is east and west, and upon it most of the business concerns of the village are located. Around, over, and between these gentle hills that beautify the eastern suburbs of the village proper, the road winds eastward, then northward with many graceful curves for a mile and a half, till it strikes the harbor on its eastern shore. Here are a number of docks upon which the principal merchandise brought to or carried from the village is landed. Quite a settlement is distributed along the shore upon the road, and among the rest are several stores and shops. On the hills a little further down are several handsome residences. Regular sailing packets run between this place and New York City. A ferry between here and Norwalk Conn., was established in 1764 by Jonathan Titus to whom the trustees of the town granted the monopoly of the enterprise for the consideration of sixteen pounds a year. How long this arrangement existed we are not able to say, but it was discontinued many years ago. The progress of commercial enterprise is seriously embarrassed by the de- ficiency of water in this harbor. The "prospects are bright- ening " however in these progressive days, for congress last May (1872) appropriated twenty-two thousand, five hundred dollars, for the purpose of improving the harbor by digging out the mud. Brown Brothers' Pottery, located among the settlement on the east side of the harbor is one of the interesting features of the place. Its origin is ancient, some part of the establish- ment having been running since the pre-revolutionary period — so says tradition. The buildings in which the business is carried on are not in a shape to be easily described but they 14:6 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. probably embrace some seven or eight thousand square feet of floor room, for the most part being two floors in height. The Brown Brothers' manufacture a great variety of "stone " and earthen ware such as jugs, jars, butter-pots, pie platters, sauce pans, flower pots, hanging baskets &c. Six or eight men are kept at work, two wagons are all the time traveling up and down the island, and during the busy seasons of spring and autumn sloops are chartered, loaded with goods and sent away to different ports along the Connecticut shore as well as other places. The process of making the specialties of this establishment is very simple, yet could be much better described by the hands of the potter with the clay, than with pen and ink upon paper. The first thing, however, to be done is to mix and temper the clay. For the different articles different qualities of material are used and for most of the articles clay from different mines have to be mixed together. This mixing is done in a huge bin. The clay is then placed in the tempering machine, which is an upright iron cylinder with an arrangement inside which being turned by horse power grinds up the clay and squeezes it out through holes about two inches in diameter, near the bottom of the mill. Inside these holes a fine wire sieve is placed so as to keep back any sticks or small stones that may be in the clay. * The doughy mass is then stowed away in a damp cellar where it will keep for weeks without losing its temper, and from which it is taken as it is needed for use. Nearly all the kinds of ware made here are turned on a sort of lathe." This is simply a disk, say a foot or more in diameter, made of two inch plank, and fastened in a horizontal position on the end of a spindle which is kept whirling around by a foot treadle. On the TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 147 centre of tins disk a lump of clay is placed, and as it spins round the hands of the skilled workman are pressed against it from outside and inside so as to draw it up to the desired shape. In making jugs the handle is made separate and stuck on after the jug is finished. Some of the ware is cast in moulds of plaster Paris. This process is more tedious and consequently about twice as expensive. After the ware is formed and sufficiently dried to allow it to be handled with safety it is stacked up in large ovens or kilns, to be baked. These kilns, of which there are two here, are made of brick, of circular form, ten or twelve feet across them and six to eight feet high and arched over the top. When they are filled a hot fire is started in a pit below, and the heat and flames pass up through the mass of ware until it becomes of a white heat. The glazing on the outside of stone ware is produced by throwing salt into the kiln while the heat is greatest. This baking process consumes three hundred cords of wood per annum. The Pottery is located immediately on the shore and a dock is connected wi th it, so sloops can float up to the premises to land wood or load with ware. Returning to the business centre we find a number of large stores, two hotels, a steam planing mill and the usual assort- ment of mechanic shops and dealers in specialties, as well as the representatives of the professions. A thimble factory was established here in 1837, by E. C. Prime, and it is still in operation. Several spacious buildings in this vicinity are devoted to business purposes. Among them are Adams' Block, Lockitt, Eaton & Co's Block, Empire Block, and Euter- pean Hall. Huntington Assembly Rooms is a hall for public entertainments on the second floor of Lockitt Eaton & Co's 148 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. Block, and the second floor of Euterpean Hall is devoted to like purposes. The former is located on the corner of Wall Street which leads down to the west side of the harbor. Near the foot of this street is a high bank of sand fronting the road-side, and it was in honor of this bank that the street was named after the great money centre of New York. East of the compact business portions the habitations of the farming population are scattered among the hills, over a large surface of country. In this neighborhood was the old ; f'town spot," where the original settlers "pitched their tents." Upon one of these beautiful hills stands the First Presbyterian church, the lineal snccessor of the first church established within the limits of this town. Its history is the connecting link that completes the chain by which the pres- ent is bound to the early days of more than two hundred years ago. As such it is worthy of our notice. The first settlement in the town was made about the year 1653, and the first church organization is supposed to have been formed about the year 1658. The foundation for this supposition is the -fact that in that year a minister was first employed here. Before any house of worship had been erected the supposi- tion is natural that religious services were held in a school house. The first church edifice was built in the year 1665, in the valley near the site of Prime's thimble factory, a short distance west of the present church. As the members of the congregation began to increase, it become necessary about twenty years after to enlarge and repair it. The church organization which occupied this building was of the Congre- gational order until the year 1748, when it came under the jurisdiction of the Suffolk Presbytery, in which connection it TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 149 has ever since remained. In 1715 the old church having served for half a century was honorably discharged and the frame of a new one raised in its place. It appears the " Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town " held domin- ion over the church property as well as every thing else of a public character. In 1717 they sold the old church for five pounds. The site of the old church did not agree with the wishes of the congregation and all concerned, so the new frame which had been raised there was taken down and moved to the top of the hill, where being completed it remained in service until the Island fell into the hands of the British at the commencement of the revolution. By them the house was stripped of its inside equipments and used for military purposes. The bell which had been an object of admiration and pride was carried away, broken and afterwards returned. The church itself was finally torn down by the same wanton hands and the timber used in the construction of barracks for the soldiers quartered in the place. Directly after peace had been established again, in 1784 the present church was erected on the site of the demolished one. Though thus ancient, this noble edifice, well preserved as it is, seems in appearance not far behind the times, and if no unlooked for calamity befalls it, generations yet to come may worship within its time honored walls. This church property is now valued at sixteen thousand dollars. The first minister of the gospel settled over this primitive church was the Bev. William Leverich, one of the early settlers and patentees of the town. He is described as a man of superior talent and education, a native of England and a graduate of Cambridge University. He came to America in 150 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 1633 and arrived at Salem, Mass., Oct. 10th. For many years his time was occupied in preaching both to the white settlers and among the Indians in different parts of Massachusestts. In 1658 he was established in the position which brought him to our notice, as the first minister of the first church of Hunt- ington. In April 1669 he left his charge here and removed to Newtown. In 1676, after the church had been without a minister some seven years, the Rev. Eliphalet Jones was engaged and contin- ued here through the remainder of his life, though in his declining years he was relieved by an assistant. His labors here continued for more than half a century, and he died at a ripe old age somewhere about the year 1731. He was followed by Bev. Ebenezer Prime, a native of Milford Conn., and graduate of Yale College, who had been employed as assistant to Mr. Jones in 1719 and installed as colleague in 1723. The church organization at that time consisted of forty-one males and twenty-seven females. Mr. Prime was the progenitor of an illustrious family whose representatives of the present day occupy conspicuous positions among the citizens of this village or in the literary circles of the world . He spent his life among this congregation. It fell to his lot to be at the head of this church and about closing his long and useful life during the tribulous times of the revolution. After hav- ing seen his church desecrated and his own house taken possession of, and its contents mutilated or destroyed by the hand of a hostile stranger, Mr. Prime was gathered to the fathers in the autumn of 1779 while the invader was still making havoc upon his property and upon the scanty rewards of honest toil. TOWN OF HUNTTNGNON. 151 Among the hills, about half way from the Harbor to the eastern part of the village, stands the St. John's Episcopal church, a handsome structure built in 1862, at a cost of near ten thousand dollars. On the same site an Episcopal church, was built sometime between the years 1750 and '60, and in 1767 placed in charge of Rev. James Greaton. His death which took place about six years afterward, caused a vacancy which was scarcely filled in half a century. Near this is a neat little African Methodist church estab- lished here over thirty years ago, and valued now at about fifteen hundred dollars. The building was originally in- tended for a school house and has been enlarged and im- proved. The first Methodist Episcopal church in this village was built in 1825. In 1864 it was succeeded by a new one which stands on the Main Street a little west of the business part of the village. This church, with the lot on which it stands is estimated to be worth ten thousand dollars. The Baptist church erected in 1869, at a cost of about six thousand dollars, stands in the southwestern part of the vil- lage, not far from the Methodist. On the south side of Main Street a little east of the com- mercial centre stands the Second Presbyterian church, a noble building placed here in 1865, at a cost of sixteen thou- sand dollars. The belfry of this church contains the town clock, whose sonorous tones remind us every hour of the Preacher's words, that there is "a time to everj purpose under the heaven." In 1837 a Universalist church was built on Main Street, near the north end of Burying Hill, a short distance east of 152 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON". the Second Presbyterian site. In 1870 a new one was built on a site a little off Main Street on New York Avenue. This is a handsome and commodious edifice, of the Gothic order, and cost nine thousand five hundred dollars. The Eoman Catholic church stands on Main Street in the western suburbs of the village, and is among if not abso- lutely the largest church edifice in the place. It is built of brick, after the modern style of church architecture, and cost about eighteen thousand dollars. It was erected in 1867, and it occupies a beautiful site, on rising ground ,in the quiet borders of the village. A short distance west of this, the road rises a hill, from the top of which a good view of the village and its surroundings can be had. This road being the continuation of Main Street, leads west to Cold Spring about two miles. Huntington may well boast of its churches. Of the eight churches we have noticed, six have been built within the last ten years, and according to the estimates of value which we have received on them, we find that sixty-nine thousand five hundred dollars have been appropriated within the time men- tioned to the purpose of church building in this village. Within sight of the business centre of the village, a little to the east, and just past the Second Presbyterian church #is the old " Burying Hill," a mound rising from the street, and containing four or five acres. This spot is to the people of Huntington sacred soil, for in its bosom sleeps the ashes of their fathers of many generations. Treading the rank sod that covers this congregation of the dead, we seem to breathe the atmosphere of two centuries ago. The blue water of yonder harbor sparkles in the sunlight of to-day " just as of TOWN OF HUNTINGTON, 153 old," and the summer breeze sings through these cedar tops the same strain it hummed in the ears of mourning friends who came here two hundred years ago, to deposit the earthly remains of departed loved ones beneath the soil of a wilder- ness and a strange land. During the latter part of the revolutionary war an earth- work fortification covering some two acres was thrown up in the centre of this burying ground, ana the timber of the demolished church used here in the construction of bar- racks. The graves were leveled down and :he tomb-stones used in the construction of rude ovens and fire-places for temporary use. Many of them were broken, and some bear at the present day the marks of British and brut- ish violence. The leader under whose direction these acts of insult to the graves and memories of the inno- cent dead were committed was one Benjamin Thompson, a Massachusetts Tory, who had command over about five hun- dred British soldiers quartered here. The people of the town, when they learned of Thompson's intention to erect a fort in their grave-yard petitioned him to spare them the sight of such sacrilege, but their protests were in vain. In addition to the uncalled for outrage already noticed, Dr. Prime in his history adds : — "It would seem that during the whole war, no stone was left unturned to annoy the persons and injure the property of the inhabitants. Their orchards were cut down, their fences burned, and the scanty crops which they were able to raise under these embarrassments, were often seized by lawless force for the use of the soldiers, or recklessly destroyed to gratify their malice. The aged pastor of the congregation, while he lived, was peculiarly 154 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. obnoxious, on account of his known patriotic views and feel- ings. When the troops first entered the town, the officers housed their horses in the pastor's stable, and littered them with sheaves of unthreshed wheat, while they cursed the ' old rebel,' as they were pleased to call him. They then took possession of his hot se, for their quarters, breaking the furni- ture, which they did not need, tearing leaves out of his most valuable books, or entirely destroying one volume of a set, as if to render them valueless, without taking the trouble to destroy the whole. " The cutting down of orchards and tearing up or burning of fences, and seizing of crop's are acts which though appar- ently outrageous in the abstract, may be viewed in a light to appear comparatively excusable when looked upon as meas- ures of war, but the malicious destruction of private property of really small value to any one else than the owner, and out- rages upon the feelings of the living and the graves of the deed, such as we have noticed, are exhibitions of refined dfjvilishness for which the pretext of war is no excuse. The ''aged pastor" in the above quotation was the Eev. Eben- ezer Prime, grand-sire of the historian, of whom we have already spoken. His death occurred while the British troops occupied the town, but before the fortifications had been thrown up in the burying ground. His grave was enclosed by the intrenchment, and the brave commander, who led such a brilliant charge upon an army of grave-stones pitched his tent near by it, so he could have the pleasure of walking over it whenever his patriotic feelings prompted him to do so. From this silent congregation, where we seem to hold con- verse with spirits of the past, about two minutes walk brings TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 155 lis back to the village centre, where the embodied spirits of the present are mingling in the busy scenes of every day life. Just south of the village, and about half way up the slope which leads to the railroad station is the Rural Cemetery of Huntington. This is beautifully laid off and ornamented, and occupies a hill-side to the right as you go up from the village. An arch over the gateway bears upon it in characters which "he that runneth may read," the solemn and impressive reminder, " The Hour Cometh.'" The general beauty of this cemetery, and the completeness of its arrangements, is not second to any other like institution in the county. It con- tains a great number and variety of handsome and costly monuments. The association to which it belongs was organ- ized March 10, 1851, and at first purchased ten acres of ground of the estate of Abel K. Conklin. A few years later four acres more were added, so the plot now contains fourteen acres, from which some three or four hundred burial plots have been sold. In the eastern part of the village, on the opposite side of the street from the First Presbyterian church, and upon the summit of the same beautiful hill, stands the institution to which perhaps above all others the people of Huntington point with honorable pride — the Huntington Union School. Upon this site an academy was erected in 1794, which served its "day and generation " with average success, until it was removed to make room for the present building. This was erected in the summer of 1858, and that year, in November the school was opened. The average attendance at the com- mencement was about three hundred. The building was enlarged in 1870, and its present dimensions are fifty- three by 156 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. seventy-five feet on the ground. It is a frame building of three high stories and contains ten large rooms besides a number of recitation rooms, cloak rooms, hall and library. The first floor is occupied by the Primary and Secondary departments ; the second floor by the Intermediate depart- ment and Grammar school, and the third floor by the High school. This has a cabinet of chemical apparatus and a library of eight hundred and seventy volumes besides an encyclopedia of forty volumes. The course of study pursued in the school is arranged to be completed by an attendance of twelve years ; the pupil entering at the age of five and gradu- ating at seventeen years of age. Since 1862, when the first class graduated, seventy-one pupils of this school have com- pleted the course with honors. The average attendance of scholars now is nearly five hundred. The school employs twelve teachers, including the Principal, and their united salaries amount to six thousand and fifty dollars per annum. The present value of the building and its appur- tenances is about twenty thousand dollars. The institution enjoys the proceeds of a legacy bequeathed in 1841 by the Hon. Nathaniel Potter for educational purposes. The origi- nal sum of endowment was seven thousand four hundred dollars, one half of which, by a stipulation in the will, should remain at interest till the amount should reach ten thousand dollars, which time arrived but a few years since. A similar sum was in like manner left by the same benevolent individ- ual for the benefit of the First Presbyterian church. The town poor formerly occupied a comfortable house and a small farm near the village. About twelve years ago the site was exchanged for one at Long Swamp. TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 157 The Huntington Mutual Fire Insurance Co. was organized April 2d, 1838, by charter of the legislature for twenty years. March 14th, 1857, the charter was amended and extended for twenty years longer. Its risks are confined mostly to this town, and those only on isolated property. The present amount of risks is $197,596, and its assets $17,947. The company has met with no losses since 1864. A Fire Engine and Hook and Ladder Company combined was organized here in 1843, under the general state law. About the year 1860 it was reorganized under a special law. It has about forty members. Jephtha Lodge of Free Masons is a flourishing institution, numbering upwards of a hundred members. It was instituted June 21st, 1860, since which time three other lodges have been organized from its territory and membership. A newspaper called the American Eagle was started here in 1821, by Samuel A. Seabury. In 1825 its name was changed to The Long Island Journal of Philosophy and Cabinet of Va- riety. Under this name it was issued monthly by Samuel Fleet. In 1827 it was changed to The Portico, and in 1829 discontinued altogether. The Long Islander was started in July, 1838, by W. Whitman. It is a seven column folio, pub- lished every Friday by G. H. Shepard. The Suffolk Bidlelin was started by David C. Brush in 1847 under the name Suffolk Democrat In 1859 it was removed to Babylon where it was published by Charles Jayne. In 1865 it returned to Hunting- ton and was issued under its present name, and edited by Charles B. Street. It is a n^at looking eight column paper, containing the general and local news, at $2.00 per annum. The North Side Herald was started in September, 1872, by 158 TOWN OF HUNTIOGTON. Wm. L. Cook & Co. It has recently been removed to Islip. West Neck lies northwest from this village. It is an exten- sive tract of rich rolling farm-land. It is thinly settled and contains a number of splendid farms. Down the road which opens through it in a northwest direction from Huntington a good round three miles brings you to the west side of Cold Spring Harbor where brick-making is extensively carried on by Charles F. Jones and F. M. Crossman. These two firms employ about one hundred hands in the business, and manu- facture say fifteen to twenty million bricks a year. Their works are located on the harbor near the isthmus which con- nects Lloyd's Neck with West Neck. Eckerson's Brick Works are located in a rich mine of clay of superior quality, on the shore of Huntington Bay and among the hills of East Neck, two miles northeast from this village. Centreport is a cozy retreat among the hills about three miles east of the village of Huntington. Its location is at the head of Centreport Harbor, known in olden times as Little Cow Harbor. From Green Lawn, which is the railroad station representing this village we follow the road down, down, down about one and a half miles of sand hill, twisting this way and turning that, passing here and there a dwelling, till the landscape view unfolds to us one of the prettiest little sheets of water to be found upon the borders of the island. This road by which we approach from the station continues down the west side of the harbor, and it is on this road that most of the habitations are located. These dwelling sites are pleasant ones, overlooking TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 159 as they do the harbor and the hills of Little Neck which rise on its eastern shore. The harbor varies in width from a quarter to half a mile, and its inland extremity is nearly two miles distant from its confluence with Newport Bay. Though perhaps not one of the best for commercial purposes it is a handsome sheet of water, and surrounded as it is by these lovely hills which make the beauty of the landscape, we see no reason why it should not go forward with the march of time, and become a popular and attractive summer resort for our city neighbors, who wish to rusticate among the northern hills of Long Island. Nearly half a mile of the upper end of the harbor is divided from that below by an artificial dam across it, and upon this dam a grist-mill is located. Power for running this mill is furnished by the action of the tide. In a green valley in the southwest part of the village is another mill-site on the dam of a fresh water pond which is supplied from springs in the adjacent hills. Just below the tide mill dam is a dock, where vessels of three hundred tons capacity may come. A packet sloop makes one or two trips a week between here and New York. Immense quantities of manure are brought from New York by vessel and landed here for the farmers of the neighbor- hood. There are two stores in this part of the village and another over in the southeast border. The population of Centreport is about two hundred and fifty. There are two small churches in the place; both Methodist, of different sects. One of these stands on the west side of the harbor in the heart of the village, and the other a littlo 160 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. distance from the southeastern shore, half a mile or more apart. Near the latter, which is on the road to Northport, we come upon the most refreshing evidence of civilization the place affords. This is a handsome school-house, standing in a pleasant grove of cedar trees. It was built last winter and is of comfortable dimensions. This building is neatly finish- ed up and painted, furnished all round with nice green window blinds and surmounted with an observatory. Keeping the road eastward from this village as it winds among the hills across the head of Little Neck, about a mile brings us within sight of the village of Northport with its ro- mantic surroundings. The road from which we gain this de- lightful prospect of water, hills and village, passes over the mounds which skirt the southwestern extremity of Northport Harbor which in olden times was burdened with the uncouth name of Great Cow Harbor. Another mile brings us round to the village, which lies upon the eastern shore. Among the first indications that we are approaching an inhabited centre we pass a christian burying-ground occupying a hill on our right. Half a mile south, or southeast from here, but not within sight of this road is another — the village cemetary. A little further on we pass a small grist-mill standing on the left, which is something of a curiosity in its way. The driv- ing wheel of this mill is an overshot, about five feet wide and twenty five feet in diameter. It receives water by a wooden tube about a foot in diameter, which runs over the highway from a pond upon the top of a hill several rods to the right. The supply of water being limited the mill can only be run six or seven hours a day. From here the road leads along a steep side hill thirty TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 161 to fifty feet above the base which skirts high water mark, and along the outside of this road there is nothing to protect a person or animal from stepping, stumbling, plunging, or in any other way being precipitated down the wild precipice. Here and there the face of the declivity is covered with trees and brambles. To us it seems remarkable that in the time of some freshet this narrow step is not washed away and torn by running water so as to be made impassable. On the har- bor below us are numberless fleets of small boats, some intend- ed for business and others for pleasure. On the rising ground above U3 pleasant sited dwellings are thinly scattered along the road-side till we come into the heart of the village. The Northport House, is to the traveler at the close of day one of the most interesting features of the place. The road by which we have entered leads directly up in front of it. Here is the focal point of the village. Wharves, ship-yards, lumber-yards, stores and mechanic shops are huddled in live- ly confusion about this point. Main Street starts here and runs up a moderately inclined plane, eastward, and upon the first half mile of it most of the business concerns of the vil- lage are located. Bay View Avenue runs north from the cen- tral point mentioned above, and its course lies from ten to twenty rods from the shore, and elevated fifty feet more or less above the level of the water. On both sides it is lined with neat looking dwellings for a distance of three fourths of a mile. It is appropriately named. It is like a grand balco- ny from almost any point of which we can look over the whole harbor with its shipping and its scores of little pleas- ure boats skimming hither and thither upon the face of the smooth water. The bluffs of Eaton's Neck in the northern 162 TOWN OP HUNTINGTON. distance, and the hills and valleys of Little Neck across to the west add variety and beauty to the scene. Northport is without question the most flourishing village in this town. In fact it is hardly surpassed in its rapid growth by any other village on the north side of the county. Forty years ago the place only contained eight dwellings. Now it has three ship-yards, two hotels, six or eight general stores, dealers in specialties of dry goods, drugs and medi- cines, millinery, boots and shoes, saddlery, paints and oils, lumber, etc., a good representation of the professions and trades, and a population by the last census of one thousand and sixty. It has a district school, numbering one hundred and forty pupils, and employing two teachers. The present building stands on Main Street and though of apparently comfortable size is considered too small for the purpose, and the question of supplying its place with a new one is being discussed. The enterprise of this village has quite recently been directed to the matter of church building. Within the year past a new Methodist Episcopal church has been com- pleted. This is a large handsome building, standing on the Main Street near the school, and on the same lot on which stands the old church of the same denomination. The walls of the old church are of brick, and the structure was erected about the year 1833. A short distance further up the street stands a small church erected a few years ago and occupied by a society of New School Presbyterians. A much larger edifice is now in process of erection by the united Presbyte- rian society. Its location is on the same lot. Northport has a flonrisliing Lodge of Free Masons, num- bering about forty members. It has only been instituted a TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 163 few years, its original members having withdrawn from the Lodge at Huntington. A Division of the Sons of Temper- ance meets every week. They number one hundred and thirty-two members. Ship-building is carried on to considerable extent here. There are five sets of marine railways, and three ship-yards and from these, barks, as large as six or seven hundred tons capacity are launched. Great quantities of manure are brought from New York and landed at the docks for the farmers of the back region. A packet sloop plies between here and New York. Large quantities of clams, oysters and eels are taken from the flats and beds of this harbor. These bivalve fisheries give employment to a great many people, and no doubt they have had a large influence in building up tLe place. The oysters of this harbor are among the finest in the world. Over on the west side of the harbor, a short distance from its mouth is a valuable bed of clay and sand owned and worked by the Northport Fire Clay and Sand Co., of which Mr. Israel Carll is the chief partner and manager. The different materials found in this bank are used for a variety of purposes. First the clay, which is the most valuable, and of a very fine quality, is used for making fire-brick, linings for stoves, heaters, furnaces &c, and mixed with other mate- rials it is used for flower pots and various other kinds of pottery. A. very fine sand from these banks is used in the manufacture of French China ware. This sand as it comes from the deposit is of a bluish color and as fine as flour, but after being exposed to great heat in the potter's kiln it be- comes a pearly white, and is used in facing or glazing the 164: TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. ware. The clay is sold at $4 a ton and the other materials at from $1 to $2 a ton, delivered on board of vessels here. The mine lies in convenient proximity to the shore of the harbor, and a dock is connected with it where vessels can lay along- side to load. Its products are sent to all parts of the country, from Maine to Virginia. This bed covers more or less of the area of fifty acres, and in some places it is thirty to forty feet deep. Fifteen to twenty men and ten horses are kept at work, here and twelve to fifteen thousand tons of clay and sand are shipped annually. This property is now valued at $50,000. About six years ago it was bought by the present proprietors for a little more than $14,000. On the eastern shore of Northport Bay, a mile or more north of the village the beach sand is of such a sharp gritty nature that it is valuable to stone cutters, and is much used by them for sawing, dressing, and polishing marble. For these purposes about 10,000 tons per annum are shipped from here by Mr. Albert Arthur who has the management of the enterprise. Northport Station, at the terminus of the Northport Branch Kailroad, lies upon the plain level, about one and a half miles southeast of the village, and two miles from the junction of the Smithtown & Port Jefferson railroad Avith this branch. Vernon Valley is a pleasant little farming district contain- ing perhaps one hundred and fifty inhabitants located about two miles east of North port, to which it is a sort of tributary. It was formerly called Bed Hook. It contains a Presbyterian church and a school. The church was built here in 1829, having been removed from Fresh Pond its former site. One and a half miles northeast of this is the hamlet of TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 165 Fresh Pond, lying on the sound shore, in the northeast cor- ner of this town and extending partly into Smithtown. It takes its name from a body of water which puts in from the sound on the line between the towns. It has a store and a post-office. Two extensive brick yards are located upon the sound shore at this place. These are the Long Island Brick Yards, and the works of Provost Brothers. The latter use steam power for tempering the clay and moulding the brick. Just west of here Crab Meadow is a marshy region drained by a creek which empties into the sound. In this vicinity are about a dozen farm houses. Eaton's Neck lies between Northport Bay and the sound. It is connected with the eastern part of the town by a narrow sand beach two miles long. The Neck contains about 2,000 acres, one half of which is owned by Cornelius De Lamater, a wealthy iron founder of New York. He has a fine country seat here and indulges to considerable extent in stock raising. A bed of moulding sand is found in the central part of the Neck, from which supplies of sand are taken for use in the foundry of the owner. The remaining portion of the Neck is occupied by six or eight farmers. The soil is good. Upon the extreme northern point stands a light house, built in 1798 at a cost of $9,750. It was re-fitted in 1857 and has a fixed light which is visible seventeen miles distant. The tower is fifty-six feet high and it stands upon elevated ground which makes the light one hundred and thirty-feet above the sea level. Green Lawn is a rail-road station on the Northport Branch two miles and a half east of Huntington Station. It is a 166 TOWN OP HUNTINGTON. pleasant locality, on the elevated plain, and consists of a hotel, two stores, a "Real Estate Exchange," a blacksmith shop, and about a dozen houses, with several hundred acres of rich farming land. From this neighborhood the hills of the interior present a fine landscape view. About a mile south from here is a little rural vicinity called Cuba, and a mile and a half further still and bearing a little eastward is a scattered settlement of farmers lately named Elwood. The population and dwellings are so scattered over a •greater part of this town [Huntington] that it is a difficult matter to decide just where one village or hamlet leaves off and the next one commences. To the best of our knowledge and ability, however, we will fix the territorial dimensions of Elwood at two miles square. This is occupied by thirty dwellings and inhabitants in proportion. Within its limits are a school and a Methodist church. A steam grist-mill was started here a few years ago, but has been removed for want of support. Adjoining Elwood on the northeast is another district of similar characteristics and proportions, and the description of one will answer very well in a general way for the other. This is known by the name of Clay Pitts or the modernized Nynonyms of Genola and Fair View. Which of the two names will be the eccepted one is to be decided by time. We think the latter is perfectly appropriate but the former looks more like a name. This place is located about three miles north of Comae and not far from the same distance southeast from Northport It occupies a part of the ' ' Eastern Purchase " which is here TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. / 167 divided into quite regular parallelograms by avenues crossing each other at right angles at disdances of half to three fourths of a mile apart. It lies on the eastern border of the tow clen. A large proportion of the land in this section is cleared and divided into well regulated and productive farms. The roads all through here are fenced with the old-fashioned "Virginia" rail fences — a good style where timber is plenty, as it is here. The soil is good, and the roads are level, smooth and hard — just right for good driving and hauling heavy loads. West Hills, located about six miles inland from Cold Spring, is a vicinity of about thirty houses scattered among the broken hills which occupy the western part of this township. Among these hills We find the highest ground upon the island. From their summits beautiful prospects of the sound, the ocean, and distant parts of the island are pre- sented. Jayne's Hill, also known .as Oakley's Hill, and locally as " the high hill," one of this group, is three hundred and fifty-four feet above tide water in the sound. This is the highest point of land on Long Island. Though the soil here is comparatively sandy, "numerous springs have their origin in these hills, that send forth unfailing streams, which after running a considerable distance, form ponds that are evaporated by the sun or disappear in the sand." A small Methodist church which stands on the " turnpike," or middle country road, was built in 1844. A neat school-house was erected in 1871, upon the site of a former one which had been burned down a short time before. This settlement has the honor of having been the birth- place and home of the Hon. Silas "Wood, the first historian of IG8 TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. Long Island, to whose researches later writers are much indebted for items concerning the settlement and early con- dition of the different towns. Mellville, formerly called Sweet Hollow, is a pleasant rural village of about forty dwellings, located a mile further south, in a more open but rolling section of country. It contains a store, a Presbyterian church erected in 1829, and a neat school-house erected during the summer of 1872. In its postal relations it is tributary to Farmingdale, rive miles south-west, and just beyond the limits of the county. The village Ceme- tery, an unincorporated institution, occupies a beautiful hill near the Presbyterian church and contains about one acre of ground which is tastefully ornamented and arranged. An arch over the gateway displays the suggestive words, "Life, how short." A Methodist church, located on the road to Farmingdale, about two miles from here, was erected in 1845. This is in the southwest corner of the town. Half Hollows, a scattered neighborhood located among the hills, on the southern border of this town and about four miles southeast of Mellville, consists of about twenty houses and a district school : also two brick yards which are noticed elsewhere. Long Swamp is a locality surrounded by hills, near the geographical centre of this town, lying between the West Hills and Dix Hills, about two miles from either. This is the site of an ancient tavern which stood on the old "post road." The Huntington town poor house was located here for several years previous to the abolishment of that institution in the different towns of this county. TOWN OF HUNTINGTON. 169 Dix Hills, on the same road, and about six miles south of Centreport is a vicinage of perhaps twenty houses. Comae, (sometimes spelled Commack, and formerly called Winne-Comack*) is a pleasant cross-road village, situated in the eastern part of the town on the middle country road, or Smithtown turnpike, and partly within the bounds of Smith- town. It is an ancient settlement, and is located in the midst of a rich agricultural district. The surface is level, or slight- ly rolling, and the soil heavy, and nearly every acre improved and under a high state of cultivation. The village contains two hundred and fifty inhabitants, two churches, two schools, two stores, two hotels, a post-office, and the celebrated horse training establishment of Carll Burr. A Congregational church originally placed here in 1831, by a sect of Methodists called Stilwellites, stands in the southern part, on the road to Deer Park. It was moved here from Centreport where it had been built several years before. The first Methodist church erected in Suffolk County, and the second one on the island, stands near the centre of the village. It was erected in 1789, and rebuilt in 1838. * The Winnecomock Patent we find occasionally mentioned in the records and documents, but have been unable to leai-n its exact location or size. A patent ia supposed to have been given for it by Lord Cornbury in 1703, whether original or confirmatory does not appear. CHAPTER IX. TOWN OP BABYLON — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The towA of Babylon was formed from the southern part of Huntington, by an Act of the Legislature, passed March 3, 1872. It lies in the southwest corner of the county, and com- prises a territory of rather more than six miles square. It is bounded on the west by the town of Oyster Bay, in Queens county ; on the north by Huntington ; on the east by Islip ; and south by the Great South Bay, or perhaps more properly the Atlantic Ocean. The bay opposite this town is shoal, and contains a great number of islands, the most of which are cov- ered with salt grass. The largest is Cedar Island. That part ot Oak Island Beach, and as many of these islands as lie with- in the range of the lines of the town belong to it. The south side is divided into several "necks," by a number of creeks and small streams which empty into the bay. Mills are located upon three of these streams. The surface is in some parts slightly undulating, but for the most comparatively level. The south "country road," which runs at an average distance of about one mile from the bay, and parallel with the average course of the shore, is inhabited all along, and also forms the principal street in the two large villages through which it passes. The central and northen parts are mostly covered with * 'scrnb-oaks. " The Long Island Railroad runs parallel with the north line of the town and about one mile from it. The South Side Railroad runs through the southern part, four miles from the other. TOWN OF BABYLON. 171 The lands included within the bounds of this town were purchased of the Indians, in small parcels, at different times, from the year 1657 to the year 1705, and were included in the different Huntington patents from the colonial governors. In a few instances purchases were made by individuals on their own behalf, but most of the lands were bought by per- sons deputized for the purpose by the people of the town, [Huntington] who then held the lands in common, or divided them among individual members of the miniature colony as occasion demanded. The western part was occupied by the Marsapeague Indians, and the eastern part by the Secatogues. The first purchases consisted only of meadow lands along the shore of the bay, and from this fact we infer that no settle- ment on the south side was made previous to the year 1689, when the first purchases of upland were made. The present limits of the town of Babylon comprise about twenty-five thousand acres, and it contains a population of about four thousand five hundred. This town is probably increasing more rapidly in population and improve- ments, in proportion to its size, than any other town in the county. It has received large installments of population and enterprise from the city, and is a popular rendezvous for sporting men and pleasurists during the summer. Deer Park is a station on the Long Island Railroad in the northeast part. It contains one store, a district school, and about a dozen houses. About half a mile southeast of here Edward Freeld Esq. has a farm of nine hundred acres. Up- on this place are spacious buildings. A trout pond has been established upon a stream which rises in this neighborhood and flows to the bay through the western suburbs of Babylon 172 TOWN OF BABYLON. village. The country seat of August Belmont is upon this stream, just below the one noticed. In the lower part of Half Hollows, about two miles north- west from Deer Park, and near the north line of the town, are the brick yards of Walker & Conklin, and W. H. & E. A. Bartlett. The first employs ten to twelve hands, and make about a million bricks a year. The second make from six to seven hundred thousand, during the season. Both use horse power for grinding and tempering, and are in operation only during the summer. The site of these yards is on a marshy plain, at the base of high, steep hills. A little brook runs through the premises, supplying the necessary water, and beds of clay and sand are found in convenient proximity. Bricks from these yards are shipped to distant points by way of the Long Island Railroad, from a switch on the line oppo- site, and about half a mile from them. Amityville, a handsome village of six hundred inhabitants, lies mostly upon West Neck, in the extreme southwest corner of the town. It contains five stores, a few mechanic shops, two hotels, and several neat looking residences. The village comprises two almost distinct settlements, located about half a mile apart, the upper one upon the South Side Railroad, and the lower one upon the turnpike, or south country road. A nice, large, two story school house completed during the past season, [1872] stands about midway between the two settlements. The school contains about one hundred and fif- ty scholars. A pleasant oak grove on the road a little below the station is used for picnics, celebrations and other out- door meetings. The Revere House, built in 1870 is a hand- some hotel, surmounted by a Mansard roof, and stands TOWN OF BABYLON. 173 near the railroad depot. This part of the village is building up very rapidly. In the upper part the Methodists have a chapel, which is under the care of the church in the lower village. The lower settlement, upon the turnpike, is the original village site. This was formerly called Huntington South. An ancient saw and grist mill is located upon a stream in the eastern part. A trout pond is being arranged upon this stream. The creek into which it empties is navigable for small sail-boats, a short distance up. The South Side Hotel, a colossal building, intended for the accommodation of sum- mer boarders, stands in a pleasant locality in the centre of the villlage. A Methodist Episcopal church was established here at an early date. A second building was erected in 1845, on a site a short distance west of the South Side Hotel, near the resi- dence of Woodhull Skidmore, Esq. Some four or five years ago it was moved to its present site on the road leading to the R. R. Station, and enlarged to its present accommodating capacity. From this village east, six miles to Babylon, the "turn- pike " is a pleasant drive, through a continuous though scat- tered settlement of residences and farm-houses. On this route we pass over the "necks" Copiag, Neguntatogue and Santepogue, besides a number of others whose Indian names we have not learned. A little south of the geographical centre of this town, and in the midst of the wild scrubby plain, stands the fairy city of Breslau, a living, speaking monument of what enterprise can do towards taming the dreary wilderness even upon the 174 TOWN OF BABYLON. slandered soil of Long Island. Less than four years ago the whole tract upon which this settlement is being built was an unbroken sea of scrub-oaks, with scarce a footprint of civili- zation to relieve the solitary monotony which met the gaze as far as the eye could reach. Here the foxes and the rabbits and the wild> birds found a happy retreat, where they were seldom molested by the intrusions of mankind. But a wave or two of the progressive element that pervades the nine- teenth century has washed over this spot, and transformed the dreary waste into a beautiful village site. While as yet not half the ground is cleared of the "grubs " which covered the face of it, spacious avenues have been opened and the foundations of a German city planted here. It already has a number of large, handsome buildings, a population of about 1,200, with churches, schools, hotels, factories, workshops, breweries, lager beer saloons, gin-shops, and all the other usual accessories of a civilized, progressive community. The tract upon which Breslau is located covers an area of nearly two miles square, and was first made ready for settle- ment by laying out avenues and building-lots upon it in 1869. The initial part of it was owned by Thomas Welwood, the founder of the settlement. In dividing it up into building lots, open squares were reserved here and there for churches, schools, cemeteries, parks and similar public purposes. Near the centre a large triangular piece is intended for the loca- tion of a city hall and court-house whenever such a building shall become necessary. The principal streets are one hun- dred to one hundred and sixty-six feet wide, and the less important ones from fifty to eighty feet. The principal ave- nues are laid out on courses diverging from the central part TOWN OF BABYLON. 175 of the tract in different directions. The surface here is almost a perfect level, making a beautiful site to build a vil- lage or city upon, and the soil is just a suitable mixture to urnish a foundation for smooth, hard roads. The inauguration of this settlement was celebrated with great festivities, on the 6th of June, 1870. On this occasion thousands of people from the city, who contemplated pur- chasing lots here, visited the premises and made their selections. Up to the close of that day about eight thousand city lots had been sold. Improvements began to be made immediately after that, and buildings were soon in process of erection. The settlement now contains about two hundred houses which are scattered here and there over the tract. The South Side Railroad runs through, near the centre of it and a depot and post-office have been established upon this. Nearly all the buildings are wooden ones, of .good size and neat appearance, many of them three stories high, and some really elegant in style and finish. They are almost invariably fashioned after the city plan ; with fiat roofs, and showy fronts, which are set on the line of the street, and the whole building shaped to correspond with the shape of the lot on which it stands. A three story building, with a city finished front, and plate-glass windows, towering up in the very midst of a groundwork of lusty scrub-oaks, is a picture in which the characters of city and country are strangely and curiously blended, but such a picture is no uncommon thing to meet with here. The settlers of this village are mostly Germans, who, though the most of them appear to be familiar with English, still prefer to use their native language in their conversations 176 TOWN OF BABYLON. among themselves, as well as in their schools. Three churches have been erected in the settlement, a Roman Cath- olic in the southern part, a Baptist in the eastern part, and a Protestant Reformed near the centre. These are all hand- some edifices of medium size, though the latter is considera- bly in advance of the average, both in respect to size and elegance of finish. Near the last is a small two story build- ing, originally erected and used as a depot on the railroad, but afterwards moved to its present site, about a quarter of a mile north of the track, and fitted up for a school. The building is too small for the purpose, and a new one will shortly be erected. The number of children to be educated in this district is estimated at two hundred and sixty. Two large hotels are located near the railroad dejoot. These are Gleste's on the south side of the track, and Nehring's on the north side. About a quarter of a mile east of the depot, and a little south of the track, a large brick building has been erected and fitted up by the Breslau Manufacturing Company for the manufacture of picture-frames and a variety of orna- ments altogether too numerous to specify. All these articles are made of vulcanized wood. This substance is composed of common saw-dust and wood-fibre in chemical combination, first rendered to a pulp, then moulded, and afterward pressed dry under powerful presses which are run by steam. The wood-fibre used here is imported from Germany, and is sim- ply wood, ground up very fine. The articles thus manufac- tured have the appearance of nicely carved wood, and seem to be fully as strong and as durable as the wood in its natural state. The great advantage gained by this method of work- ing wood is the ease and perfection with which the material TOWN OF BABYLON. 177 may be fashioned into any desired shape or design, however complicated it may be. The process was patented in Janu- ary, 1869, by Dr. F. E. Marquart, the Superintendent of the factory and President of the Company. This manufacturing enterprise was first started at Newburyport, Mass. , but the Superintendent thinks Breslau a far preferable site for the purpose. Owing to its nearness to the great centre, New York, and other advantages enjoyed here, he claims the busi- ness of manufacturing can be carried on here, twenty per cent, cheaper than at the former place. The building in which the work is carried on is thirty-four by one hundred and ten feet on the ground, and three stories high. The works were set in operation in August, 1872, and at present about thirty hands are employed, which number will proba- bly be increased as the business becomes established. Besides this, several other manufacturing enterprises are about being established in the place. Babylon, the most important village of this town, lies in the very southeast corner, upon a neck of land called by the Indians Sampowans, Sampaoms, Sumpwams, or Sunquams, bounded on the east by a brook of the same name, which also forms the boundary line between this town and Islip. The village is rapidly increasing, not only in population and business, but in all those improvements which culture and refinement are wont to suggest, or wealth can procure. It contains many delightful country residences of men whose business is in the city, or of the retired possessors of inde- pendent fortunes. The eastern suburbs of the village extend beyond the line of the town a short distance into Islip, and in this vicinity are a number of elegantly fitted-up establish- 178 TOWN OF BABYLON. ments. The Episcopal church, called Christ's church, erected in 1870 in this locality, is one of the finest specimens of church architecture to be seen in a " day's journey." The principal part of Babylon is built upon two streets, which cross each other nearly at right angles. These are the Main Street which runs east and west, and Placide Avenue north and south. The village contains four large general stores, besides a number of others devoted to drugs and medicines, groceries, boots and shoes, clothing and other specialties. It has four churches, and five large hotels. The annual influx of summer visitors from the cities constitutes one of the most important sources of the life and prosperity of the village and its business. The hotels, which are sup- ported principally by this periodical tide of migration, are the Washington, the American, the Sumpwams House, the La Grange House, and the Watson House. Of these the Watson House, beautifully located on Placide Avenue is one of the largest, and in its various appointments probably with- out a rival, the finest hotel on Long Island. In size it is one hundred and thirteen feet on the front, by forty-seven feet deep, three stories high, with a cupola twenty feet square. The parlors are elegantly fitted up with rich furniture, and the dining room capable of seating two hundred persons. The sleeping rooms are eighteen feet square, with ceilings twelve feet high. The house is lighted by a two hundred light auto- matic gas machine on the premises. Lawns, gardens, croquet and cricket grounds, occupy about eight acres sur- rounding the house. Besides the local attractions which Babylon has for city visitors, it is the connecting point between railroad and steam- TOWN OF BABYLON. 179 boat communication on the route from New York to the pop- ular seaside resort, Fire Island, A horse car line runs from the railroad depot in the upper part of the village, down Pla- cide Avenue to the steamboat dock, a distance of about one and a half miles. Thousands of visitors annually pass over this route, on their way to and from Fire Island. Babylon de- pot, on the South Side Railroad is thirty-five miles from Brooklyn. The village contains, by the census of 1870 a pop- ulation of twelve hundred and twenty-five. A fine stream of water, sometimes called Great River, which rises near Deer Park, about four miles north of here, flows down the west side of the "neck" upon which the principal part of the village is located. In its course this stream supplies several trout ponds and also furnishes several mill sites, the last one of which is upon the Main street of this village, and is occupied by a paper mill. The others are located along the stream from one to three miles north of here. Another grist- mill is located in the eastern part, upon Sampowans Rivfer. The palatial country residence and extensive pleasure grounds of Mr. E. B. Litchfield adjoin the Great River on the west. Blythbourne Lake is a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by these grounds and supplied by this stream, upon which art has lavished many improvements. Just beyond this is a thinly settled neighborhood called West Babylon, containing some good farms. Nehring's Park is a large and beautiful grove of oaks, in this vicinity, and one mile west of the village. This is fitted up with dancing platforms and other conveniences for the accommodation of pleasure parties, and during the summer season is frequently visited by pic-nics and excursions from Breslau, or New York 180 TOWN OF BABYLON. by the way of that place. Fox's Grove is a similar institution on Placide Avenue just below the railroad. A continuation of this avenue north of the railroad runs to Deer Park Station on the Long Island Railroad, four miles north of here, and from this circumstance it is called Dear Park avenue. This is settled nearly all the way up, and a number of elegant resi- dences are scattered along within a mile or two of Babylon. The Babylon Nursery of P. H. Foster is upon this road. The Baptist church of this village, a very neat edifice re- cently completed, and dedicated Oct. 15, 1872, stands in the west part, on the corner of Main Street and Oarll Avenue. It cost about $10,000. The names of Mrs. S. A. Bertine and Mr. E. B. Litchfield are prominent among its generous patrons. A handsome pipe-organ, valued at $1,000 was pre- sented by the Strong Place Baptist church of Brooklyn. This denomination has been established here but a few years, and previous to the erection of the new church occupied the small chapel which now adjoins it. A small Presbyterian church was built here in 1730. This stood in the eastern part of the village, until during the revo- lution, when in 1778 the British soldiers pulled it down and carried its materials to Hempstead, where they were used in the construction of barracks. In 1784, after peace had been restored, another church was built, which was occupied until 1838, when it was sold and a new and larger one erected in its stead. History preserves the name of David Thompson, Esq. of New York as the donor of a bell belonging to this church. A new and magnificent church was erected on the same lot in 1870, at a cost of $12,000. This stands in the heart of the village, and contains the town clock. It has a TOWN OF BABYLON. 181 large pipe organ which cost $2,000. The old church still occupies its original site, and is used as a lecture room and "church parlor." The first Methodist Episcopal church in this village was erected in 1840. It is now used by that society as a Sunday- school and lecture room, and stands on a by-street in the rear of the present church. This is a handsome building, of good size and was erected in 1859. Its site is upon Placide Avenue, in the upper part. Babylon Cemetery lies a short distance north of the rail- road, in the rear of several house lots which front on the west side of Deer Park Ave. It adjoins an old burying ground of about one acre, which contains several graves removed hither from the ancient burial plot in the village, which once occu- pied a part of the Presbyterian church yard. The Cemetery was first started as a sort of individual enterprise, in Jan. 1858. Several years after, it was placed in the hands of an association and enlarged. It now contains six acres, and about two hundred lots have been sold from it. The site is level and clear of trees. The District school of Babylon numbers about two hundred scholars, and is accommodated in a commodious two story building which stands in the upper part. Sampawans Lodge, I. O. O. F. was instituted in 1847, and numbers about 75 members. The Suffolk Democrat was moved to this village from Hunt- ington in 1859, and continued here until its return to its native village in 1885. While here it was published by Charles Jayne, assisted in the editorial deiDartmerft by Johu 11. Pveid, 182 TOWN OF BABYLON. The South Side Signal, one of the largest, and the most successful weekly newspaper in Suffolk County, was started here in 1869, by Henry Livingston, under whose manage- ment it still enjoys a prosperous existence. The paper is printed on a power press, driven by steam ; both of which improved facilities for newspaper printing Mr. Livingston was the first to introduce in the county. A large tract of unimproved land, situated upon and near the Deer Park road, about two and a half miles north of this village, has recently been surveyed into small building lots and offered for sale in the New York market, with a view to promoting settlement. It is designated as Suburban property of Babylon, and judging by the weekly reports of deeds re- corded, the lots are being rapidly taken up. If but a small proportion of the purchasers become actual settlers within a short time, we shall soon see a smart village rising up here that may well rival its neighbor Breslau. The location of this new field of improvements has the advantage of being be- tween two railroads ; the Long Island road one and a half miles to the north, and the South Side road two and a half miles to the south. These lots, 25x90 feet in size are sold at the very reasonable price of $7 each. By a recent numbering of the inhabitants, the village of Babylon, including its tributary suburbs which extend about two miles in either direction from the village centre, contains a population of 2,078. A continuation of the Central Railroad from Farmingdale to this place, which has recently been completed, adds another link of communication between this village and the busy world. CHAPTER X. THE TOWN OP SMITHTOWN — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The township of Smithtown, formerly called Smithfield, comprises a territory of nearly ten miles square, lying on the north side of the island, and bounded on the north by the Sound ; east by Brookhaven ; south by Islip, and west by Huntington. The surface is elevated and rolling, and along the northern part hilly. The soil is mostly of an excellent quality ; well adapted to grass and grain farming, which is the principal occupation of the people. Fruit growing is also made a subject of considerable attention, with encourag- ing and profitable results. The Sound makes a gentle indentation upon the north side of this town, which is called Smithtown Harbor. Nissaquague, or Nesaquake Eiver rises on the southern border, and taking a circuitous course flows across the town near the middle and empties into the • Sound. The land lying east of this river, as far as " a certain runn of water called Stony Brook," which forms the line of Brook- haven, was given to Lyon Gardiner of Gardiner's Island, by a deed from Wyandanch, Grand Sachem of Long Island, dated July 14, 1659 . This grant was made in consideration of the favor Mr. Gardiner had done the Sachem, in rescuing his only daughter from a captivity among the Narragansefc Indians. In 1662 the Nesaquake Indians, who occupied this territory, confirmed the transaction ; and in 1663 the tract was sold by Mr. Gardiner to Richard Smith, one of the earlv 184 TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. settlers of Brookhaven . A patent of confirmation was given to Mr. Smith by Gov. Nicolls, March 3, 1665. Soon after this, Mr. Smith purchased an additional tract lying from the Nesaquake Kiver westward. This purchase was made of the Nesaquake Indians, and a patent from the Governor was obtained March 25, 1667, which was supposed to cover this and the former tract, though strange to say it appears to have contained no definition of the western boundary of the premi- ses confirmed by it. It will be remembered that in 1656, the people of Huntington purchased of the Matinecock Indians a tract of land extending from Great Cow Harbor to Nesa- quake River, which of course covered the ground last purchased by Mr. Smith. This occasioned a lengthy and bit- ter controversy which resulted in the establishment of Mr. Smith's claim, and the setting of the boundary where it still remains. A final patent for the land of this town was granted under Gov. Andros, March 25, 1677, in which the boundaries are defined substantially as they remain at the present day. The quit-rent required by this patent was the payment an- nually of ' ' one good fait lamb unto such officer or officers as shall be empowered to receive the same. " The division line between the town of Smithtown and Brookhaven was for some time a matter of controversy, but was established by compromise March 7, 1725. The item is preserved both in history and tradition, that the said Richard Smith was in the habit of using a large bull as a substitute for a horse, and in consequence of this custom was popularly designated as the "bull-rider," and his descend- ants to the present day are known as the Bull Smiths, which title is used to distinguish them from the other families of the TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. 185 saine name, which are designated as the Tangier Smiths, the Blwi Smiths, and the Rock Smiths. There is also a tradition that when he made the second purchase, described above, he agreed with the Indians that for a consideration (which we have not learned) he was to have all the land he could ride around in a day, and that, mounted upon his favorite bull he charged over hill and plain, through brush or bramble, and actually surveyed the lines of his purchase. This tradition may or may not be truthful : we have no unquestionable authority for it. It is probable that Mr. Smith commenced improvement upon his large estate here soon after the date of his first pur- chase, but the settlement evidently did not increase much for several years. A condition in the patent of 1665 required that ten families should be settled upon the tract within three years. It was constituted as a township by the patent of 1677, but the inhabitants do not appear to have been recog- nized in the character of a town until the meeting of the first colonial assembly in 1683. This early proprietor of the town died about the close of the seventeenth century, leaving a greater part of his original possessions to be divided among his seven children, which was done a few years afterward. When the war-clouds of the Kevolution were lowering, the people of Smithtown expressed their patriotism in resolutions similar to those adopted by the people of Huntington ; and at a meeting held August 9, 1774, voted that "Sol. Smith, Dan'l Smith, and Thos. Tredwell be a committee fully em- powered, in conjunction with the committees of the other towns, to choose delegates to represent this county at the General Congress, and to do all that shall be necessary in 186 TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. defence of our just rights and liberties against the unconstitu- tional attacks of the British Ministry and Parliament." Fresh Pond is a hamlet in the northwestern part, on tha line between this town and Huntington, and in the neighbor- hood of a pond once called by the Indians Unshemamuck. Cowamok is an Indian name of the locality. The entire Ac- tion of the town lying west of the Nesaquake River is but thinly populated, and large tracts of it are still covered with forest growth. Middleville or Sunk Meadow is a neighborhood of perhaps twenty farm-houses located near the Sound, about two miles east of the Huntington line. It was called by the Indians Slongo. Fort Slongo, located near this place was built by the British during the revolution. It was captured and destroyed Oct. 3, 1781, by Col. Tallmadge with a party of one hundred and fifty Continental troops. St. Jolinland, located in this section of the town, is a charitable institution under the minagement and patronage of the Episcopal church, or perhaps more properly its benev- olent individual members, and connected in a measure with St. Luke's Hospital, in New York. In its design the benevo- lent enterprise started here a few years since, as a sort of experiment which has thus far proved encouragingly success- ful, embraces a variety of objects, among which are the care ami education of crippled and destitute children, the training of boys and girls for the active duties of life, and the estab- lishment of a home for disabled, indigent or friendless old msn. Another object, in which direction but little has as yet been dene is the accommodation of poor industrious families TOWN OF SMIIHTOWN. 187 with cheap and comfortable homes in which they could con- tinue their accustomed employment for support, hut of course the arrangements in this particular were not' expected to cover many different branches of industry. To use the words of its projector, "the purpose was, by the establish- ment of one industrial Christian colony, to show what might be done for the relief of a large portion of our Protestant working population, by the multiplication of such colonies within a moderate distance of the city." This institution, or combination of institutions, occupies a farm of four hundred acres on the Sound shore, about five miles east of Northporfc and four miles north of Head of the Eiver, Smithtown. The farm was purchased in the latter part of the year 1865 at a cost of $14,000, and suitable buildings for the accommoda- tion of the various purposes in view have as circumstances permitted been fitted up or erected upon it. We take the liberty here to make a few extracts from a pamphlet contain- ing an account of St. Johnland, kindly furnished us by the founder of the enterprise, the Kev. Dr. W. A. Muhlenberg. These extracts will explain the objects and operations of its managers. " This place is, throughout, beautifully diversified with hiU and plain, with meadow and wood, and has numerous eligible sites for the various institutions expected to make part of the colony. For St. Johnland, though designed to be a whole in its social, moral, and religious relations, is not limited to a single charity, or two or three affiliated ones, but meant to be a wide Christian foundation, offering in its broad acres ample space and healthful, enjoyable, country surroundings, not only to the clustered cottages of its tenant families, but for the school, the infirmary, the asylum, the college, or what- ever else of benevolent or useful Christian character which the benefactions of its friends may enable the Trustees to undertake." 188 TOWN OF SMTTHTOWN. "Agricultural labors did not enter into the pictured plans of the Avork ; but with so many prospective mouths to feed, so much available land could not be allowed to lie fallow. What was possible in the way of agriculture and still more of gardening was attended to, and the returns have been reasonably satisfactory. " " In the first year of occupancy three cottages were built and tenanted, and the commencement made of the ficst industrial business of the place, that of the printing-office, or Orphan Boys' Press, now the Stereotype Foundry. This was the work of Mr. J. J. Golder, the intelligent and faithful Superintendent of the whole place from the beginning until the year 1869, when he confined himself to the management of the branch of business mentioned. For this, fortunately, he was qualified by his previous profession, which at pecun- iary disadvantage, he resigned to take charge of the commencement of the enterprise." "The Stereotype Foundry. The main object of this is to afford deserving orphan or destitute boys, and lame or infirm youth of either sex, the opportunity of learning type-setting, and the art of printing generally, as a means of future self- support. As many of the cripp'ed boys and girls as are able are engaged in the composiug-rooms a limited number of hours, allowing a portion of the day for School, and another for recreation. The beneficence of this provision is obvious, supplying a Christian home and suitable education, with training to remunerative employment, to those who might otherwise drag out their days as cumberers of the ground or burdens upon their neighbors. * * * * The buildings in which the business is carried on were erected for the pur- pose mainly by funds derived from the late Mr. F. F. Randolph, one of the earliest friends of the enterprise. The printing-office, so called, consists of two large composing- rooms, the one for boys, the other for girls, with side rooms for finishers, etc. In the rear is the Foundry for moulding and casting. * * * * That this our first organized in- dustry is so far a success may be inferred from the fact that several prominent city publishers have supplied us with work, the execution of which gave them entire satisfaction." ' ' The Home for Crippled Children is a substantial two- story ^ house of fifty feet by thirty feet, with a wing of the same 'dimensions, standing in an apple orchard and looking to the south. It has three dormitories and other bed-rooms, a large dining-room, Sisters' apartments, kitchens, etc. ; and, TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. 189 by dint of some crowding, and the use of a double cottage near by as a sleeping place for the older boys has accommo- dated a family of fifty. " ' ' The crippled children are of both sexes, and of all ages from four to sixteen. They live together, under their Sister 'House-Mother,' as nearly like natural brothers and sisters as can well be, with plenty of home liberty, out-of-door fiej- dom, and all other accessories of health and youthful enjoyment. They all attend school for a longer or shorter time daily, according to their age and physical condition, and are considerately and tenderly nurtured, as only the adopted little ones of a home of Christian love could be." "The funds necessary for the initiation of this charity — a sum of $7,500, the entire cost of the erection of the house and its appurtenances — were spontaneously given by Mrs. C. L. Spencer and Miss Catherine Wolfe ; and $1,000 towards the furnishing was contributed by Mrs. Aldrich." "It is proposed to provide for the maintenance of these children by means of patrons, paying one hundred dollars yearly for any child they may choose so far to adopt." "St. John's Inn, or the Old Man's Home, is the most extensive structure in the place, consisting of a centre build- ing, forty feet by seventy feet, with a building, thirty -five feet by thirty-two feet, on either side, connected with it by en- closed piazzas, the whole presenting a handsome front of one hundred and fifty feet. The main house is divided into fine commodious rooms on the upper floor, and consists below of a large general refectory, a Superintendent's room, kitchen, linen-room, and other offices. The wings on either side are the principal quarters of the old men. It was in considera- tion of their convenience, and for greater safety in the con- tingency of fire, that the Inn was planned in detached and two-storied houses, instead of one large and consolidated mansion, as might have been done for the twenty-five thousand dollars given for the purpose by our chief benefactor, Mr. JohnD. Wolfe." ' ' The general government of the domain is vested in a President and Board of Trustees. Its local authorities are the Pastor, Superintendent, and First Sister, in their respect- ive spheres. A large responsibility devolves upon the First Sister and her associates. They are the chief care-takers of the place, the motherly guardians of the children and youth, the managers of supplies, and of the domestic economy of the settlement generally." 100 TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. An initiation fee of one hundred and fifty dollars each is * required by the institution for the admission of boys or girls to learn the art of type-setting. This sum is expected to be advanced by some friend or patron of the youth so admitted. Besides the different institutions which the place contains that are noticed in the foregoing extracts there are also the Boys House, the "Mansion," the School, a number of cot- tages, and a handsome church. This, called the "Church of the Testimony " was built three years ago, by the liberality of Mr. Adam Norrie. The dimensions of the building are sev- enty-five by thirty feet. Two of the cottages were built at the expense of Mr. John Caswell, and another by Mr. E. P. Fabbri, and the funds for the erection of the Boys House [a building thirty by thirty-five feet, containing a dormitory, lav- atory, library, social room, &c] were the gift of Mrs Mary Chi- solm. In addition to those already mentioned, the names of E. B. Minturn, W. H. Aspinwall, Percy B. Pyne, J. F. Sheafe, J. H. Swift, Wm. P. Williams, Lorillard Spencer, Mrs Wyman, and Stewart B .own, appear among the most liberal supporters and coDtributors to the enterprise. Dr. Muhlenberg himself has given a fortune, besides his own time and attention, to the building up and establishing of the enterprise. Up to 1870 it appears that over one hundred thousand dollars had been contributed and expended in fitting up and carrying on the various institutions of this place. The motto of St. John- land is taken from the First Epistle of John, III Chapter, 23 verse : " And this is His commandment ; that we should be- lieve on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment." A scattered settlement extends along the banks of the TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. 191 Nissequague Eiver, upon either side, from near its mouth to the settlement called Head of the Eiver, about four miles inland. Upon the river are several landing places for scows which transport freight up and down, to and from the place where sloop navigation terminates, near the river's mouth. Comae, on the boundary between this town and Hunting- ton, extends a short distance into the western part upon the middle country road. From that place to Smithtown, Head of the Eiver, a distance of four miles, the road runs through an uninhabited section of sandy wilderness, where we see but few evidences of the improving hand of civilization, except the road itself and now and then a piece of broken down worm fence which once helped to enclose some field now grown over with cedars and brambles. Smithtown, Head of the Eiver, is located at the head of navigation on the Nissequague Eiver at a point where the middle country road crosses said liver, and near the geograph- ical center of the town. It has two stores, a hotel, a grist- mill, a shingle mill, and a superannuated woolen factory, be- sides a representation of the usual mechanical trades found in a country village. A number of nice residences occupy pleasant sites in the vicinity. The mills spoken of are on a pond supplied by two smaller streams which uniting form Nissequague Eiver. Each of these tributaries has a mill upon it a mile above the junction. The one coming from west is the outlet of Willow Pond, so named on account of its having been surrounded with willow trees. The road to Comae crosses this one about a mile west of here. The other branch comet* from a southerly direction, and is the outlet of a pond in the neighborhood called New Mills, formerly Blydenburg's 192 TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. Mills, about a mile away. Each of these two tributary ponds has about twelve feet fall of water, while the main pond at the Head of the River though having a greater supply of water has only six of eight feet fall. The scows used in transporting freight up and down the river, are about twelve feet wide by forty to fifty feet long, and will carry twenty- five to thirty tons, though the river seldom has water enough to allow one to pass with more than half a load. The Smith- town and Port Jefferson Railroad crosses the country road through the heart of the village, over an iron bridge some forty feet high and several hundred feet long, which also passes over the river and adjoining flats. About half a mile east of here the railroad curves northward again and re-crosses the country road between this and its sister village the Branch. Smithtown depot is located at the crossing. The Head of the River is the seat of Smithtown post-office, and the settlement contains a population of about two hundred. It is an important business center to the inhabitants scat- tered over the adjacent country for two or three miles around. A Methodist Episcopal church is located on the west side oi the river about two miles north of here, in a vicinity of about a dozen houses called the "Landing." It was built some- thing like forty years ago. About twenty houses and two oi three small stores are scattered along the west side of the river below here. Mssequague,. the most ancient settlement in the town, lies upon the east side of the river, near the Sound — or perhaps more properly Smithtown Harbor. This broad vicinage, which is hardly compact enough to be properly called a set- tlement, contains about twenty farm houses scattered ovei TOWN OF SMITH IOWN 193 the neck of land which lies between the river on the west and Stony Brook Harbor on the east. The northeast point of Nissequague Neck, near the entrance to Stony Brook Harbor, was called by the Indians Rassapeague. It is favored by nature with a fine, rich soil, and is divided into large well cultivated farms. It is supposed that this locality was the royal seat and principal headquarters of the Nesaquake In- dians. Near the river was the residence of Richard Smith the patentee of the town. The first church and burial place were also established here at an early period. The precise date when this first church was erected does not appear, but it was probably not many years after the first settlement of the neighborhood. It stood here until 1750 when it was re- moved to the Branch. Several years afterward it was pulled down and its materials used in the construction of a woolen factory at Blydenburg's Mills, which was finally burned down. Smithtown Branch, in the eastern part of the town is a pleasant farming village of about three hundred inhabitants, in the midst of a section of beautiful, level far±n land, on the middle country road. It has a post-oflice, two hotels, a store, two churches, and a handsome large public school endowed by a legacy bequeathed by the late Jonas Smith. A nursery was started here about the year 1840, by Gold Silliman of Flushing. It was abandoned several years ago. The first church of the Presbyterian denomination in this village was moved here from Nissequague in 1750, and remained until the erection of the jDresent one in 1827. The Methodist church, a building of moderate size was erected in 1845, A Roman Catholic church located a mile and a half south of 191 TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. here, on the road to Hauppauge was erected about the year 1843. A Division of Sons of Temperance meets at the Branch, and has a membership of about sixty. Hauppauge is a settlement of about forty houses, extend- ing a distance of three miles or more from east to west, along the road which forms the line between this town and I slip. It is a marshy locality, and numerous springs rise in the neighborhood which form the source of Nissequague River. The village was settled by the Wheeler family, and was at first called the "Wheeler Settlement." It has a post- office, three stores, a school, and a Methodist church erected in 1806. Also, a Division of Sons of Temperance, number- ing forty members. St. James, formerly called Head of the Harbor, is a pleas- ant rural village of thirty houses, located partly upon the level highland, and partly among the rough hills, at the head of Stony Brook Harbor, in the northeast part of the town, about three miles from the Sound. Here are three stores and an "inn." A post-office was established here about ten years ago. The Smithtown and Port Jefferson Railroad runs a little south of the village, and has a depot at this place. The soil of the neighborhood is heavy and fertile, and the people are mostly farmers. An Episcopal church erected about the year 1857 stands in the vicinity, upon the elevated plain. A Methodist church is also in process of erection. This village lies about three miles northeast of the Branch. Smithtown Driving Park is located on the road between these two points. It occupies a beautiful, level field, and is a popu< lar resort for the lovers of "the turf." TOWN OF SMITHTOWN. 195 A mile northeast of St James brings ns to the quiet little hamlet of Mills' Pond, a collection of not more than a dozen houses, on the eastern border of the town. Here we are sur- rounded by extensive orchards of healthy, vigorous looking fruit trees. By the side of a small pond stands the commo- dious mansion of the late Wickham W. Mills, almost hidden among the great mass of ornamental trees which surrounds it. CHAPTER XI. TOWN OF ISLTP — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The town of Islip lies upon the south side of the island, centrally distant from New York about forty-five miles. It is bounded on thcwest by the towns of Babylon and Hunting- ton, on the north by Smithtown and Brookhaven, on the east by Brookhaven, and on the south by the Great South Bay. The town is about eight miles in width, and near sixteen in length from west to east. It contains about seventy thousand acres, and a population of four thousand five hundred and ninety-seven. The Bay opposite most of this town is from four to six miles wide, and contains a number of small islands lying near the outer beach. The water for the most part is shoal. Fire Island Inlet is opposite, near the middle of. the town, and from it several natural channels diverge toward different points. These are navigable for medium sized -ves- sels. The surface of the town is level and the soil good. Along the south shore about sixteen noticeable brooks flow into the Bay. Some of these rise two to six miles inland, and furnish power for driving some machinery, though the flatness of the country forbids their being utilized to much extent in this direction. The Great South Beach opposite this town, as far west as the Conetquot Biver, belongs to Brookhaven town. The historians tell us that settlement by the whites com- menced in this town about the year 1666. In what part of the TOWN OF TSLIP. 197 town such early settlement was made we are unable to learn. The town was first recognized as a corporate body by the colo- nial government November 25th, 1710, and the first town meeting held on the first Tuesday in April, 1720. The first settlers are supposed to have been natives of Islipe, in Oxford- shire, England, which circumstance accounts for the name of the town. The lands west of the Conetquot River were pre- viously occupied by the Secatogue tribe of Indians, and from them were purchased by the whites. The Conetquot River is about six miles west of the east boundary of the town, and the tract of land lying between was purchased of Winnequa- heagh the Sachem of Conetquot, a family or branch of the Secatogue tribe. The first patent for lands within this town was granted to William Nicolls November 29th, 1683. This extended from the mouth of Conetquot River west along the Bay around what is now called Nicoll's Point to Cantasquntah Creek, and north as far as the head of Conetquot River. A second patent was granted to Nicolls November 1st, 1686, confirming the former one and embracing in addition to it that neck of land situate between Cantasquntah Creek and the brook, Wingatt- happagh, which runs down about a mile to the west. This patent extended back as far north as the former one. Feb- ruary 20th, 1697, a third patent was issued to Nicolls, embrac- ing that tract of land lying on the east side of Conetquc - and between it and Namkee Creek, which forms the present east- ern boundary of the town. These three patents covered the larger part of the township, and formed a tract of land nearly ten miles square. For about a century this extensive domain was preserved by entailment in the possession of successive 198 TOWN OF ISLIP. members of the family. After the year 1786, however, sales were begun and have continued from time to time until but a comparatively small portion of it now remains in the hands of the family. March 26th, ' ' in the fourth year of the reign of William and Mary," [1692J Andrew Gibb received a patent for that neck of land lying between Wingatthappagh Brook and Oro- wac Brook, being about a mile in width, and extending back to near the centre of the island. The central part of the present village of Islip is located upon the ground covered by this patent. October 10th, 1695, Gov. Fletcher granted a patent to Thomas and Richard Willets, for a tract of land in the west- ern part of the town, lying between Sampowams Brook on the western boundary, and Oquenock Brook about three miles east. This tract extended from the Bay, northerly, to within three-fourths of a mile of the location of the Long Island Railroad. A patent was issued June 2d, 1697, to Stephanus Cortlandt, for a narrow strip of land lying next east of Willet's patent and terminating on the Bay shore in Saghtekoos Neck, which lies between the brooks Oquenock and Mispatuck, "and by Christians called Appletree Neck." The land between Cortlandt's patent on the west and Gibb's patent on the east was granted to John Moubray, October 19th, 1708. "Five Islands" lying just within the beach opposite this town, the original name of which has been corrupted to Fire Islands, were patented to William Nicolls June 4th, 1688. The fact that several members of the Nicolls family have tOWN OF ISLTP. 199 figured prominently in the history of this town, as well as other parts of the island and state, we consider sufficient apology for turning aside a moment to notice the genealogy and history of the family, as it relates to the subject in hand. Mathias Nicolls, a native of Islipe, in Oxfordshire, England, came over in the expedition fitted out by the Duke of York to take possession of the province of New Netherlands, in 1664. He was a nephew of Col. Richard Nicolls, who commanded the expedition and was appointed first governor of the colon j under English rule. Mathias was constituted a member of the council and secretary of the colony. He subsequently filled other offices of honor and responsibility in the colony. At the time of his death in 1687, he owned several large tracts of land in Queens county which he left to his son William. William Nicolls is supposed by Thompson to have come from England with his father in 1664. At that time he was a boy of about seven years old. Be that as it may he rose in early manhood to a position of prominence in the legal pro- fession; in 1683 having been appointed the first clerk of Queens county, which position he held five years. In the year last mentioned he began making purchases of land which we have already noticed as being now comprehended in the town of Islip. In 1701 he was elected to represent the county of Suffolk in the General Assembly, but not being a resident of the county was not permitted tc hold a seat in that body. In 1702 he fixed his residence at Great Neck, Islip, on what is now the " Deer Range Farm," and the same year was again elected to the Assembly. He was now admitted and further chosen speaker of the house. After that he represented the county in Assembly for twenty successive years, fifteen of 200 TOWN OP TSLTP. which he occupied the position of speaker and was only pre- vented from holding these honorable stations during a longer period by failing health and death. In 1704 Mr. Nicolls came in possession, by the will of Giles Sylvester, of about one- half of Shelter Island. He died in 1723, leaving his large estate at Islip to his second son, William. Benjamin settled at Islip and died young, leaving two sons, William and Benja min. William Nicoll the second, who inherited the property on Shelter Island, was educated a lawyer, and represented Suffolk county in the Assembly from the year 1739 till his death, in the early part of the year 1768. During the last nine years of this period he was regularly chosen speaker of the house. He died a bachelor and his property descended to his brother Benjamin's oldest son, the third William Nicoll, who had also inherited the Islip estate of his father. The second Benjamin removed to New York where having received a liberal education, he engaged in the practice of law. The third William had two sons, William and Benjamin. To the latter he left his estate on Shelter Island and to the for mer, the fourth William, the patents at Islip. William Nicoll the fourth died in 1799, leaving an infant son, the sole heir of his property. This was William Nicoll the fifth, who died in 1823, leaving his estate to his three children. The sixth William Nicoll, the present lineal representative of this ancient family and estate, occupies a large farm on Great Neck, near the head of Cantasquntah Creek, on the land cov- ered by the first patent of 1683. It is not our object here to trace out anything like a bio- grapical or complete genealogical sketch of this illustrious family, but simply to follow the line of descent by which the TOWN OF ISLIP. 201 Nicolls patents have been handed down from the time when the "howling wilderness " covered the face thereof to the present. The shores of this town and the margins of its numerous creeks and brooks abound in wild fowl, and are regularly made popular resorts for sj)ortsmen during the seasons of the year when the desired game is most plenty or the law does not prohibit its being taken. Deer are found upon the plains and in the forests, more frequent than in any other part of the island. Other game is comparatively plentiful. Among the reptiles of this part of the island an occasional rattlesnake still lingers. These are very rare about here, and in most other parts of the island entirely unknown.* The north line of this town runs through the Hauppauge valley, whose numerous springs, noted for their purity and low temperature, supply the sources of the Nissequague River. The hills of the central range rise on the south of this valley, and from their southern slope the gently descend- ing plain stretches away to the south side of the island on an average grade of about twenty feet to the mile. About a * In September, 1801, a reptile was killed in a swamp in this town, which ex- cited considerable curiosity among the people, being of a species unknown here. It was thus described by a New York periodical of the time: — "Its length was seven feet, and of proportional thickness. It was on the belly and sides of a straw color; on the back were thirty-six black spots reaching from the head to the tail, and on each side of this row were other dark brown spots. It had no fangs or biting teeth, and was therefore not venomous. In the lower part of the mouth was a considerable fleshy portion like a tongue, which terminated in a long bicuspidated proiection. It had scuta both on the belly and tail Avhich amounted to about three hundred. From these characters it is evident that it belonged to the genus Bi.a: the number of scuta so exactly corresponding to the species termed constrictor, and is said in India to grow to the length of thirty feet, and to be capable of destroying the largest animals by entwining itself about the body of its victims." 202 TOWN OF ISLIP mile and a half to the south of the ridge of hills, the surface is one hundred feet above tide water. Nearly all the northern part of this township is a wilderness, being in the midst of that great region of central lands long known as the "plains," or "barrens of Long Island." Through this wild region the Long Island Railroad passes. At the time this road was opened, about thirty years ago, this immense tract of unoccupied land was covered with a heavy grewth of tim- ber — yellow pine along the neighborhood of the railroad, oak and chestnut among the hills, and varieties o.f oak on the southern borders. Soon after the opening of the railroad this great forest of timber was almost entirely destroyed, by the axe, and the frequent fires which were kindled by falling cinders thrown from passing locomotives, and by charcoal burners. Vast quantities of wood were converted into char- coal or sent to market as cordwood, and in this way the stately forest was mown down, and the same causes operating ever since have prevented it from rising again to its former magnitude and vigorous luxuriance. The timber-growth, its only valuable product being thus destroyed or stunted, the L.nl soon became overgrown with the native scrub-growth, and was abandoned to neglect and disrepute. About this time attention was called to the subject of cultivating and improving these lands for agricultural purposes, by Dr. Edgar F. Peck, who resided in Smithtown Branch from 1841 to 1847, and who after careful examination of the soil and its productions, claimed that it was not destitute of the supply- ing elements of vegetation, but in its natural condition was of good or fair quality, and capable of being brought to a high state of cultivation by ordinary means. He advocated TOWN OF ISLIP. 203 the settlement of these lands and brought the subject exten- sively before the public. In the various agricultural publica- tions of that period and succeeding years may be found de- scriptions and arguments by Dr. Peck, and others as well, to show that these lands might be brought into successful culti- vation and become the home of a thriving population. In the "Transactions of the American Institute " for the year 1847 may be found a full account of the manner in which these lands were brought before the public, and in the " N. Y. State Agricultural Society's Transactions " for the year 1859 will be seen a report on the "Lands of Long Island," by Win- slow C. Watson, the whole of which is full of interest and worthy of a careful perusal, but we must be content with quoting here the following paragraphs which are more im- mediately connected with the subject in hand. Mr. Watson says : — "More than one careful examination of this district, in reference to its geological structure, agricultural capabilities, and local advantages, have confirmed the original impression, that no natural impediments exist, to the successful culture of these plains. A strange and inscrutable popular delusion seems to prevail very generally on this subject. Hereditary opinions seem to have taken singular possession of the public mind. These opinions have been probably adopted and cherished without reflection, and without examination of facts, which are everywhere disclosed on the island. Histo- rians of Long Island have assumed the same conclusions, and in asserting and diffusing them, have exerted a most injurious influence upon private interests and general progress. So decided have been these views, that until recent intelligent investigation had changed the policy, portions of these lands were deemed so utterly worthless, as not to be considered worthy of being placed on the grand list." "I might distrust the propriety of a stranger meddling with this local question, were it not that my views have been so fully sustained and fortified by the decided opinions of G eneral Dix, expressed in his recent admirable address before 204: TOWN OF ISLIP. the State Society. [An extract from the address referred to will be found in Chap. V, of this work.] I have no possible interest in these lands, and can therefore speak with more freedom and impartiality. The facts and results upon which are based my convictions, I have collected with great care and vigilance, as well by personal investigations as from con- versations with intelligent gentlemen, who are familiar with the subject. Among the numerous persons to whom I am under obligations, I may particularly refer to the Bev. E. M. Johnson, of Brooklyn, whose clear memory, in a green and vigorous age, enables him to trace the progress of the island for nearly half a century ; to Mr. Harold, the intelligent secretary of the Queens County Society, and to Mr, Bridger, of North Islip, who combines with careful observation much practical experience in the cultivation of the plains. I should violate my sense of justice, were I not to refer especially to the services and efforts of Doct. Edgar F. Peck of Brooklyn. Fro in this gentleman, who for fifteen years has strenuously combatted the deepest prejudices and the most unyielding opposition in his labors for the development of these lands, I have received the most important aid and information. I do not hesitate, in this connection, to adopt the words of an eminent gentleman, who remarked to me : 'If these plain lands are reclaimed and brought into successful culture, the result must be attributed to the zeal and intelligence of Dr. Peck, more than to any other cause.' The convictions of Dr. Peck, as to the qualities of these lands, were derived from personal investigations, commenced in 1841, and subsequent results have fully confirmed the views then formed." Along the line of the railroad through this section a few settlements have been commenced within the last twenty-five or thirty years, and though some of them have made com- mendable progress, the great bulk of the plain remains at the present day unimproved. The fault of this is no doubt attributable, more to the general indifference of land holders to the matter of offering inducements for settlers, than to any defect in the soil. This for the most part is a fine yellow loam, and what efforts have been made to improve it for cul- tivation have been rewarded with favorable result?. TOWN OF ISL1P. 205 Brentwood, first called Modern Times, is a village of about two hundred inhabitants, lying mostly on the south side of the Long Island railroad in the northwest part of the town. It occupies a beautiful level site, on a plain whose surface is elevated near one hundred feet above the level of tide water, and is regularly laid out, with avenues crossing each other at right angles. The village plat is as yet but partially built up. A few handsome residences have been erected here. The settlement was commenced about twenty years ago, by a few individuals who proposed to establish a social community on some modification of the "free love" principle, the precise details of which we do not understand. The scheme seems to have been unsuccessful, and when its vaporous novelty passed away most of its followers settled down to the com- mon customs of civilized life. The village plat embraces about one mile square. The present name was adopted by a meeting of the inhabitants Sept. 7, 1864. Several nurseries and similar enterprises have been established here, and for these the village is noted to a greater extent than any other in the county. An Episcopal chapel, a branch from St. Mark's church at Islip, was built in the autumn of 1872, the corner stone laid Sept. 12th. For about twelve years pre- vious, the school house had been used for public worship and Sabbath school. Thompson Station, the site of which was half a mile west of here, was discontinued and the depot established at this village in Dec. , 1869. At that time the people donated land and money amounting to $1,400 to the Railroad Company for depot buildings, which have since been used also for post- oihce, telegraph office, and other railroad purposes. 206 TOWN OF ISLIP. We may add that the people of this village are strict ad- herents to temperance principles, and remarkably liberal in their support of public improvements and educational interests. North Islip, formerly called Suffolk Station, is a railroad depot and post-office, one and a half miles east of Brent- wood, in the midst of the plain. This was formerly the point of connection between stage and rail communication for the village of Islip, four miles south. It is about to be abandoned as a railroad depot, and a new one established at Central Islip in its stead. About one mile further east, and- mostly on the north of the railroad lies the village of Central Islip, another modern settlement which during a few years past has made considera- ble growth. It contains two churches, a store, school, burying-ground, and about fifty houses. The inhabitants are mostly settlers from abroad. An Episcopal chapel was built here in 1869. In ministerial service it is connected with St. Mark's church at Islip. A Methodist Episcopal church ia centrally located, and was built in 1870 ; dedicate d May 19, 1872. Lakeland is a railroad station, four and a half miles east of Central Islip, and near the angle of Brookhaven town. The settlement contains twenty-five houses, a store and post-office. Manufactories of tobacco and segars, and pearl buttons, have been established here within a few years past. The soil of the neighborhood is good for farming and gardening, and the surface level and beautiful, stretching back to the gentle hills that border the romantic Lake Ronkonkoma about a mile distant, on the north. This settlement was commenced TOWN OF ISLIP. 207 in 1848-9, by Dr. E. F. Peck, and was the pioneer settlement in the " Plana s." Up to that time there was only a small station honse here in the midst of the wilderness. Dr. Peck selected this as a desirable tract for an agricultural settlement of farms and gardens, and erected the principal buildings in the place, at a cost of several thousand dollars ; laid out and opened Ocean Avenue, (the principal street running north and south) cltared and cultivated a portion of the land, with a view to demonstrate its productive quality ; established a post-office and was appointed post-master. He entered into the enterprise of founding an agricultural settlement, with the promised aid of the L. I. R. R. Company, in the carrying of freight and passengers to and from this point at reduced rates, but after the unfortunate failure of the R. R. Company, in 1851, and the transfer of its affairs into the hands of other managers who refused to continue the promised aid to this settlement, Dr. Peck sold the entire tract with all the im- provements, and retired from the enterprise. The sale of land was continued, but after several thousand acres had been disposed of, the progress of the settlement, so nobly begun, was disastrously checked by a confusion of titles which dis- possessed a great proportion of the purchasers. * Abont two miles south of Lakeland is a collection of a dozen houses or more called Bohemia, occupied by German settlers many of whom are engaged in segar making, f Holbrook, on the L. I. Railroad, two and a half miles east of Lakeland, is a pleasant little settlement of about twenty houses, containing a district school and a church. The foundation of this settlement was laid in 1848, by A. McCot- ter, who purchased about five thousand acres of the wild plain, and offered it in small tracts, of five to twenty acres, to *For further particulars in relation to this matter, see Appendix. tin the latter part of July, 1873, a ravaging fire in the woods spread over the eastern part of this township, burning for several days, and blackening a dis- trict of thirty to fifty square miles area. In its course it destroyed a number of dwewings at Bohemia, and also at Edenvale near the Brookhaven line. Several other houses, besides barns, farming implements, crops, and even animals which were within its range were burned. 208 TOWN OF ISLIP. men of moderate means who wished to secure comfortable homes in the country. Attempts have been made to establish manufactories of ladies' shoes and silk, but these as yet have not been flattered with permanent success. A Presbyterian church was commenced here in 1863, and dedicated in 1866. The society for whose benefit the church was erected was organized in 1860, and disbanded in 1869, since which time the pulpit has been occasionally occupied by ministers of different denominations. A Division of the Sons of Temper- ance numbering forty-two members, is now in a lively state of existence. In the southwestern part of the town and scattered along the old south country road for a distance of about four miles is a locality known as West Islip, occupied almost exclusively by the country seats and palatial residences of gentlemen of wealth and ease. This locality lies between Babylon on the west and Bay Shore on the east. The country here is level and the residences mostly on the north side of the road, which winds along with graceful curves, while south of it the clear fields and meadows stretch to the bay a mile more or less distant. Nowhere else in the county do we find so many elegant and aristocratic establishments grouped togeth- er, with such rich and elaborate surroundings as here. And it is worthy of remark that this same locality, where now we behold such a full exhibition of what art and wealth have done to gratify the ideas of a high grade of civilization, was once the headquarters and strong hold of the Secatogue tribe of Indians. What a marvellous transformation scene has passed here ! Less than two centuries ago this very spot was the undisputed heritage of savages. Here their dusky forms TOWN OF ISLIP. 209 squatted and shivered around smoking fagot-fires upon the bare earth, while they joined in rude social festivities, or awaited the preparation of their simple meals, or held council upon the enterprises or questions which engrossed their interest. Here they planned wars or defences, roamed over the waste of scrubby plain in pursuit of game, drew from the adjacent waters their stores of fish and bi- valves, and wrought wampum from the shells. Now the savage and the parapher- nalia of savage life have passed away, and their places are filled by the spacious mansions of the rich, with all their ele- gant surroundings and splendid equipages, competing well with those of Eastern princes and nobles. Along this section a number of small streams rise and flow into the bay. These are at intervals of about half a mile, and the true old Indian names of most of them have been preserved. Sampowams Eiver is on the western boundary of the town. Next to that we have a small creek called Sco- quams, modernized to Mud Creek, which latter name implies as much truth as the former does romance. Next to that we find a more considerable stream honored by the title of Se- catogue Brook. The residence of the sachem of the tribe is supposed to have been upon this stream. Near the head of it is a large trout-pond belonging to Dr. Alfred Wagstaff. The land lying upcn the west side of this brook was called by the Indians "Gorgo his Neck," which term has been corrupted to George's Neck, and further to St. George's Neck. Secatogue Neck lies upon the east side of the brook of the same name. The neck of land called Oquenock is said to have been an ancient burial-place of the numerous tribe of Indians which inhabited this section, and this is said to be the import or meaning of 210 TOWN OF ISLIP. the name . Oquenock Brook runs down the east side of it, and separates it from another neck called by the Indians Saghtekoos, otherwise Apple-tree-neck. A little brook which divides the shore of this neck was called by the Indians Keemiscomock or Weepoose. This neck it will be remembered comprises the width on the bay of Van Cort- landt's patent. It is bounded on the east by a stream called Mispatuck. Next east of that is the brook Compowis, cor- rupted to Compowms. Still further east we come to the brook Manshtak, upon which a saw-mill was established about a hundred years ago, by David Willets. The next brook east of this is the Watchogue, a small stream running down the west side of Panothticutt or Penataquit Neck. Upon this neck which is about half a mile wide, the central part of the village of Bay Shore is located. This village is beautifully situated on the old Country Road, between the South Side Railroad line and the Bay. The station in the upper part of the village, about half a mile from the princi- pal centre, is distant five and a half miles east of Babylon. The village lias an air of thrift and life about it, as though its people considered themselves as living in the present age of progress, and not feeding solely upon the memories of the past or visions of the future. It has a population of about eight hundred and fifty engaged prncipally in various me- chanical pursuits, farming and bay fishing. Two commodious hotels, the Bay Shore House at the depot, and the Dominy Rouse on Main Street, are well patronized during the sum- mer months by city visitors who wish to enjoy the advanta- ges for recreation which are here presented. The village has a good installment ol' the urdinarv tradesmen, and six stores. TOWN OF ISLIP. 211 A grist-mill is located on Panothticutt Biver in the eastern part of the village. A little west of this stands the Congre- gational church, a building of moderate dimensions erected about twenty years ago. A short distance further, on the same road, is the Methodist Episcopal church, a handsome struct- ure erected here in 1867. A small burying ground is con- nected with this, and lies in the rear of the church. Between here and the railroad and upon the west side of a new street recently opened up between the two churches, stands the new school house, just completed at a cost of $5,000. This build- ing is a very creditable affair, and a good representative of the enterprise of the place. The school numbers about one hun- dred and fifty scholars. Bay Shore Division of the Sons of Temperance has fifty members, and meets Wednesday even- ings. This village is located nearly central upon the south side of the Moubray Patent of 1708. The main road between here and Islip is inhabited all the way along, which fact renders it rather difficult to determine just where the dividing line should be. This village was formerly called Mechanicsville, then by the corrupted Indian name Penataquit, which since the coming of the South Side Bailroad has been changed for its present name. About a mile and a half east of here is a burial plot of about an acre, styled the Clock burying ground, which contains a number of graves, and a family vault. Several other family burying grounds are scattered about the vicinity. Just back of the village of Bay Shore is a small African church. Islip is a handsome village of about one thousand popula- tion, on the south side of the town two miles east of Bay Shore. It has a station on the South Side Bailroad, half a 212 TOWN OF ISLIP. mile back of the village. There are a number of mechanic shops in the place, and five general stores, one of which, that of Clock Brothers is claimed to be the largest store in the county. The main street of the village, which is the south * 'country road " lies about one mile from the bay. The churches, stores, hotels, and most all the other "institu- tions " are upon it. In the southern and eastern parts are a number of fine residences, some of them occupied as summer seats and others permanently. The village site is a beautiful one. Nature laid here a suitable foundation for Art to build upon. The principal part of the village is built upon the neck of land covered by Gibb's patent of 1692, which lies between the brooks Orowac on the west and Wingatthappagh (an Indian name meaning "sweet waters ") on the east. This neck is about a mile in width. About half a mile west of the brook Orowac another stream runs down, rejoicing under the two names of Kakaijongh and Awixa. It is needless to say the latter name is the one most generally used. Saxton's Neck lies between the two brooks last mentioned. Upon this neck the Olympic Club have fine buildings elegantly furnished. They have been established here about fifteen years. On the west side of the brook Awixa Mr . John Moubray, the patentee of the large tract bearing his name, built a house and settled. A part of the house is still standing, though it has undergone some changes since first placed there. A paper-mill belonging to Ebenezer Hawkins is situated upon Orowac brook. Near this, lumber and coal yards are located on the main road, at the head of the creek into which this brook empties. This is the only place on the south side of the county where there is depth of water sufficient to admit TOWN OP ISLIP. 213 navigi tion as far up as the country road. The channel here is about thirty to forty feet wide and three to four feet deep. Large scows are employed to transport the cargos of sloops and schooners from out on the bay up to this landing. On a smaller brook which empties into Orowac creek from the east Mr. J. H. Doxsee has a large trout-pond, the water from which is also utilized in driving a wheel connected with a shaft which runs under the owner's barn. Belts from pulleys on this shaft are attached to various machines as occasion demands, and thus a cheap and convenient power for driving thresfring machines, fanning mills, corn shellers, feed cutters and grinders, saws, grind-stones and the like, is always at hand and ready for action. Doxsee's canning establishment is located on the east side of Orowac Brook or Doxsee's Creek as the lower part is called, about half a mile below the main road. Here a con- siderable business, which has no rival in the county, is carried on in the preparation of hermetically sealed goods, principally confined to the canning of green corn, tomatoes, clams and fish. After considerable time and money had been spent in experimenting upon the process of preserving "qua- haugs," or hard clams, Mr. Doxsee started the business successfully about seven years ago. The canning of fish — moss bunkers — was added during the past season [1872. ] These fish are "scaled," and cleaned, by a series of simple machines which perform the work with unerring nicety, after which they are cooked, by a process which we do not propose to explain, and then packed in tin cans somewhat the shape of sardine cans, but containing about two pounds each. Everybody knows that the meat contained in these fish is the 214 town or islip. sweetest of almost any fish-meat in the world, but the great objection to eating them has always been the innumerable fine bones which they contain. The beauty of the "Ameri- can Lunch Fish " put up at this establishment is, that they are cooked or prepared in such a way that all the bones, not excepting the back-bone, are as tender and eatable as any part of the meat, and can hardly be discovered from it. About thirty thousand fish have been put up here this season. A five-horse-power steam engine is used for running the nec- essary machinery, and ten to twenty hands are employed in the establishment. The principal other articles canned here during the season are six thousand bushels of clams, four hundred bushels of tomatoes and the product of ten acres of corn. Near this is a good dock to which any ordinary sized sloop or schooner can come at any time of tide. The channel from the outer bay to this point has been improved within the past year by the expenditure of about $7,000 ; $4,400 of which was appropriated by the state legislature, and the balance paid by individual contribution of J. H. Doxsee Esq. Here is a splendid opening for business in the way of a lumber or coal yard, or any other branch of business requiring a location immediately accessible by vessel. With a channel fifty feet wide and seven to eight feet of water this is without a ques- tion the most convenient landing on the shore of the town. A ship-yard has not long since been established near the mouth of the creek by Alonzo Smith. Two sets of marine railways are connected with it, and considerable repairing is also done. A Presbyterian chapel was built in this village in the year TOWN OF ISLIP. 215 1852, connected with the church of that denomination at Babylon. In 1857 a separate church was organized here. A new church edifice, one of the largest and handsomest in the county, was completed about May 1st, 1869, at a cost of $15,000, including furniture etc. About $8,000, or the greater part of the expense of this noble enterprise was paid by the generous contribution of the late Mr. Robert L. Mait- land. A handsome bell from Meneely's celebrated West Troy Foundry was presented by the Stewarts — sugar refiners, of New York. The choir-loft contains a splendid pipe organ which cost $1,500, to the purchase of which Dr. A. G. Thompson made liberal contributions. The old church is retained as a lecture room, used for the accommodation of prayer meetings, Sunday schools and the like. A short distance east of the new Presbyterian stands the Methodist Episcopal, a handsome edifice of less dimensions, but neat appearance. The first church erected by this denomination about this neighborhood was built sonde time about the year 1840, on a site about half way between this village and Bay Shore. In 1866 the old church was pulled down, and some of its materials used in the construction of the present one, which was erected that year. The congre- gation in which the two villages had before been represented was now divided and a separate church established in each place. Nearly half a mile east of this, on the same road, St. Mark's Episcopal church stands on the corner of Johnson's Avenue. This is a plain, substantial looking building, of moderate di- mensions, and though by no means meagre in any respect, is still a rather modest anair in comparison with the display of 216 TOWN OF ISLIP. costly trappings, glittering coaches, dashy teams and liveried drivers which may be seen gathering here "on a Sunday morning." This church was built in 1847. The organiza- tion was at first a branch from St. John's church at Oakdale. St. Mark's church now has three mission stations ; one at Youngsport, one at Brentwood, and one at Central Islip, all undor the care of the same Rector. The Public school of Islip is a handsome two-story build- ing, the initial part of which was erected about twenty years ago, and in 1869 enlarged by the addition of the second story. The average attendance of pupils now numbers about one hundred and twelve, and two teachers are employed. Amos Doxsee was a teacher in this school twenty years or more. He retired from the position in 1859, and about two years afterward started the Nassau Institute at Bay Shore, with the intention of establishing a first class boarding school. The institution was fitted up with various ajDpliances, such as a printing office, astronomical instruments and ob- servatory, musical instruments and so forth, calculated to give a pretty complete course of instruction in the different arts and sciences, by practical demonstration as well as theory. In consequence of loss of eyesight, Mr. Doxsee was obliged to abandon the enterprise. The Town Hall was built in 1869, by a joint stock company of eighteen stock-holders, at a cost of $2,800. It stands near the school house, and is used for town meetings and various public gatherings. The upper floor is occupied by Meridian Lodge, No. 091, F. & A. M. This flourishing Lodge was in- stituted in July, 1869, and now numbers sixty members. TOWN OF ISLIP. 217 Islip Division, S. of T. meets in the same building. This institution reports thirty-four members. This village has three hotels, depending principally upon the flood of summer visitors from the city for their support. They are all located in that part of the village which lies east of the Wingatthappagh Brook. Of these the " Pavilion," a mammoth establishment, is one of the finest hotels on the island. Several nice trout ponds have been improved on the brook Wingatthappagh, and the adjoining grounds are tastefully laid out and beautified. East of the village, occasional farm houses are scattered along the road. About three miles brings us to the head of the Conetquot River, where the South Side Club have a house for their reception, beautifully located on a smooth, well kept lawn by the side of a mill pond, which offers supe- rior facilities for the popular diversion of trout-fishing. " A grist-mill is situated on the dam of this pond. The South Side Railroad line runs a little south of here, and a "flag station " for the accommodation of the club is located near by. The country seat of the late Robert L. Maitland, gener- ous benefactor of the Islip Presbyterian church, is a short distance west of the Club House. A brook runs through the premises, joining the Conetquot below, and upon it trout ponds have been established. Youngsport is a hamlet of twenty-one houses, on the west side of Conetquot River, near its mouth. It has one store, and a freight station on the South Side Railroad two miles north of it. The inhabitants are principally bay-men. An Episcopal chapel was established here two or three year& 218 TOWN OF ISLIP. since, connected with St. Mark's church at Islip. A Metho- dist chapel is also about being erected. The school-house belonging to the district which includes this hamlet together with the eastern part of Islip village, is a respectable two story building, and stands in the woods about a mile and a half west of here. The school numbers over a hundred, and employs two teachers. The business of ship-building and repairing was carried on here twenty years ago by Erastus Youngs, in whose honor the settlement was named. This enterprise, for some reason or other to us unaccountable, has been abandoned. We see no good reason why a flourishing village should not have been built up in this place. The depth of water up this river is said to be sufficient to float anything that navigates the bay. The river is wide and its bank comparatively abrupt. The surface of the neighbor- ing land is a beautiful plain, and the soil good. Nature has scarcely left a more convenient or desirable village site than here, upon the whole shore of the South Bay. As far as we can see, the great obstacle to its improvement has been the monopolizing grasp with which the soil has been held in a body together, by the successive proprietors of the whole tract. Now that this impediment has been to some extent re- moved we hope to see the spirit of progress revived here on a more magnificent scale than ever before. The " Deer Range Farm, " containing four hundred acres and a large mansion, beautifully situated in full view of the bay and beach hills, lies about half a mile south of here. This property has re- cently been purchased by J. Neale Plumb Esq. , and is to be improved as an elegant country residence. It will no doubt be made one of the finest on the island. The farm contain- TOWN OF ISLIP. 210 mg the residence of Hon. William Nicoll adjoins it on the west. Oakdale is a name given, two or three years since, to the locality extending along and near the south "country road" from the Conetquot River eastward for a distance of two miles or more. It has a station on the South Side Railroad, and since the completion of that road a post-office has been established here. It contains one church, a store, a district school, and about forty dwellings, mostly scattered along the main road and upon a lane which runs down towards the bay. Near the residence of W. H. Ludlow, Esq., stands St. John's Episcopal church, the first house of worship erected within the limits of this town. This was built by the third William Nicolls, about ten years before the Revolution. Historians differ as to the exact date. The church stands in the midst of an ancient burying ground. In 1843 it was re-built, and consecrated by the bishop, July 6th of that year. The eastern boundary of Oakdale appears indefinite. If we place it at Greene's Brook, which seems to be the only suitable natural line, we must include another church- That is the Dutch Reform church, organized Dec. 19, 1866. The building, which stands a little west of Greene's Brook, is neat in appearance, of comfortable size, and was dedicated Nov. 11, 1867. Sayville is a thriving village of one thousand population, pleasantly situated near the bay, immediately east of Oakdale. The railroad station in the northern part is two and a quar- ter miles east of the latter point, and fifty miles from Brooklyn. There are three large general stores in the place, besides a number of shops. Ship-building and repairing is 220 TOWN OF ISLEP. carried on by Francis Greene, whose yard contains two sets of "ways." The fisheries of the bay constitute the chief indus- trial enterprise and support of the place. Sayville has a good school, a hotel, and three medium sized churches, be- sides the Dutch Reform church, which we mentioned as being located between here and Oakdale. A Methodist Epis- copal chapel, connected with the church of that denomination at Patchogue was built here in 1846. About seven years ago a church society was organized here. The central part of Sayville is located near the point where two roads from east form a junction, and this church is located upon the northern limb of this fork. The public school building stands near it on the same road. This is a commodious two story edifice, the original part of which was built in 1859, at which time it stood scarcely second to any other like institution in the county. Its cost, at that time was about Si, 500. In 1871 it was enlarged. The school numbers an attendance of about two hundred, and employs three teachers. The Congrega- tional church, standing on the south branch of the "fork" was built as a chapel to the Cong, church of Patchogue in 1318, or thereabout. The Cong, church of Sayville was or- ganized from the Patchogue church, Sept. 1, 1858, with forty members. An Episcopal chapel, belonging to St. John's church at Oakdale, was built in the eastern part of this vil- lage about six years ago. Sayville has a flourishing Division of Sons of Temperance, numbering about one hundred and forty members. In many respects it justly claims the honor of being the banner Division of the county. Sayville Lodge No. 322, I. O. O. F. was instituted with ten charter mem- TOWN OF ISLTP. 221 bers, May 2, 1872, and numbers at present twenty-one members. Terry's Brook forms the dividing line between this village and Bayport, on the east. A grist-mill was once established upon this stream, but it has Long since been abandoned. Bayport is a pleasant little settlement in the extreme south- east corner of the town, containing two stores and six hundred inhabitants. Its former name was Middle Eoad, and until a few years past it was considered as properly a part of Sayville. A post-office has been established here, and a sta- tion on the railroad. The people are engaged princpally in farming and fishing. The enterprise of canning "American sardines " was undertaken here a year or two ago but did not succeed. Fish oil factories have been established on the shore of the bay near this place. One of the most note-worthy institutions of this place is its public school. This is a two-story building of handsome appearance and respectable dimensions pleasantly situated on the south main road, near the centre of the village. The school employs two teachers and numbers about one hundred and twenty-five scholars. A Methodist Episcopal church was organized here a few years since, and a house of worship is about to be erected. This church is supplied with ministerial service in connection with Sayville. Fire Island is the name given to the sand beach lying be- tween the bay and the ocean, nearly opposite the village of Bay Shore, distant about five miles. It has become one of the most favored and popular of the seaside resorts of Long Island, even holding rank among the celebrated watering 222 TOWN OF ISLIP. places of the Atlantic sea board. The Surf Hotel the largest building in Suffolk County is said to be capable of accommo- dating fifteen hundred guests. During the summer season a steam ferry connects this place with Babylon, seven miles northwest. The first light house was built here in 1825, at a cost of $8,000. The present one was built in 1858. The tower is one hundred and fifty feet high, from its base, and the light one hundred and sixty-six feet above water. The light is a revolving one, and is visible fifteen to twenty miles at sea ; the lens of the first order. The beach upon which the institutions are located is on the east side of the inlet. Fire Island Inlet is the only opening on the whole south shore of the county through which navigation may pass be- tween the bay and ocean. The beach is constantly shifting, and the inlet is subject to correspondingly frequent changes of position. The inclination is westward. From testimony brought out by Thompson it appears that about the year 1750, and perhaps for many years before, there were seven inlets east of Fire Island. During a great storm which oc- curred in the year 1700, it is said the sea made a sweep through the beach about nine miles wide, and the sand washed in formed what is now called Cedar Island. Fire Island Beach in 1760 or thereabout was only a sand bar, and was called by the Indians Seal Island, from the fact that it had been a favorite play-ground for those aquatic animals. Within the recollection even of middle aged men now living, who have had opportunity for observation, the inlet has moved near half a mile further west. CHAPTER XII. 13KOOKHAVEN TOWN — HISTOEY AND DESCRIPTION. Brookhaven town, the largest in the county, occupies the breadth of the island from sound to ocean, and about six- teen miles of its length. It is bounded on the west by Smith- town and Islip, and on the east by Riverhead and Southamp- ton. Instead however of being in shape nearly square, as the above description might lead one to suppose, it has more the appearance of two parallelograms of about the same length, lying side by side, but the north one extending several miles further east. The surface along the north side of the town is hilly and elevated. A range of hills also extends through the middle, from east to west. The south half is level and comparatively low. Large tracts of salt meadows border the bay on the south side. The soil generally is moderately fertile ; in the northern part a heavy loam ; in the southern part a few grades lighter ; while through the middle a great variety of soils may be found, ranging from a stiff clay which has in many places been utilized for brick-making, to a light "blowy " sand, which a New York lawyer who had invested largely in it once declared " a warrantee deed woukl't hold." In this section the various grades of sand predominate. There are fields of this loose drifting matter where we have seen great holes in the ground, some fifteen feet or more in depth which had been blown out by the winds of a few suc- cessive years. The sand thus blown out is frequently lodged 224. TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. in huge mounds like snow drifts, wherever a bush or a hedge fence induces its deposit. The lamented Horace Greeley in his address at the Suffolk County Agricultural Fair last October, advised the planting of the sterile wastes of Long Island with forest trees, and the use of gas lime as a fertilizer for that purpose. There is no question but these naked fields of barren sand could be occupied in this way more profitably than in any other. Though we are not competent to discuss the gas lime question, we may say there is no lack of evidence to show that some kinds of forest trees, espe- cially the pines will grow, and to a reasonable extent flourish upon these desert places. The greater part of this town is still covered with forest and scrub growth. The settlements are mostly along the line of the three "country roads ;" on the north side, through the middle, and on the south side. Between these ranges of settlements large tracts of wood-land intervene, the monotony of which is scarcely broken by any attempt at improvement. It is safe to say that the greater part of the best farming land in tlrh town is yet covered with scrub-oaks and timber. Immense quantities of cord-wood are cut and sent to market from these wooded plains, but the frequency of fires during the last forty years has seriously affected the growth of timber, and greatly diminished the extent of this industry. From the best authority we can find it appears the first settlement of Europeans in this town was made in the year 1655, by a party of immigrants from Boston, Mass. The exact number of the first installment of settlers does not appear, but within two years from the date mentioned the number of men, most of them probably heads of families, TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. 225 composing the colony was increased to fifty-four. The first settlement was made at Setauket, on the north side, near the head-quarters of the Setalcott tribe of Indians, from whom the northern part of the territory occupied by the town was purchased. The lands of the town were purchased of the Indians at different times, in tracts of various size, sometimes by individuals on their own account, by permission of the proprietors of the town, and sometimes by the proprietors in common through their authorized representatives. The first purchases from the natives appear to have extended only to the northern part of the present territory, while the greater part of the south half lay for several years without being occupied by the white immigrants. The town was first incorporated by a patent from Gov. Nicolls, March 13, 16GG, confirming the title to all lands which had been bought, or should afterwards be bought of the natives, within the territory bounded on the west by a line running across the island at Stony Brook, and on the east by a line crossing the island at Wading Eiver. The names of Capt. John Tucker, Daniel Lane, Eichard Woodhull, Henry Perring, and John Jenner appear as trustees in this patent. At the time of this patent, and for several years afterward, it is probable that purchases of the Indians were confined mainly to the north half. November 19, 1675, the Setalcott Sachem, Gie, with four other principal men of the tribe, confirmed to the patentees of the town all former grants, and conveyed to Eichard Woodhull all the unsold land within the limits named in the patent as far south as the middle of the island. On the 23rd of the same month Eichard Woodhull transferred his title to these lands, thus acquired, to the inhabitants of 226 TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. the town. This grant and confirmation of former grants appears to cover all the land claimed by the Setaleott tribe. The south side of the town was claimed by, and purchased of the Pochough or Patchogue tribe. A tract of land in the southwest part of the town was purchased by John Winthrop in 1666, and the title confirmed by patent March 29, 1680. This tract extended from the creek at Blue Point called by the Indians Namkee, east to a certain " fresh water pond in Starr's neck, at Accombamack, " which is now the western part of Bellport. This patent covered five "necks " of land on the south side and extended back to the middle of the island. A tract of land extending eastward from Connecticut River to Mastic River, and north to the middle of the island, was purchased of the Indians by Col. William Smith in May, 1691, and a patent for the same was granted by Gov. Fletcher Oct. 9, 1693. This patent also included what is now known as Strong's Neck, then called Little Neck, at Setauket, which had been purchased by Col. Smith Oct. 22, 1686 ; also "all the islands in the bay between the main land and the beach, from a certain gut or inlet called Hunt- ington East-Gut, to a place called Cuptwauge, being South- ampton west bounds." The lands included in this patent were confirmed under the title of St. George's Manor, and a considerable part of these lands remain at the present day in the possession of the descendants of the original patentee. The tract of land reaching from the eastern bounds of Col. Smith's former patent to the line of Southampton was con- firmed to him by another patent from. Gov. Fletcher in 1697. His claim upon this territory being sharply denied by several TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. 227 settlers who had purchased land of the Indians within its bounds it appears that he succeeded in holding but a small portion of it. This tract, called the Moriches Patentship, and lying outside of the defined limits of this or any other town, appears to have remained in that loose condition until within a few years of the revolution, when by request of the people living there it was recognized as part of this town. A second patent was issued for this town by Gov. Dongan, which included all former grants, Dec. 27, 1686. This patent named John Palmer, Richard Woodhull, Samuel Eburne, Andrew Gibb, William Satterly, Thomas Jenner, and Thomas Helme as trustees, to continue in office until others should be chosen in their stead. The lands of the town which were purchased by the fifty- four proprietors in common were at different times, and as occasion demanded, divided among them. In some of these divisions fifty-five shares were made, the extra one being set apart for gospel purposes. As was the case in many other towns, the early settlers of Brookhaven regarded the support of the gospel ministry as an important consideration which duty coupled with the administration of civil affairs, and pro- vision was accordingly made for it. The first meeting-houses were erected and the first ministers employed and paid by the town. This town placed itself under the protection of Connecticut in 1659, and in 1662 became a part of that colony. This con- nection was broken off' by the conquest of 1664, after which it came under the Duke's government of New York with the other towns of Long Island. " At a town meeting, December 18, 1685, it was voted and agreed that Mr. Samuel Eburne shall go to Yorke, to confer 228 TOWN OF BKOORHAVEN. with the Governor about our lands within our patent ; and to get a new patent, and that the town is willing to find the Governor twenty sheep for a present forthwith." "At a legal town meeting, July ye 13th, 1687, warned by Mr. Justice Woodhull, it was voted and agreed that fcen pounds a-year shall be payd to the maintenance of a School- Master for the future, and that the trustees agree with Mr. Francis Williamson to officiate as School-Master for thirty pounds a-year, twenty pounds whereof is to be payd by the children." " May 7, 1687, at a town meeting it was voted and agreed that the Indians should be disarmed, and to surrender them- selves upon demand, otherwise to be looked upon as enemies. Ten men were chosen to go to ye south to disarm ym, and their arms to be left at Capt. Woodhull's." The names of Richard Floyd, Richard Woodhull, and Col. Wm. Smith are among the most prominent in the early his- tory of this town, and their respective descendants have at different times occupied positions of honor and public trust, not only in this town, but in other and wider spheres. Rich- ard Woodhull, it appears, was the surveyor for the primitive colony and was often intrusted with important public com- missions. Col. William Smith, the patentee of St. George's Manor, was born at Higham-Ferrers, in Northamptonshire, England, Feb. 2, 1655, and in 1675 was appointed governor of Tangiers by Charles II ; in which position he continued till 1683. In remembrance of this circumstance his descendants to the present time are known as the Tangier Smiths, by way of distinction from other families of the same name. He arrived at New York Aug. 6, 1686, and soon after visited Setauket, where in the following year he purchased Little Neck from the proprietors of the town, who at that time hap- hened to be entertaining a dispute about the premises. His subsequent purchases of land in this town have already been mentioned. On the accession of Henry Slaughter to the TOWN OF BPwOOKHAVEN. 229 gubernatorial chair of New York, in March 1691, he appointed Col. Smith one of the members of his council, which position he continued to occupy until his death, Feb. 18, 1705. In 1691 he was also appointed an associate judge of the supreme court of the province ; and in 1692 was appointed chief justice of that court, which office he held until removed by Gov. Bellamont in 1700. At this time he was president of the council, and on the death of the governor in March 1701, and in the absence of John Nanfan, the lieutenant governor, he was promoted by virtue of his position to the head of the gov- ernment. June 8, 1693, he was commissioned to succeed Col. Youngs in command of the militia of Suffolk county. He was also appointed by Gov. Slaughter one of the commissioners who tried and convicted Jacob Leisler, the usurper. William Smith the third, grandson of Col. "William, and son of Major William, was a man of considerable rank during the days of the revolution. He was for many years a judge of the court of common pleas, and a member of the first provincial Con- gress. His son, Gen. John Smith, was a member of the con- vention that adopted the Constitution of the United States in 1788, and afterward was elected member of Congress, and after serving four years in that capacity was returned to the United States Senate from this state. He died in 1816. Richard Floyd, the head of another prominent family in the history of this town and the State, emigrated from Wales in 1654. He was a magistrate in ihe town, and a colonel in the militia. His son Richard married a daughter of Col. William Nicolls of Islip. Both he and his son Richard Floyd the third, according to the inscription on their tombs in the old Setauket burying ground, were colonels of the county and 230 TOWN OP BEOOKHAVEN. judges of the court of common pleas. A sister of Richard Floyd the third was the wife of Col. Thomas Dongan, gov- ernor of the province. General William Floyd, a representa- tive of this family, of the third American born generation, was a native of Mastic, and a prominent man in the province. He was a delegate from this province to the first continental congress, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Inde- pendence. He was born Dec. 17, 1734, and died Aug. 4, 1821. A daughter of his became the wife of Col. Benjamin Tallmadge, of Litchfield, Conn., some of whose exploits dur- ing the revolution are prominent in our history of that time. General Nathaniel Woodhull was a descendant of Richard "Woodlmll, of whom we have spoken, and was born at Mastic Dec. 30, 1722. His wife was a sister of Gen. William Floyd. Gen. Woodhull entered the field with the rank of a major, in the army under Gen. Abercrombie, during the war between Great Britain and France on the Canada frontier. It is.sup- posed that he joined the army in 1758, and served in the as- sault upon Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and also in Brad- street's expedition against Ft. Frontenac the same season. In 1760 he was promoted to the.rank of Colonel of the third regiment of New York troops, and engaged under Gen. Am- herst in the expedition against Montreal which resulted in the reduction of Canada. After this he retired to private life, which he enjoyed until the difficulties which preceded the rev- olution called him to take a leading position in the great struggle for liberty. In 1769 he was elected to the assembly, and during the continuance of the colonial government was a faithful advocate of the wishes of his constituents of Suffolk county for the preservation of ''their freedom and the com- TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. 231 mand over their own purses." Col. Woodhull was at the head of the delegation from Suffolk county in the first pro- vincial congress which met in New York May 22, 1775, and on the 28th of August following was elected president of that body. He likewise retained the same position-in the provin- cial congress of 1776. The congress of 1775 re-organized the militia of the colony and appointed Col. Woodhull brigadier general of the brigade which was formed of the militia of Suf- folk and Queens counties. On the 10th of August, 1776, Gen. Woodhull left his seat in the provincial congress or conven- tion — then in session at White Plains — to take an active part in the military operations which were then being commenced upon and about Long Island. While waiting at Jamaica for reinforcements to assist in collecting and driving eastward the cattle on the western part of the island, so as to secure them beyond the reach of the enemy, and further delaying a re- treat, in the hope of receiving instructions from the conven- tion, he was overtaken by a party of British troops on the 28th of August, and made prisoner, at the same time being subjected to such barbarous treatment at the hands of his cap- tors that he died from the effects of his wounds on the 20th of the following month. Several other members of these ancient and illustrious fam- ilies are worthy of notice, but as biography is not an object in this article we must forbear. At a meeting of the freeholders and inhabitants of this town, June 8, 1775, called by the prospects of political trou- bles then imminent, a "committee of observation," consisting of sixteen persons, was elected to act for the town in the pro- spective deliberations on political matters. According to in- 232 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. struction this committee met to organize at Coram on the 27th of June, the following members being present : John Woodlrull, Thomas Helme, John Robinson, Thomas Fanning, Lieut. Wm. Brewster, Noah Hallock, Joseph Brown, John Woodlrull, Jr. , Nathaniel Roe, Jr. , Capt . Jona. Baker, Daniel Roe, Samuel Thompson of Manor St. George, Wm. Smith and Jonah Hulse of the Moriches Patentship, and Capt. Josiah Smith. John Woodhull was chosen chairman and Samuel Thompson clerk, and the following resolutions were passed : " That we express our loyalty to His Majesty, King George III, and acknowledge him as our rightful lord and sovereign." ' ' That it is the opinion of this committee that the several Acts passed in the British Parliament, for the purpose of raising a revenue in America; also the Acts for stopping the Port of Boston ; for altering their charter and government ; for establishing the Roman Catholic religion, and abolishing the equitable system of English laws and erecting in their stead French Despotic Government in Canada ; as also the Act for restraining the New England fishery ; and further de- claring they have power to make laws binding on us in all cases whatsoever, are contrary to the constitution and subver- sive of our legal rights as English freemen and British sub- jects." "That we will use our utmost endeavor strictly to adhere to the Resolutions of the Honorable Continental Congress, and to comply with the injunctions of our Provincial Conven- tion, which (under God) we hope is the most effectual means to obtain redress of our present grievances, and save us from impending ruin." "We do unanimously make this our apology to the re- spectable public and to our several Congresses, ihat we have come so late into the Congressional measures, and hope a veil may be cast over our past conduct ; for our remiss- ness was not for want of patriotic spirit, but because opposi- tion ran so high in some parts of this town, which arose, we verily believe, from want of better information." "It is unanimously resolved, that we will keep a strict watch that no provisions be transported from the bounds oi TOWN OF BIJOOKHAVEN. 233 our constituents, so as to full into the hands of our enemies." "Ordered, that the proceedings of this meeting be printed by John Holt." The early organization, the customs, and regulations of this town resembled in most respects those of other English towns on the island ; though there appears to have been less of that strict Puritanism and systematic unity manifested in the acts of its settlers than the history of some of the eastern towns exhibits. In 1703 the trustees of the toY» r n passed a regulation pre- scribing the order in which the inhabitants should be seated in the church. It appears that at that time the salary of the minister was raised by voluntary subscriptions from the inhabitants, though the management of church affairs was under the care of the people in their political capacity. Grants of land were sometimes made by the proprietors to ministers in consideration of their services. During the firot years of the settlement a house was erected which served both as a place for holding town meetings and a house of worship. The first settlements were made along the north side, and most of the lands being divided among the proprietors in long lots extending from the north side to the middle of the island, tradition says that as the strength of the coljn-y in- creased by the maturity of the younger inhabitants, the paternal settlers adopted the custom of establishing their sons upon the south end of their respective lots. If this be true it is probable that the settlements along the middle country road were made or begun not long after those on the north side. Another tradition, that settlement was commenced in the middle of the town about the year 1700 ; the rambling, dis- 234 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. connected manner in which this section of country is settled ; the evidences of antiquity discernible here ; and the apparent fact that but little natural inducement for settlement could have existed ; all seem to agree in pointing towards the cor- rectness of that tradition. Stony Brook, on the border of Smithtown is a village of 700 inhabitants, on the east side of Stony Brook Harbor, in the northwest part of the town. The locality was called by the Indians Wopowog, and from the immense quantities of shells found in the neighborhood, is supposed to have been a favorite place of residence with the natives. It is on the line of the Smithtown and Port Jefferson Bailroad, and also has a good harbor, from which a considerable coasting trade is carried on. Ship-building is engaged in to some extent, and a new set of marine railways have recently been laid down for the accommodation of repairs. Large quantities of cordwood have beeD shipped from this port during years past. An ancient mill site is situated on a small stream of water which empties into the harbor at this point. The village lines a single street, about a mile and a half in length and running an average direction of north and south. A few elegant residences have recently been fitted up by the heirs of the late Jonas Smith, who was a wealthy ship owner of this place. The village contains two flourishing district schools, one in the northern part and the other in the southern part, two hotels, one of which, however, is at pres- ent closed to that purpose and occupied as a tenement house, five stores, and a number of work-shops. The manufacture of pianos was carried on some years ago by C. S. Seabury. Two docks extend into the harbor from the lower part of the TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 235 village, and a line of packets communicate with New York. The " flats" of this harbor abound with that species of shell- fish known as soft, or long clams. A few years ago a company embarked here in the enterprise of desiccating these bi- valves and condensing them by a process which would warrant the preservation of their good qualities for a number of years. This enterprise has been discontinued. A Methodist church stands on the high ground in the northeast part. The build- ing is of handsome proportions, and was erected in 1860. A former one was built in 1817, which was sold and converted into a dwelling about the time the new one was placed in its stead. Stony Brook Division, S. of T. , meets in the basement of this church, and has a membership of 111. A weekly newspaper, the Independent Press was started in this village by H. Markham, in 1865. It was moved to Port Jefferson in 1868, where it is still continued. The surface in this neighborhood is hilly, some of it con- siderably elevated, and largely occupied by farms. About a mile east of Stony Brook the colored people have a small meeting-house called "Bethel" church. Crane Neck Point is a huge shoulder of land projecting three miles into the sound, forming the eastern shore of the cove called Smith- town Bay, from the eastern part of which Stony Brook Har- bor projects inland. Sherawoug was a name given by the Indians to a locality on the east side of the harbor. Crane Neck and Old Field together form one "neck " or peninsula, the former name being commonly applied to the western part, and the latter to the eastern part. Large quantities of gravel are taken from the beach at Crane Neck and shipped to New York and other cities, where it is used in furnaces for melting 236 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. iron, in laying gravel roofs, and in the manufacture of sand- paper and glass. Fifteen to twenty thousand tons are taken from here during the season, which usually lasts from the first of May to the first of October. Vessels are " laid on " and the gravel, after being screened is run on board in hand barrows. The gravel is worth $1 a ton, on board here, and brings $2.50 a ton in New York. Flax Pond Bay, on the sound shore, near the western extremity of this peninsula, was formerly disconnected from the sound, and contained fresh water. It was used by the early inhabitants as a place for rotting flax, from which circumstance it derives its name. It lies in the middle of a swampy valley. Soon after the commencement of the present century a connection was effected between the water of this pond and the sound, after which the water became salt, as also the grass on the meadows adjoining. Setauket, the first settlement in the town, and for many years the "seat of government," lies near the head of Setauket Harbor about four miles northeast of Stony Brook, and two miles from the sound. The village is scattered over a large extent of territory, including a number of tributary settle- ments. It comprises two principal centers, one called Se- tauket, or "up town," and the other East Setauket, each containing a post-office, two or three stores, and a few shops. The former is located about the head of Conscience Bay, otherwise Old Field Bay, and the latter, one mile east at the head of Setauket Harbor. A considerable part of the western settlement is built upon the banks of a mill pond, on a little stream which discharges into the head of the bay. A mill was built upon this stream about the middle of the last TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. 237 century. Another site, a little lower down is still occupied. Before any mills had been erected in this town the people were in the habit of shipping their grain across the sound to be made into flour. The first mill was established in 1690, upon a small stream at the head of the harbor in the eastern part of the village. This was abandoned about a hundred years ago, and nearly all traces of the dam and even the stream are now almost obliterated. A highway crosses where the pond once was, and a number of buildings are located upon it. A swamp and a little brook remain. The first settlement is supposed to have been made in the neighborhood of the "Green." This is an open field, or common, containing perhaps an acre of ground, located between the two main centers, before mentioned, and set apart at a very early period for public purposes. The prim- itive settlement was for some time called Ashford, and the harbor Cromwell Bay. The settlement, as we have pre- viously stated was commenced here in 1655. When the band of Puritan forefathers whose names are preserved as the first settlers of this town commenced to set the machinery of cizilizatlon in motion here, one of the first things they did was to build a house for the accommoda- tion of their town meetings, and the worship of God. In those days the highest law (humanly speaking) was the voice of the people, and they frequently assembled to consider and adopt measures and regulations for the government of the little colony. Manifesting their faith by their works, they frequently evinced in their public acts, a wholesome regard for that higher than human law — the law of God. For several years before the settlement of a minister in this eon- 238 TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. gregation religious services were conducted by Mr. Samuel Eburne. Feb. 2, 1671, the people resolved to build a meet- ing-house. The resolution was very soon carried into effect, and a building twenty-eight feet square was erected on a site adjoining the "Green." This stood until a new one was erected on or near the same spot, in the year 1715. This church was standing at the time of the revolution, and was then appropriated to military uses by the British soldiers who had taken possession of it. More fortunate than some other Presbyterian churches of that period, however, it was allowed to remain standing, and though considerably damaged it was with some repairs continued in use until the year 1811, when it was removed to make room for the pres- ent one. This, a rather commodious structure, was com- menced immediately after, and dedicated May 24, 1812. It stands upon the east side of the " Green," in the old burying ground. This burial place was no doubt the first established in the town. August 9th, 1714, Col. Bichard Floyd, "in considera- tion of his good affection and desire to advance the public interest of the "town, did freely and voluntarily give, for the use and benefit of a public burying-place, half an acre of land, to be laid out of his home lot, adjoining the old burial-place ; the inhabitants and their heirs maintaining the fence adjoin- ing the land given by the said Floyd." Since then additions have been made to it, so that now it contains several acres of ground and a great many graves, among which, the most conspicuous ancient ones are those of early members of the Floyd and Woodhull families. Over two of these (graves of the early Floyds) monumental tables have been placed. They TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. 239 stand a few feet apart, and it is said the grave of the original Richard Floyd was made between them, but during the revolution the British soldiers who were quartered here leveled the grave, pulled up the head stone and laid it across from one table to the other, and used the arrangement with a fire under side, for cooking and baking. One of the oldest stones in this ground, that bears a legible inscription contains the following , — " Here lyes ye Body of William Jayne, born (at Bristol Eng.) Jan'ry ye 25th, 1618, Dec'd March ye 24th, 1714, ^E 96." This is verbatim, but in the original "ye" s the e is placed over the y, in the true old fashioned style. In another part of the ground, within an enclosure of iron fence, stands the monument erected a few years since to the memory of the late Jonas Smith of Stony Brook. This mon- ument is of a coarse gray material, and is about twenty feet in height and four feet square at the base. One of the highly polished faces of the die contains the following simple inscrip- tion :— " Jonas Smith, Born, July 9, 1794; Died, Oct. 23, 1867." On the northwest border of the "Green" stands Caroline Episcopal church, the first church of that denomination erected on the island. The building is remarkably well preserved, considering its great age, having stood here more than a hundred and forty years. It was built in the year 1730, and has been several times repaired. In 1734, the town gave to this church a piece of ground surrounding it, for a burial-place or church yard. That yard is now well filled with graves. On the centre of the "Green" stands a district school house of moderate size and very neat appearance, recently 240 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. built to replace an old one which stood near the same spot. An old building, used as an arsenal in the days when militia " trainings" were in practice, was torn away several years ago. Across the fields, perhaps a quarter of a mile eastward from the Presbyterian church, stands the old parsonage house, in a quiet retreat near the harbor. This was built according to the record of the order, "upon the land that was Goodman Moger's," and also set apart "to remain a parsonage house to perpetuity." To this Mr. Prime, writing nearly thirty years ago, rather jocosely adds, " and its pres- ent aspect affords conclusive evidence, that hitherto the vote has been maintained." During the past year the old house has been relieved from further duty as a parsonage, and a new one built on the road near the church. A handsome Methodist Episcopal church, located nearly half way between the two village centres, was built in 1870. A small chapel, erected upon this site in 1843, was formerly used as a house of worship by this society.. A large brick building, say forty by one hundred feet, and four stories high, stands on a hill near this church. It was built about fifteen years ago, and for several years occupied as a piano manufactory by Kobert Nunns. It now stands idle. The village of Setauket covers an area of about two miles square, and contains a population of about fourteen hundred. The people are engaged in farming, ship-building, and "going to sea." The surface of the country is hilly, and the soil moderately fertile. Some fine farms are situated in the vicinity. Ship-building is carried on to considerable extent on the harbor near East Setauket. The largest vessel ever built here was the ship Adorna, of seventeen hundred tons TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 241 capacity, launched from the yard of David Bayles in 1870. A handsome two story school house stands in the eastern part of the village. It was built in the year 1866, and is a credita- ble institution ; representing with good effect the enterprise and intelligence of the people. The school numbers one hundred and fifty scholars, and employs three teachers. A Division of the Sons of Temperance was organized in this village in 1868. It now reports a membership of sixty-six. A weekly newspaper called the Long Island Star, was es- tablished here, in 1866, by James S. Evans, Jr. During its palmy days it enjoyed a liberal support, and was remarkably successful. In 1869 it was moved to Port Jefferson, and in 1870 across the island to Patchogue, where after a few issues it ceased to twinkle. Nassakeag, modernly called South Setauket, is a locality in the neighborhood of a swamp, two miles south of the western centre of this village. A "Free Christian" church was erected here in 1869, and the society established through the efforts of Rev. Ephraim Hal]ock who has ever since supplied the pulpit. * Norwood is a hamlet of less than half a dozen houses, about two miles south of East Setauket. The settlement of Old Field consists of about twenty-five houses scattered along a road which leads from the west side of the mill-pond at Setauket, north and east, a distance of thee miles. This road opens through a section of beauti- ful farming land, which lies between the northwest shore of Conscience Bay and the Sound. On Old Field Point, called by the Indians Cometico, being the northernmost extremity of this peninsula, a light-house was built in 1823. It cost 242 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN, $3,500 ; was re-fitted in 1855 ; has a white towsr, thirty-four feet high ; lens of the fourth order ; and gives a fixed light at an elevation of sixty-seven feet above water level, visible thirteen miles distant. Ship-building was carried on several years ago upon the western shore of Conscience Bay. Between this bay and Setauket Harbor lies Strong's Neck, formerly called Little Neck, and by the Indians Minasseroke. It is connected with the neighboring land by a low isthmus on the southwest part, sometimes flooded by the tide. This beautiful peninsula contains four hundred and eighty acres, the principal part of which is improved. It is supposed that here was the royal seat and a favorite residence of the Setal- cott Indians. This neck was purchased of the town proprie- tors by Col. Williain Smith, Oct. 22, 1686, and afterward included in his patent for St. George's Manor. It now belongs to the estate of the late Hon. Selah B. Strong, one of his descendants. Dyer's Neck, called by the Indians Poquott, lies between Setauket and Port Jefferson Harbors. These harbors and Conscience Bay have a common entrance from the Sound. Nestling cosily in the bottom of a deep valley, Port Jeffer- son appears to the vision of a traveler as a little world of busy life all hid away by itself among the rugged hills that sur- round it. Since the commencement of the present century it has grown from a little hamlet of less than half a dozen houses to a village of about two thousand inhabitants, and is to-day one of the most important centres of trade in Suffolk County. In some parts of our country it is true, villages have sprung up in the primitive wilderness to like proportions in a year or two, but such mushroom productions are always TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 243 stimulated by some great excitement or peculiar inducement not found here. Few villages without natunal or artificial stimulus have made greater progress during the last half a century than this. It lies at the head of a beautiful harbor, two miles east of Setauket, and at the present eastern termi- nus of the Smithtown and Port Jefferson Eailroad. The Indian name of the locality was Souwassett, which was at an early period set aside for the characteristic title of Drowned Meadow. The natural condition of the site was unfavorable for building upon, being composed mainly of salt marshes overflowed by the tide, and steep hill-sides. Perseverance and hard labor, however, have accomplished much toward improving the situation, by digging down the hills and filling up the marshes. Still the greater hills remain, as they ever must, to give a tint of romance and wild beauty to the sur- rounding scenery. In the matter of the size, beauty, and grandeur of its enconrpassing hills, Port Jefferson can hardly be placed in the shade of any village on the island. From some points nearly the whole village can be seen at a glance, the buildings on the opposite hill-side rising step by step above each other, like the side of a huge amphitheatre. The business of the village is confined to the low ground, the elevated portions being occupied by dwellings. Some of these are of tasty design, and display considerable architect- ural grace. There are three main avenues of travel leading into the place ; one from each of the three land-ward sides. The one from the south forms the main street of the village. This and most of the other streets are narrow and crooked. The harbor is one of the finest on the Long Island coast, though it is a matter of regret that this remark cannot include its 244 TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. entrance. Appropriations from Congress have been made to the amount o£ $30,000, for the improvement of this entrance, and the work of building a break-water to protect it from be- ing obstructed by drifting sand or gravel, has been commenced. The completion of this work is looked forward to as the "good time coming" for the commercial interests of the place. Regular lines of packets make communication with New York City, and Bridgeport, Conn. Several attempts have been made to establish steamboat connection with New York, but these enterprises, generally after brief existence, have been abandoned. It is probable, however, that after the completion of improvements around the entrance to the harbor they will be resumed, and may be made permanently successful. A steam ferry, making two round trips daily between this place and Bridgeport, has been in operation two seasons. Land communication with the outside world was formerly effected by stage lines connecting with the Long Island Railroad at Wave ly Station, ten miles distant. The railroad extension to this place, which was put in operation last January [1873] is greeted by the traveling public as a much desired relief from the tedious stage routes of the past. Ship-building was commenced here in 1797 by Capt. John Wilsie. At that time there were only five houses within the present limits of the village. It was then, and for several years after, important only as a landing from which cord- wood was taken by the small sloops which frequented the sound, to the New York market. By the year 1812 the number of houses had increased to nineteen. During the war of that year and the two or three succeeding years, the shipiDing of this harbor was harassed and considerably damaged by tha TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 245 British cruisers which sailed up and down the sound. A small fortification was erected near the northern extremity of Dyer's Neck, overlooking the west side of the harbor, and this was mounted with a single gun capable of throwing a 32-pound ball. On one occasion seven sloops were taken from the har- bor under cover of night, by two English frigates, the "Indemnity " and the "Pabmoon." In working them out of the harbor one of the sloops ran aground on the "flats," and was set fire to and burned to the water's edge. The others, or at least most of them were afterward ransomed by their respective owners. About the year 1836 the progress of this village received a fresh impetus, and the ship-building enterprise was pushed forward with greater energy. The present name, Port Jeffer- son was adopted, and the forndations of future prosperity were established. Among the names that are held in pleasant remembrance in connection with the history of that period, one of the most prominent is that of Capt. William L. Jones, to whose zealous and well-directed efforts for the promotion of its interests the place is much indebted. As we have already intimated the chief support of this village is its ship-building. This enterprise is carried on more extensively than it is in any other port on the Long Island shore. There are seven yards in which vessels of large size are built, and these are almost constantly occupied. Also seven sets of marine railways are employed for hauling-out vessels to be re-built, repaired, or painted. About two hun- dred men are at the present time employed in this industry and its accessory branches. One of the largest vessels ever built here was the bark Nomad, of about seven hundred tons, 246 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. launched in the year 1872, from the yard of James M. Bayles & Son. Besides the support which this village derives from the ship-building interest, it is an important commercial centre, conveniently situated in the midst of a large district of smaller villages and agricultural hamlets. It contains about twenty stores, including several dealing in specialties of drugs and medicines, boots and shoes, dry goods, clothing, and grocer- ies, also a large quota of the various shops and offices usually found in a flourishing country village. In the centre of the village, on opposite sides of "Hotel Square," stand the two principal hotels, — the Port Jefferson Hotel and the Townsend House. A small part of the latter house is said to be nearly two hundred years old, having once been occupied by members of the Koe family who were among the early inhabitants of the neighborhood. Though its ownership has passed out of the original name, it has ever since been held by descendants of that family. The celebrated carriage factory of E. Tuthill, located in this village, may fairly be regarded as one of its most promi- nent institutions. Mr. Tuthill started the business here in the year 1855, with a capital of about $150, besides an ordi- nary out-fit of tools with which to carry on the trade. From that very modest beginning the business has been gradually increased until it now ranks among the principal manufactur- ing establishments on the island. Fifteen to twenty skilled workmen are constantly employed in the various departments, and the annual sales of work amount to more than thirty thousand dollars. Specimens of carriages from this shop have repeatedly taken the highest premiums at the agricul- TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 217 ural fairs of this county and Queens, and have invariably taken the palm over all others wherever exhibited. In some instances they have been brought into competition with those of New York and Brooklyn manufacturers. Among the varie- ties of work done here may be mentioned photograph cars, farm wagons, stages, elegant hearses, coaches, phaetons, bug- gies, skeletons, and numberless other styles of vehicle which from ignorance of technical names we are unable to specify. Among the other important manufacturing enterprises of the village are the SuWasset Steam Flouring Mills, a steam moulding and planing mill, and a pump and block manufac- tory, the machinery of which is driven by the tide as it flows in and out upon the meadow at the head of the harbor. Two wharves project into the water from the northern part of the village, and another from the neighborhood of a small tributary settlement upon the western shore of the harbor. A Methodist Episcopal church, the first house of worship in the village, stands in the eastern part, on Thompson Street. It was erected in 1836. Its site is about to be changed. The Baptist church was built in the year 1855, by a Congre- gational society, and was purchased by the present denomina- tion in 1861. It occupies a pleasant location in a central part of the village, looking down " Hotel Square." A Presbyterian church was erected on the west side of Main Street in 1854, which until within a few years past was connected in its ministerial service with the old church at Setauket. The Public School of this place ranks among the foremost of educational institutions in Suffolk County. It occupies two buildings, adjoining each other. The smaller one of 248 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. these formerly accommodated the whole school, but in 1863 the necessity for more room having become so great, the larger one, a spacious building of two high stories was added. The school employs four teachers, and has an attendance of three hundred and fifty scholars. The Independent Press, a seven-column weekly newspaper, first started at Stony Brook on a smaller scale, was moved to this village in July, 1868, and is still published here by H. Markham, its founder. The Long Island Star, whose existence commenced at Setauket and ended at Patchogue, was published in this vil- lage from July 1869, to August 1870. Our Own, a monthly sheet devoted to the interests of the order of Sons of Temperance, was published here a few. months in 1870. The Long Island Leader, a handsome nine-column weekly, was started here April 12th, 1873, under the management of Winfield S. Overton, and its eminent success thus far gives promise of a prosperous future. Port Jefferson Division of the Sons of Temperance, one of the largest and most prosperous in the county, numbers about two hundred members in "good and regular standing." It has a large and well furnished room, over the store of J. M . & G. F. Bayles, at the foot of Main Street. Suffolk Lodge, F. & A. M., was first instituted at Smith- town, in 1797. It was re-organized at Port Jefferson in 1856, and numbers about one hundred and forty members. On the west side of the harbor, ranged along the side hill which rises abruptly from the line of high water, is a detached TOWN Of BEOOKHAVEN. 249 wing of the village known as the West Side. Two ship-yards and a wharf are located in this vicinity. "Brick Kiln " is a tract of waste land, rising and extending back from the salt meadows that skirt the west side of the vil- lage. Here is an inexhaustible mine of clay, upon which several attempts have been made to utilize it, but without permanent success. The clay has the appearance of being a very fine article, and no doubt when it is applied to the use for which it is best adapted, whatever that may be, it will prove a source of considerable profit to its owners. "Mittyville" is a local name given to a small settlement about half way up the hill on the road running south from the village. It occupies a comparatively level step, and takes its name from an eccentric old lady who was one of its first inhabitants. Cumsewogue is a farming district upon the high level plain about a mile south of the village centre. The railroad depot is located here, and the vicinity is rapidly improving. It con- tains several handsome residences. In this locality Cedar Hill Cemetery occupies one of the highest elevations in the whole region. This "silent city" was established in 1859, and considering the short time it has had for growth and improvement presents a fine appearance. It occupies a little more than thirteen acres and has many well kept burial plats, and several handsome monuments. The first grave made here was that of Mrs. Hulse, wife of Charles L. Hulse. The shaft of one of the most conspicuous monuments in this cemetery, a fluted cylinder, is said to have once done duty as a pillar in the front of Barnum's Museum building on the corner of Broadway and Ann Street, New 250 TOWN OF EEOOKHAVEN. York. The summit of the hill in the midst of this cemetery commands a most beautiful and extended prospect of the ad- joining landscape. Looking northward, below you lies the village of Port Jefferson with its hundreds of busy mechanics whose lively hammer-chorus echoes through these grand old hills from morning till night; just beyond, the harbor with its sh pping is spread out before you; and still further the blue waters of the sound, dotted here and there with a sail, stretches far and wide, until it is reliaved by the rugged outline of the Connecticut shore in the hazy distance. On your left the green fields, the farm-houses, and the churches of Setauket relieve the monotony of rolling woodland. On your right the line of broken cliffs which form the northern shore of the island stretches away to the east as far as the eye can follow. Behind you the locomotive bellows and vomits smoke and cinders as it glides along its iron trail in the foreground, while further on the level plain dotted with houses and clear- ings loses itself in the background. This picture is too full of beauty to admit of anything like a just description with pen and ink. To be appreciated it must be seen, and is well worth turning aside for. It cannot fail to excite the admira- tion and delight of the beholder. Mount Misery is the name given to that peninsula which lies between the harbors of Port Jefferson and Mt. Sinai. The surface is elevated and considerably broken. Much of the soil is good, and the timber abundant and thrifty. The greater part of this peninsula is owned by the heirs of Thomas S. Strong, Esq. , ancestor of the late Hon. Selah B. Strong of Setauket. Much of the land is covered with timber. Oak- wood is the local name of the estate. TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 251 Mount Sinai, formerly called Old Man's, is a scattered settlement near the head of a harbor bearing the same name, about three miles east of Port Jefferson. It contains three small stores, a windmill, two churches, a handsome district school building, erected two years since, and a population of 280. Bocks are abundant in the neighborhood, and the surface is extremely ragged and broken. Its present name is a very appropriate one. A person might with some show of reason suppose that the mighty convulsions which troubled' the ancient Mount when Moses received the Commandments from the hand of the great Lawgiver, had at some time in the past visited this its modern namesake, in a similar manner. The former name, "Old Man's,'' is said to have originated in the circumstance that many years ago, in the early stage of the settlement, a small house was fitted up and kept by an old man for the accommodation of travelers who happened to be delayed in the vicinity by night or storm or fatigue. The guests of the little inn when asked where they stopped would reply ; "With the old man;" a^d from thae, tradition says, came the name of the locality. Its Indian name was Nonowantuck. The harbor is shoal, and is frequented only by vessels of the smaller class. An artificial channel extends across it from the entrance. Ship building has been carried on here in a small way. Large tracts of meadow adjoining, and numer- ous small islands in the harbor are covered with salt grass. Immense quantities of clams are dug from the extensive flats of this harbor, and taken by the cargo, to markets alang the Connecticut shore besides supplying the wants of the neigh- boring and interior villages of this town. Scallops, fish, and 252 TOWN OF BBOOKHAVEN. eels are also among the products of the harbor. From the great quantities of shells found upon its banks it is supposed that the neighborhood was once thickly populated by the Indians. The first church in this neighborhood was erected about the year 1720. It appears to have been occupied for sev- eral years as a branch or mission station connected with the original church at Setauket. A distinct organization, under the care of the Suffolk Presbytery was formed here Sept. 3, 1760, under the pastoral administration of the Rev. Ezra Reeve, who had been ordained and stationed over this con- gregation Oct. 10, 1759. The continuance of this minister extended to Oct. 25, 1763, after which the organization here lost its original form, and Dec. 23, 1789 the "first Congrega- tional church of Brookhaven" was organized in its place. In 1805 the old church was pulled down and a new and larger one erected on the' same site, which is still standing. This is situated in the eastern part of the settlement, upon a pleas- ant elevation overlooking the harbor and sound. An ancient grave-yard lies near it. A small Methodist church, erected in 1843, stands near the central part of the village, on the road leading to the harbor. Miller's Place, a compact settlement of thirty-five houses, is located on the sound shore about two miles east of Mount Sinai. It enjoys a delightful location upon a level plain, elevated fifty feet or more above the level of tide water, and is withal one of the most beautiful villages along the north side. Its residences, farm-houses, and cottages have a uni- form appearance of neatness and unostentatious beauty. The settlement was commenced in 1671 by Andrew Miller, son TOWN OF BBOOKHAVEN. 253 of John Miller, one of the pioneers of Easthampton. It has a small store and post-office. An academy was erected in 1834 which has enjoyed an average degree of prosperity. In church relations, as well as other matters, the people of this village are intimately connected with those of Mount Sinai. A "landing" on the sound near this place facilitates the trans- portation of cordwood to distant markets. Rocky Point is a thinly populated region lying along the north side, from two to four miles further east. It has a small store, *a district school, and about twenty dwelling houses. A post-office has recently been established. Large quantities of cordwood are shipped from a "landing" on the sound shore at this point, and manure and other freights returned. The surface in the immediate vicinity of the sound is considerably brok n, but further inland it becomes level and elevated, affording favorable sites for convenient farms. A Congregational lecture room stands in the central part of the neighborhood, on the road to the "landing." Woodville, sometimes called Swezey's Landing, is a more compact hamlet on the sound shore, two miles further east, and about the same distance from the eastern line of the town. It has long been an important depot for the expor- tation of cordwood. It may be proper to insert here the explanation that the landings which occur so frequently along the sound shore of this town, as well as on the shores of some of the bays in other parts of the island, are simply convenient places where the smaller class of sloops and schooners, by which the wood freighting is chiefly carried on, may run ashore at high water or to use the common expression, "lay on," so as to receive 254 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. or deliver their cargo by the aid of wagons driven plongside as soon as the tide falls sufficiently to admit of it. A small part of the village of Wading River lies in th6 extreme northeast corner of this town. Settlement is sup- posed to have commenced in this neighborhood at a very early period, as it was voted at a town-meeting held Nov. 17th, 1671, "that there shall be a village at the Wading River, or thereabouts, of eight families, or eight men, to have accommodation as the place will afford." As the principal part of the village lies within the "township of Riverhead it will be noticed in that connection. Striking inland from this point and following the town line southward across the great wooded plain, we pass a succession of swamps and ponds the largest of which are Long Pond, Sandy Pond, and Grass Pond, the last one lying near'the angle formed by the eastward projection of the south half of this town, about five miles inland from the sound. The Peconic River has its source in this neighbor- hood, and running eastward forms the dividing line between this town and Riverhead, on the north of the projection just spoken of, which extends a distance of about five miles beyond the north half of the town. Manorville, so named from having once been included in Col. Smith's patent of "St. George's Manor," occupies a considerable part of this extension, and lies centrally upon the Long Island Railroad, sixty-five miles from New York, and at the junction of the Sag Harbor Branch with the main line. The inhabitants, numbering nearly five hundred, are scattered over a tract of country three or four miles square. The vicinity abounds with swamps and small streams TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. 255 from which circumstance it is sometimes called Brookfield. Singular as it may appear in reference to this fact, the face of the country is nearly fifty feet above the level of tide-water, and the soil generally inclined to be sandy. There is however a considerable proportion of good farming land in the neighbor- hood. A great portion of the region is still covered with forest growth, and the cutting and hauling of cordwood constitutes an important industry of the people. The light, free soil of this locality is peculiarly favorable to the growth of small fruits and garden vegetables, to which branches some attention is paid. Peaches, strawberries and blackberries are cultivated with success. The principal center of the place is in the neighborhood of the railroad depot, and from this, diverging roads lead in different directions to the scattering vicinages which lie round about. This central point contains a hotel, three stores, a church, the railway depot buildings, and a few shops. The manufacture of brick was commenced here a few years ago, but has been abandoned. The church, belonging to the Methodist Protestant denomination, was built at Moriches in 1840, and moved hither in 1868. A Presby- terian church standing nearly two miles southwest from this point, was built in 1839. This was the first house of worship established in the locality, and for several years before its erection public worship had been conducted by Mr. Jonathan Eobinson, (through whose efforts the church was organized) in his own house. Wampmissic is the Indian name of an extensive swamp lying near the railroad, about three miles west of Manor Station. 256 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEtf. Yaphank, formerly called Millville, is a village of three hundred inhabitants on the Long Island Railroad, four miles further west, and near the intersection of the Connecticut River. The County Alms House occupies a pleasant site near the railroad depot. The principal part of the village lies along the left bank of the river, extending northwest about two miles. It contains three churches, two grist-mills, a lumber yard, two stores and a number of mechanic shops. The district school-house, a neat octagon, with an observatory on top, stands on an open lot in the center of the village. The mills are located on the stream, about a mile apart, and have been established near a hundred years, the lower ons longer. A woolen factory stands upon the lower dam, but for many years it has not been in operation. More than half a century ago an unsuccessful attempt was made to establish a saw-mill at a point called Oosunk, about half a mile below. An ancient "fulling mill," an accessory of the "homespun'* age, once stood on the same stream at a point where it passes through a range of hills which extends across the northern outskirts of the village. Nothing appertaining to the mill is left but a part of the broken dam. The principal street of the village lies along the river-side between the two mills. The people are mostly farmers and mechanics. The name -Yaphank, sometimes spelled Yamp- hanke, is of Indian extraction, and was by the natives applied to a small tributary which flows into the Connecticut Eiver some four miles below here. St. Andrew's Protestant Episcopal church, a neat little building in the southeastern part, was erected in 1853. A Baptist church, located near the schpol, was built in 1854 ; TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. 257 dedicated July 4th of that year. It has recently been dis- posed of, and the society disorganized. A Presbyterian church stands a little further up, on the same street. It was built as a chapel belonging to the parish of Middletown, in 1852, in which connection it remained until Oct. 18, 1871, when a separate church was organized here. The Suffolk County Alms House stands within sight of the railroad depot, a short distance northwest. It is located on a farm of one hundred and seventy acres, about seventy of which is cleared and under a good system of cultivation. The land is level, and of excellent quality. This farm was purchased in 1870, for $12,700. It lies in a square body, and the cleared portions are fenced in a good, substantial manner. A small farm-house and large barns, which were on the premises when they were purchased by the county, still remain in use. The Alms House is a handsome aud commo- dious structure, standing near the centre of the cleared fields. It consists of a main building, three stories high, 35x90 feet, with a wing 40x80 feet and two stories high on each side, making a total length, on the southern front, of one hundred and ninety-five feet. A basement extends under the whole building. The first floor is divided into nineteen large rooms, the second floor into twenty-seven rooms, and the third floor of the center building into four rooms. An observatory, from which an extended prospect of the environs may be gained, is reached by a flight of steps from the garret of this. The open garrets contain three large water-tanks, from which the house is supplied. These tanks are made of sheet-iron, each having a capacity of about three thousand gallons. Water may be led into them from the 253 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. roof of the building, or pumped up from a driven well in the basement. From the main entrance to the building, a vestibule extends back to a hall- way which runs east and west through the middle of the house, and from this hall- way doors open into all the rooms on the main floor. The main stairway in the vestibule, and two other nights from the long passage, lead to a similar hall-way on the second floor, run- ning- east and vest through the middle of the house and communicating with the rooms on that floor. Another flight of stairs from the rear, leads to a north and south passage which opens to the north from the long passage, in the center building, and communicates with a number of rooms intended for the confinement of that class of lunatics who are not fierce enough to require the more solid walls of the base- ment cells. These long passages are divided by partitions across them, so that the inmates in one end of the house may be separated from those in the other end. The eastern half is occupied by the females, and the western half by the males, each having separate stairways and exit doors ; leading to their respective yards in the rear. The front part of the center building, both on the first and second floors, is occupied by the Superintendents' rooms and the Overseer's private apartments. The rear of the center building contains the kitchen and laundry, while the dining rooms occupy the rear of the wings. A steam cooking apparatus in the kitchen has a cax^acity sufficient to cook for two hundred and fifty persons. The basement contains the engine room, coal room, clothes drying room, three storage rooms, workshop, and Beven cells for the confinement of rabid or dangerous lunatics. The whold house is warmed by steam, pipes connecting with TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 259 the boilers in the west end of the basement running through every room and returning. A five-horse-power engine feeds Che boilers, and pumps water from a driven well for u:-;e in the kitchen and laundry, or to supr^ly the tanks in the garrets. Coils of hose are kept in the halls always ready to be con- nected with the tanks, to be used in ease of fire in any part of the building. The clothes drying room is heated to in- tensity, by a series of steam pipes, sufficient to dry a change of wet clothes in fifteen minutes. The cost of the entire heating apparatus was eleven thousand dollars. The neces- sary managers of the house, whose time is employed in keep- ing all the departments in order, are the overseer, assistant overseer, matron, assistant matron, and engineer. The physician of the house is employed by the year, and is required to make frequent calls. He has a prescription room, stored with drugs and medicines, on the second floor. The washing, ironing, cleaning, and other work of the house is done by the inmates. Arrangements have also been made to give employment to those who happen to have trades, and are able- to work a part of the time. In the work- shop in the basement a few are employed at times at basket making and coopering, and some very nice specimens of tubs, pails and baskets are manufactured. Odd jobs of carpenter work about the house are done by the same means, and thus a considera- ble expense to the county is saved. Those of the men who are able to stand it are kept part of the time at work out of doors, and in this way the farm is run on an economical basis. In fact, the whole management of the house and farm is conducted with a view to economy, at the same time pre- serving in the largest possible degree the health and comfort 260 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. of the inmates. The house is large enough to afford room for five hundred subjects, though the apartments now are too large to admit of accommodating that number in a suitable manner. The average number of inmates thus far ranges about one hundred, and the cost of materials to feed and clothe them will average about ninety-five cents a week for each one. An inspection of the store-rooms connected with the kitchen will satisfy any one that the fare is equal, if not superior, in quality to that obtained by the average of Ameri- cans. A Charities Aid Society, composed of benevolent indi- viduals from different parts of the county, has recently been organized in connection with this institution, for the purpose of visiting it and keeping an oversight upon its management and assisting in caring for and ministering to the wants of its inmates. Among other things, it is the object of this auxil- ary organization to secure occasional religious services in the house, to be conducted by volunteers from neighboring churches as often as their other duties will allow them to attend. A large room on the third floor of the main building is appro- priated to that use. The grounds about the building have been tastefully laid out, and planted with ornamental and ruit trees. The whole cost of the establishment, including the farm and all the improvements, was about seventy thou- and dollars. The house was erected in 1871, and the poor from some of the towns were moved into it during the latter part of that year. The building committee, appointed by the board of Supervisors to superintend its construction, were Win. E. Post, of Southampton ; L. B. Smith, of Smith- town ; and F. H. Overton, of Southold. The architect was Charles Hallett, of Kiverhead ; and the builders were the TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 261 Randall Bros., of Green Point. The present Overseer is John Lowden, of Amityville, and the Superintendents of the County Poor, who have general charge of the institution, Stephen R. Williams, of Amityville ; Edward L. Gerard, of Yaphank ; and E. Hampton Mulford of Orient. Stages connect at Yaphank Station, for Moriches seven miles southeast, and Middle Island, five miles northwest. Bellport Station on the railroad, two and a half miles west of here, is a hamlet of about half a dozen houses, in the midst of a level plain, which as yet is covered with forest and scrub-growth. It was formerly an important point of rail- road communication for the village of Bellport four miles south. Medford on the same line, two and a half miles further west, is a railroad station in the middle of the woods. Stage lines from Patchogue on the south, and Coram, Selden, Port Jefferson, Mt. Sinai and Milleis Place on the north, connect here. * Middle Island, located as its name implies, near the geo- graphical centre of the island, is a thinly settled farming district, covering an area of three miles square or more, and containing a population of about three hundred. It lies on the middle Country Road in the center of this town, and has two churches, two district schools and two stores. The face of the country in this vicinity is undulating, and the soil for the most part rather light. Extensive beds of clay lie under- neath, and some of these were formerly worked in a small way for brick making purposes. A range of hills extending through the town from east to west forms the southern border. The Connecticut River rises near the Country Road, 262 TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. and flowing an average course a little east of south, empties into the Great South Bay nine miles distant. A number of ponds, surrounded by low hills, and having no connection or outlets, lie about the vicinity. To the largest one of these, once called Glover's Pond, the name Artist Lake has lately been given. This beautiful sheet of water lies beside the Country Road in the eastern part, and within a few years past considerable improvements have been made upon the adjoining property by parties from the city. The name Artist Lake, was suggested by the circumstance that some of the new settlers followed the profession of picture painting. A few houses scattered about the shores of two smaller ponds, lying near each other, in the northwest part, are included in the hamlet of Swezeytown. The first Presbyterian church was built, on the Country Road, in 1766. It stood until a new one was built on the same site in 1837. This remains at the present time. The name Middletown is frequently used with reference to the parish of this church. A public burying-ground was established on the opposite side of the road about the time the first church was built. Union Cemetery, containing five acres, adjoins this on the south and west. It was opened for burial in 1867, and as yet but little improvement has been made upon it. A Methodist Episcopal church was erected in 1841, about a quarter of a mile west of this. It was removed to Coram in 1858. Another church of the same denomination was built in the southeast part of the vicinity, two miles distant, in 1860. Ridgeville is a scattered settlement of a dozen houses, about three miles east of Middle Island, in the midst of an exten- sive tract of woodland. A handsome school-house, com- TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 263 pleted in December last, [1872J is also used as a house for public worship, and is occupied as a mission station of the parish of Middletown. Longwood, the residence of Hon. Wm. Sidney Smith, and once a part of Col. Smith's patent of 1693, lies just south of here. Coram, the most ancient settlement in the interior of this town, lies along the Country Road two miles west of Middle Island. It contains a population of about two hundred, and has a church, a school and a store. The soil generally is light, and though it may appear to the superficial observer as scarcely more than worthless sand, much of it is peculiarly adapted to the growth of specialties such as locust timber, small fruits and melons, for the production of which this region has long been noted. Extensive swamps lie in the vicinity, and immense beds of clay are found but a few feet below the surface, some of which have been explored to the depth of forty feet without striking through them. Coram Pond is a small body of water lying in the bottom of a deep basin, and receiving a little rivulet which drains an elevated swamp a quarter of a mile away. The name of this place, sometimes spelled Corwm is said to have been given in honor of one of the native Indian chiefs in whose jurisdiction the territory lay. The town poor-house was established here in 1817, upon a small farm which was purchased at a cost of $900, and con- tinued in that use until the annual town meeting of 1872, when, the inmates having been removed to the new county poor-house, it was sold. Previous to the occupancy of the town poor house, it was customary for the Overseers to let out the keeping of the poor dependents upon town charity, 264 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. to whoever would agree to keep them from starving at the lowest price . For more than three quarters of a century the public meetings of the town have been held in this place. During the revolution a number of exciting events took place here. Petty skirmishes and robberies were of frequent occurence. At one time a magazine of about 300 tons of hay, which had been collected by the British troops, was burned by a party of "rebels." A Baptist church was erected here in 1747. This was the first, and for several years the only church of that denomi- nation in the county. The organization does not appear to have been well sustained. The building was sold in 1847, and moved to Port Jefferson, where its materials were used in the construction of a tenement house. A Methodist Epis- copal church, originallv built at Middle Island, was taken down and moved hither in 1858. It occupies the same site on which the old Baptist meeting-house stood. An ancient, burying ground is situated near it. Coram Hills is a hamlet of sixteen houses and a district school, located in the "hill country" two miles southeast of here, on the road to Yaphank. Following the country road west from Coram, we pass over one of the "everlasting" hills, and enter Selden, formerly called Westfield. Its present name was given in honor of a gentleman of the legal profession who proposed to do some- thing "handsome" for the place but never did it. The vil- lage occupies two miles on the country road, and contains a district school, a church, and 150 inhabitants. The people are engaged to considerable extent in the cultivation of small townVf brookhaven. 265 fruits, melons, vegetables and garden seeds, and the propa- gation of sweet potato and other garden plants. The church spoken of was built in 1857, and has been occupied most of the time as a Presbyterian chapel. A society of that denomination was organized in connection with it, Aug. 11, 1868. New Village, sometimes called West Middle Island, is a farming district extending along the country road from Sel- den to the western border of the town, a distance of about four miles. It includes a population of two hundred and fifty, and has a district school and a church. The latter was built in 1812, and was originally intended as a union meeting-house. It has been occupied principally by a Con- gregational society, which was organized in 1815. It stands in a grave-yard beside the country road. At the time the Long Island Eailroad was in process of con- struction a route was surveyed running through this section a short distance below the country road, and this being con- sidered the most convenient one, ground was broken upon it here, and a smart piece of the road graded, before the route was changed to the present site, three miles further south. A huge embankment thus formed may still be seen in this vicinity. Lake Grove, formerly Konkonkoma or Lakeville, is a pleas- ant settlement of two hundred and fifty inhabitants, two miles southwest of the place last noticed, and near the angle of the town line formed by the advance of Islip upon the southern part. It has a large district school, and three churches. Several gentlemen doing business in the city have made this locality their country residence. Brick-making is carried on to some extent. 266 TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. Lake Ronkonkonia, in this neighborhood, on the line of Brookhaven, Islip and Smithtown, is one of the largest and most beautiful sheets of fresh water on the island. The lake is about three miles in circumference, and lies some twenty feet below the average surface of the neighboring land. It is surrounded by a beach of white sand from which peculiarity it is said the Indian name it bears was derived. The water is remarkably clear, of great depth, and abounds with fish of different varieties. In the olden time the neighborhood of this lake was a favorite resort for the huntsman, frequented as it w T as by great numbers of deer. It is now a popular retreat for pleasure-seekers and pic-nic parties from the neighboring villages. Thousands annually visit its shores, for recreation and to enjoy the delights of its scenery. Its banks are shaded by a belt of sturdy oaks, which grew "from little acorns" many long years ago. Several fine groves in the vicinity are used for camp-meetings, mass-meetings, celebra- tions and other public gatherings of a religious, political or social character. St. Mary's Episcopal church, a small but handsome Gothic structure, built in 1867, stands on the northeast shore of the lake. A Methodist Episcopal church was erected in 1852. It stands at the cross-roads near the school, about half a mile northeast of the other, and near the village burying-ground. It was enlarged and rebuilt in 1868. A short distance up the New Village road stands a Baptist church, erected in 1869. Lakeland Station, on the Long Island Railroad lies about one mile south of here, within the town of Islip. TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. 2G7 Portion Road leads from the lake eastward through a thinly scattered settlement of about 25 houses, called Farmingville or Bald Hills, covering a distance of four miles, and lying between this village and Coram Hills. A neat and commodious dis- trict school is located near the center of the neighborhood. The western part of the sec^on is sometimes called Mooney Pond. Waverly Station on the L. I. Railroad, near the northeast angle of Islip town, is a compact hamlet of about fifteen houses, containing a school, a store, and Holtsville Post-office. It is located in the midst of a fine level clearing, which if improved would make a beautiful site for a large village. A neatly kept burying ground lies a short distance west of the habitations. Gardening and grape culture have been com- menced here. Blue Point lies in the extreme southwest corner of the town, upon a point of land called by the Indians Manowtas- quott. Namkee Creek an insignificant little drain of water running through a bog marsh, forms the western boundary of this village, as well as of the town. The people are mostly farmers and bay-men. The richest oyster grounds in the Great South Bay lie near this place, and the name "Blue Point oysters " suggests a very popular idea of excellence. The village contains two churches, two stores, a Division of the Sons of Temperance, and a population of three hundred and twenty- one. A very neat district school house was built in 1871. Near this, on the west side of the principal "lane " stands the Baptist church. This was built as a Union or Congregational church, in 1865, and in the early part of 1870 was transferred to the present denomination. A Methodist 268 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. Episcopal cliurcli stands on the opposite side of the street. It was built in 1866. The South Side Railroad runs through the midst of this village, and has a depot at a central point. Edenvale, a settlement of five houses upon the scrubby plain, two miles north of here, was commenced about fifteen years ago. Patchogue, deriving its name from the Pochough tribe of Indians who once occupied the region, is the largest village on the south side of the town, and contains a population of about twenty-three hundred. It is situated on the Great South Bay, about two miles east of the town line, and at the present terminus of the South Side Railroad. The depot buildings of the Company, in the lower part of the village, are the largest and finest of the kind in the county. The south Country Road forme the principal street. The site is level, and most of the streets are quite wide and compara- tively straight. The village contains four churches, two hotels, two cotton factories, two grist-mills, twelve stores, and a number of shops and saloons. The fisheries of the bay afford the principal support of the place. Oysters, clams, and fish are taken in great quantities from the adjoining waters and sent to the New York market. It is estimated that the oyster business which is carried on from this village gives employment to about three hundred and fifty men, and it is probable that the annual proceeds of the business, together with the other fisheries, amount in the aggregate to more than a quarter of a million dollars. From six to eight hundred acres of the neighboring bottom are "planted " with oysters, by individuals who lease the ground of the town, for the propagation and growth of these bivalves. These artiii- TOWN OP BROOKHAVEN. 269 cial oyster beds are supposed to yield an annual value of a hundred thousand dollars or more. Upon this industrial foundation principally, this village has grown within the present century from an inconsiderable hamlet to its present increasing size and importance. In addition to this, however, it has long been noted as a center of considerable manufac- turing interest. Two streams of water flow into the bay, one on the western border of the village and the other on the eastern. These are sufficient to furnish power for driving a large amount of machinery. Large flour and grist mills are located on each of them. On the west one, called Patehogue Creek, a paper mill is situated about one and a half miles back of the village, in the midst of a tributary settlement of a dozen houses, sometimes called Canaan. The " Union " Twine Mills are located on the same stream, at the villige. This manufacturing enterprise was first started here on a small scale by parties from Massachusetts, afterward con- ducted by Justice Roe, and about the year 1800 established on a large scale by George Fair of New York, who was suc- ceeded by John Roe, father of the present proprietor, John E. Roe* These were the third cotton mills established in the United States, and the first to manufacture carpet warp from cotton. The "Swan River" mills, located on the eastern stream are under the same proprietorship and management. This factory was destroyed by fire in 1854, but was soon after rebuilt. Both these mills are occupied in the manufacture of carpet warp and twine, using about 200,000 pounds of raw material annually. During the last seven years their capacity has been increased one hundred per cent. Each mill contains 270 town of bkookhaven. eight hundred spindles, employs fifteen to seventeen hands, and uses about thirty-six horse-power of water. A short distance west of the village is a small stream called Little Patchogue, on which a woolen factory containing some five hundred spindles was formerly located. The stream is now unoccupied. Among the manufacturing enterprises which have been in operation here in the past were an iron- forge, several tanneries, and a machine-shop employed in the manufacture of envelope cutters. Ship-building is carried on along the shore, but is mostly confined to vessels of light draft, such as are used in the navigation of the bay. The shallowness of the water forbids launching vessels of large size. Owing to this unfavorable feature of the bay, there is no wharf here, and vessels are obliged to lie off in the channel and receive or discharge their cargoes by means of "lighters" which can run so near the shore that teams may be driven into the water alongside of them. Like most of its sister villages of the South Side, Patchogue enjoys a share of the patronage of summer boarders from the city. The Eagle Hotel, a house of liberal dimensions and attractive surroundings, is generally filled to overflowing with this class of visitors during the season. The old parish burying-ground lies in the western part of the village, near the Patchogue Creek mill-pond. It contains about two acres, well filled with graves. The most conspicu- ous monument is that erected to the memory of the late Oliver W. Eice, M. D., who died November 12th, 1869. The base of this monument is about five feet square, and the die is surmo anted by a heavy cross. It stands within an en" closure of iron fence, near the main street. TOWN OP BEOOKHAVEN. 271 Near this resting place of the dead the first house of worship was erected in 1794. It belonged jointly to the four denomi- nations, Congregationalist, Methodist, Baptist, and Presby- terian, and each sect was allowed to occupy it their proportion of the time. About the year 1822 the building was replaced by another which still occupies the site, though for many years it has been abandoned as a hoi\se of worship and devot- ed to other purposes. In 1831 the Methodists withdrew from ,tbe union and erected a small church of their own near by. The other two denominations having at that time become nearly or quite extinct, the joint building passed into the possession of the Congregationalists. In 1855 the church at present occupied by that denomination was built. This is a handsome building, of somewhat imposing dimensions, and stands on Pine Street, a little north of the centre of the vil- lage. The present Methodist church, a commodious building located near the railroad depot, was built in 1853. The former church built by that denomination was sold to the Roman Catholics, by whom it is now occupied. St. Paul's Episcopal church, standing on the Main Street near the vil- lage centre, was built in 1843. The public school building of this village is one of the largest and finest in the county. It is located on Ocean Ave- nue, a short distance below the village centre. The building is three stories high, and was erected in the spring of 1870 at an expense of $10,700. The school is under first-class management, and numbers in attendance about four hundred and fifty scholars, and employs seven teachers. Brookhaven Lodge, No. 80, I. O. of O . F. , was organized here in 1847, and numbers at present one hundred and eight 272 TOWN OP BROOKHAVEN. members. South Side Lodge, No. 493, F. & A. M., was instituted here in June, 1860. Feb. 22, 1862, the building in which its meetings were held was burned, and the Lodge sustained a loss of all their regalia, furniture, records &c. , by the fire. The lodge was re-organized in June 1862. The membership at present numbers about one hundred. Patch- ogue Division, Sons of Temperance, reports a membership of one hundred and seven. From the eastern part of Patchogue a continuous settlement called Union Street, or East Patchogue, extends along the main road to Bellport, a distance of about three miles. This section is occupied by farms and pleasant residences. The country is level and the road a delightful one to drive over. Bellport is a village of about four hundred and fifty inhabit- ants, neatly built, and pleasantly located on the shore of the Great South Bay. It occupies one of the most eligible sites for a beautiful and prosperous village on the whole south side of the island. The neck of land which it covers was called by the Indians Accombamack, sometimes spelled Occombomock. The water of the bay here is of sufficient depth to allow vessels of considerable size to come up to a wharf which pro- jects from the foot of the principal "lane." Lumber and coal yards and marine railways are located near the same spot. Ship-building has also been carried on here to some extent. The village was commenced about forty years ago, and it rapid growth for a few years gave flattering promises of future prosperity. Among the most prominent leaders in buildiug it up were Messrs. Thomas and John Bell, from whom it de- rived its name. A number of fine country residences, beau- tifully situated amid luxurious surroundings are located along TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 273 the main road, and dwellings of less pretensions are pleas- antly sited in full view of the canvas spangled bay and the distant line of beach hills. There are three stores in the village. An academy was established here soon after the village began its growth, and for a time that building was used also as a place of worship. As an educational institution it has during a part of the time filled a good measure of suc- cess, but for several years past it has only been occupied by the district school of the village. A Presbyterian church, of handsome proportions and design, was erected here in 1850. It stands on the main street, and contains a fine pipe organ. Bellport Division, Sons of Temperance, was instituted during the infancy of the order, and has preserved its existence with fluctuating prosperity about thirty years. It now reports ninety-eight members. This is one of the oldest and most successful temperance organizations in Suffolk County, and the happy influence which it has wielded among the people has been marked by good fruits. It is deserving of favorable notice on account of the fact that during an early period of its existence sufficient interest in its wellfare was inspired to build a Temperance Hall for its accommodation, thereby insuring to the institution a more substantial and permanent foundation. This building, a neat, plain edifice, two stories in height and of comfortable dimensions, is still owned and occupied by the Division. The lower room was formerly occupied as a place of worship by a Congregational society, but that society having diminished in strength and numbers, a Methodist Episcopal church was formed here in 1870, and that denomination has since then occupied the same room c It is now taking measures to build a church of its own. 274: TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. Brookhaven Temple of Honor was instituted at Bellporfc, Oct. 6, 1886, and also meets in the Temperance Hall. This organization numbers thirty members. A small settlement of colored people lies a short distance back of this village, and a neat little African church is cred- itably sustained among them. Adjoining Bellport on the east lies the village of Brookka- ven, until recently called Fire Place. It contains two church- es, two district schools, two stores and a population of about four hundred. Immense tracts of salt meadows skirt the shore of the bay at this point. A great part of this meadow- land is owned by farmers of the interior, many of whom come from eight to sixteen miles to gather the hay product and haul it home. The people of this village are mostly farm- ers and fishermen.* Gunning for wild-fowl in the neighbor- hood is followed as a source of profit by some and as pastime by others. Trout-ponds have been established on a small stream called Beaver Dam River which runs through the midst of the settlement. The eastern part, sometimes called the "Neck," borders on Connecticut River, and a dock has been constructed here, at a point which bears the Indian name Squassucks. A small Methodist Episcopal church was built in this village in 1818, and in 1872 it was moved to an- other site and enlarged. It now presents a handsome apj>ear- ance. A small lecture-room fitted up about forty years ago *A casualty, long to be remembered on account of its fatal results, and worthy of a place in history, occurred on the ocean shore opposite here, on the night of September 5th, 1813. A party of eleven men went from this place across to the beach to draw a seine for fish, and by some terrible mishap they were aJl thrown into the sea and drowned. These men were William Rose, Isaac Woodruff, Lewis Parshall, Benjamin Brown, Nehemiah Hand, James Homan, Charles Ellis on, James Prior, Daniel Pai'shalL Henry Homan, and John Huisc. TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. 275 by a Congregational society is occasionally opened for relig- ious service. An Episcopal church has been built here dur- ing the present season. A line of mail and express stages connects this village and Bellport with the South Side Kail- road at Patchogue. Adjoining Brookhaven on the northeast, and centrally dis- tant about two miles from it, lies the hamlet of South Haven, on the west side of Connecticut River about three miles from its mouth. This settlement contains about twenty houses, a post-office, store, school, church, saw and grist mill, and a moulding and planing mill. The Suffolk Club House is a magnificent building, pleasantly situated on the west bank of the river, and surrounded by extensive pleasure grounds bor- dering on the mill-pond. The first Presbyterian church was erected here about the year 1765. The present one, standing near the bank of the river, was built in 1828. About half way from here down to the river's month a small tributary to which the Indians gave the name Yamphanke flows into it from the west. The western boundary of Col. William Smith's purchase followed up this tributary, and thus included a tract of land on the west side of the Connecticut River. The principal part of South Haven is located on that tract. The "Parish of Southaven, " as it was formerly called, does not appear to have been included in the town of Brookhaven until about the time of the revolution. Mastic is a large peninsula situated between Connecticut River on the west and Forge River or Mastic River on the east, and containing about fifteen square miles of territory. It projects so f,;r into the bay that only a narrow strait 276 TOWN OF BEOOKHAVEN. varying in width from one quarter to three quarters of a mile remains between it and the Great South Beach. It separates the Great South Bay on the west from the East Bay on the east. Patterquos Creek empties into the strait from about middle way of the southern shore. Smith's Point is the southwestern extremity, and Floyd's Point the southeastern. The shore is extremely ragged, and many of its " necks " and localities retain their aboriginal names. Among these are Poosepatuck, Sebonock, Necornmack, Coosputus, Patterquos, Unchahoug and Mattemoy. This peninsula is the southern part of that tract of land, extending back to the middle of the island, which was purchased of the Indians by Col. Wm, Smith in 1691, and afterwards incorporated by patent from the Colonial Governor, under the title of St. George's Manor. A considerable part of the real estate has ever since been held by descendants of the original patentee. The soil is good, and the territory is divided into a few large farms, upon which stock-raising is carried on to considerable extent. The larger part is still covered with forest growth. Some of the most illustrious and prominent men of our County or State have had their homes here, among whom we may men- tion Gens. Nathaniel Woodhull and William Floyd, who were among the foremost of the revolutionary heroes. During the revolution the British erected a fortification, called Ft. St. George, on the west side of the peninsula, (near the present residence of Hon. E. T. Smith) which was captured and destroyed by a detachment of Continental troops under Maj. Benjamin Tallmadge, Nov. 23, 1780. This peninsula abounds in pleasant groves of lusty oaks, and its retirement and romantic beauties are frequently sought by pleasure parties TOWN OF BJROOKHAVEN. 277 and excursionists, while poets are inspired to sing in glowing strains of its enchanting loveliness. On the west side of Forge Biver, about two miles above its mouth, is the home of the so-called Poosepatuck Indians, whose aboriginal ancestry was once a family of the Pochough tribe. The settlement contains nearly a dozen houses, and a small church. This secluded spot is noted for being the place of holding a religious aniversary of the colored people, which is regularly celebrated on the second Sunday in June, and from this fact denominated the "June meeting." The design of this custom, which has been observed for several generations, was to bring together in a social and religious re-union the remnants of the different Indian tribes of the island, but that design has been sadly perverted by the in- trusion of the curious and the profane, through whose un- happy influence the meeting has been made an occasion for sport and drunken revelry. In justice to the colored partici- pants, and to the disgrace of the white population, both of whom attend these annual gatherings from a distance of twenty to thirty miles around, it may be added that a large proportion of these interlopers belong to the latter class. Moriches is the general name, derived from the Indians who once occupied the territory, now applied to a continuous settlement extending along the Country Koad, from the head of Forge River to within two miles of the east line of the town, a distance of about five miles. It is divided into three villages, West, Centre, and East, Moriches, each of which has a post-office. Farming and fishing are the principal occupa- tions of the people. The soil is good and the surface level. 278 TOWN OF BROOKHAVEN. The shore is divided into a number of necks, by several creeks that put into it, and streams which run down through it. West Moriches, [Moriches P. O.J containing a store, grist- mill, saw-mill and paper-mill, and thirty-five houses, is loca- ted at the head of Forge Eiver about three miles from the bay. The river is navigable for small vessels nearly up to this point. An iron forge was established here by Col. Floyd in the early part of the present century, but it did not long continue in operation. Centre Moriches, a village of six hundred inhabitants, is beautifully situated near the East Bay. It contains two churches, four stores, two hotels, and a number of tradesmen. A grist-mill is located on Terrell's Eiver, which forms the line between this and East Moriches. The village enjoys considerable celebrity as a watering place, and is largely visited during the summer season. Two large boarding- houses are located near the shore, and a large number of private families accommodate boarders. A bathing station on the South Beach opposite here, affords excellent facilities for surf -bathing, and a number of sail-boats make connection with that point daily. The habitations of this village are beautifully situated along the Country Road and down the several " lanes " which lead to the bay, many of them in full view of the water. The first church of this village was built in 1809. Although the origin of the settlement must date back nearly two centuries, and a church organization had been sustained here for half a century, no house of worship appears to have been erected until that year, when a house for the use of all denominations was built. In 1839 the present Presbyterian church was erected by the Presbyterians and TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. 279 Congregationalists, for the alternate use of each. It has since been enlarged, and occupies a pleasant site, near the centre of the village. A neat school-house recently built, stands near it. In the western part stands the Methodist Episcopal church, also built in 1839. A Methodist Protestant church was erected here in 1840. In 1868 it was moved to Manor Station, where it now stands. A neatly kept cemetery lies in the eastern part of the settlement, a short distance back from the main road. This occupies a part of a certain piece of land, containing about seven acres, which was given to the Presbyterian church and congregation for a Parsonage &c, by Capt. Josiah Smith, about the year 1845. The burying ground, covering one and a half acres, is called the Presbyterian Cemetery of Moriches, and was opened for burial about the year 1851. Stage lines connect this village with the Sag Harbor Branch R. R. at "Moriches Station" [Eastport] four miles east, or with the main line at Yaphank Station, seven miles northwest. East Moriches, the continuation of this village beyond Terrell's River, contains about four hundred inhabitants, a large district school, a lecture room, store, tannery, and a few tradesmen's shops. A number of handsome residences are pleasantly situated in full view of the bay. Some of these, and a number of cottages, are occupied as country seats by New Yorkers who spend the summer here. Fishing, boat- building and repairing are carried on to some extent. Eastport is a village of three hundred and fifty inhabitants, on the line between this town and Southampton. It com- prises two school-districts, one in each town. The people are principally fishermen, " sailors and small farmers. The 280 TOWN OV BBOOKHAVEN. institutions of the place are a church, two grist-mills, two stores, a wintergreen oil distillery, blacksmith and wheel- wright shop. On the western border a little brook rises near the country road. This is called Little Seatuck, and a trout- pond has been laid out upon it. On or near the town line, in the centre of the village, a larger stream called by the Indian name Seatuck River supplies a saw and grist mill. In the summer of 1865 a sorgham mill was established, which has since been kept running during the season of each year, though the business has lost that vigor and enthusiasm with which it was commenced. A wintergreen oil distillery was es- tablished on this mill-dam, by Jeremiah Horton, in 1870, and it is still in operation. The grounds of the Se-a-tuck Club border the western shore of this mill-pond, and large pools have been constructed by them for the propagation of trout with which to stock the pond. The club house, first opened in 1872, is a noble specimen of architecture, and occupies an elevated site, overlooking the pond, and commanding a pleasant view of the bay and ocean. About half a mile east of the mill-stream just noticed is another, a smaller one, which furnishes power for driving a saw and grist mill. The section between these two mill-streams was once called Waterville. A Methodist Protestant church, built about the year 1845, stands in this part of the village. A depot on the Sag Harbor Branch Railroad, at the point of intersection with the country road, in the western part of this village, is called Moriches Station. This is five and a quarter miles southeast from Manor Station. A post-office by the name of Seatuck was established in this village in 1849, and discontinued in 1857. The present village name was adopted by a meeting TOWN OF BKOOKHAVEN. 281 of the inhabitants in I860, and a post-office by that name established about the commencement of the present year. The streams of this place, which we have just noticed, flow into a cove which indents the coast, from the East Bay. Moderate sized sloops and small schooners enter this cove and bring merchandise from New York. Considerable quan- tities of pine wood are taken from here. CHAPTER XIII. RTVERHEAD TOWN — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The town of Riverhead was formed from the western part of Southold, March 13, 1792. The name was derived from that of the principal village, being located at the head of boat navigation on the Peconic River. But few improve- ments were made here until after the neighboring towns had become well advanced. As a consequence the history of this town is comparatively modern, and in its character as a dis- tinct incorporation has no pre-revolutionary record. Its territory extends east and west about fifteen miles, with an average width of about five miles. The Long Island Sound washes the northern shore, Southold town joins it on the east, Peconic River and Bay separates it from Brookhaven and Southampton on the south, and Brookhaven bounds it on the west. The sound shore forms a line of high, precipi- tous bluffs, and in their vicinity the surface is broken into rugged hills. From these rough elevations the surface grad- ually descends to near the level of tide water on the south side of the town. The soil in the northern part is a rich heavy loam, and in the southern part comparatively light. Clay beds abound in the loamy regions. The western inland portions of the town are thinly settled, and but partially im- proved, while in the eastern part, and along the north side, most of the land is cleared and kept under a good state of cultivation. TOWN OF RIVEKHEAD. 283 During the war of 1812, several vessels belonging to this town were captured by the British in the sound. May 31, 1814, a smart skirmish took place on the sound shore. A British squadron lying six or seven miles off on the sound, sent two large barges shore-ward, to where two or more sloops lay on the beach ready to load with wood. About thirty militia, under Capt. John Wells, hearing of their movements, repaired to the spot, in readiness to receive them. The two barges contained about fifty men, who, as they approached the shore, opened fire from their cannon and musketry. As they were about to board the sloop " Nancy,'* the militia opened fire upon them, with such destructive effect that their attention was at once absorbed in the matter of saving their lives by immediate retreat. None of the militia were injured, but it was supposed that several of the enemy were killed or wounded. The principal part of the village of Wading Biver lies in the extreme northwest corner of this town. This ancient settle- ment occupies a convenient site among the hills in the neigh- borhood of a creek which the Indians called Pawquacumsuck. This creek forms the dividing line between this town and Brookhaven, and receives a small stream which furnishes power for driving a grist-mill. This village contains a popu- lation ol about two hundred and fifty. Two district schools are located within the limits of the neighborhood. The creek is navigable for small boats. Considerable quantities of cordwood are exported from a landing on the sound shore. A Congregational church, of respectable dimensions and ap- pearance, stands near the centre of the village. It was built in 1837, to replace a smaller one which had been standing 284 TOWN OF KIVEEHEAD. near a hundred years, and which, tradition says was originally occupied by a church of the Presbyterian order. The people of this village are engaged mostly in farming, and apparently belong to the well-to-do class. A stage line connects with the railroad at Manor Station. About three miles east of Wading River a settlement of farm-houses begins, and extends without any remarkable interruption, in a continuous line to the eastern limit of the town, and beyond. This settlement lines the North Country Road a distance of about twelve miles, the habitations being located at convenient intervals, and a large proportion of them on the north side of the highway. This road follows a course parallel with the sound shore and about one mile from it, passing through a section occupied almost entirely by rich, highly cultivated and productive farms. This line of settlement? embraces Baiting Hollow, Roanoke and North- ville. The inhabitants are almost exclusively farmers, and the appearance of fruitful fields, and large, well filled barns, graneries and stock-yards, which are common all through this section, speaks in evidence of the success with which agricul- ture is carried on. Baiting Hollow, the western part of this settlement, occu- pies four miles of the road, and includes about sixty dwell- ings. It embraces two school districts, and has two churches. Jericho Landing, on the shore near this place, is a point from which considerable quantities of cordwood have been shipped. Settlement here is supposed to have been commenced dur- ing the early part of the last century. Near the center of the eastern school district stands the two churches. The first Congregational church was built in 1803, a society of that TOWN OF RIVEKHEAD. 285 denomination having been organized in 1792. About twenty years ago the old church was sold, and a new one built in its place. The New Jerusalem (Swedenborgian) church, stand- ing a short distance further east, was built in 1839, by a society which had been organized in 1831. Roanoke is a school district and farming vicinage contain- ing about thirty-five houses, lying between Baiting Hollow and Northville. A post-office was established here about two years since, but has been discontinued. North ville [Success P. O.] comprises two school districts, and occupies about four miles of the Country Road, run- ning to the town line on the east. It contains about four hundred inhabitants. The first house of worship in this vil- lage was moved here from its original site, on the Middle Country Road about two miles east of the village of River- head, in 1835. This belonged to the Congregational society, and was used by them until the erection of a new building. In 1859 the old church was converted into an academy, and for a number of years a first class school was maintained in it. The patrons of Northville Academy have been from all parts of the County, and some from other places in the State as well. This building stands on the north side of the main road, and directly opposite stands the present Congre- gational church, erected in 1859. This is a neatly finished building, of liberal proportions, and is supplied with most of the modern improvements. Near it lies the village ceme- tery, a well arranged and neatly kept burying-ground. This village is one of the most pleasant and attractive fural settle- ments on the island. The location is elevated and remarka- bly healthful, and while its retirement is sufficient to answer 28G TOWN OF RIVEBHEAD. almost any demand — the wild hills which form a bulwark against the sound shore affording an ample field for the sweetest solitude— the more stirring scenes of life and busi- ness are within convenient reach, by a short hour's drive over a pleasant road to the county seat and centre of public activity and trade at Riveihead. This village is the head-quarters of the Eiverhead Town Agricultural Society, an energetic organization of farmers who have succeeded in a large measure in reducing the theory of co-operation to practice. This co-operation is effected with profitable results in the purchase of fertilizers, implements, seeds &c. Its purchasing agency has done a business amounting to $16,000 a year. During the war of 1812 an American cutter, closely pursued by a British man-of-war, was run ashore at this place, and a determined fight took place between the quickly gathered militia and the pursuing barges from the ship. The Ameri- cans maintained so hot a fire from behind the bank that the marines were several times repulsed, and although aided by a heavy cannonade from the ship were forced to retire. The ship sailed down to the British fleet at Orient, and was ordered back the next day to renew the fight, and then suc- ceeded in capturing the dismantled and sinking prize. In the southwestern part of this town lies a thinly settled region, containing perhaps twenty houses on a tract three miles square. This section is light and sandy, but at the same time abounds in marshes and ponds which, though most of them have no visible connection, are supposed to feed the head-waters of the Peconic River. This vicinage, TOWN OF MVEEHEAD. 287 covering a school district, lies adjacent to and on the north of Manorville, and is consider%d as belonging to that place. Calverton is a railroad station and post-office, about five miles east of Manorville, rnd on the southern border of the town. • This is in the midst of an extensive wooded region, and the initial of the railroad station was a side track which was laid for the convenience of loading cars with cordwood. It was at first called Hulse's " Turnout," and afterward, when it became a " flag station " was named Baiting Hollow Station, from the fact of its being a convenient point of departure for that place, which lies about three miles directly north. The school district embraces within its limits about forty dwell- ings, the most of them being located on the Middle Country Road, which runs about a mile and a half north of the rail- road. A district school is located on that road, a store at the depot, and a grist-mill, known as the Conungum mills, on the Peconic Eiver, less than half a mile south of the depot. A bone mill is located on the river a mile and a half further down. Riverhead village, the county seat of Suffolk, and one of the most pleasant and flourishing villages in the county, lies at the head of navigation on Peconic River, a few miles east of the longitudinal centre of the town, and on its southern border. The soil in this neighborhood is light and sandy, but the village site is level and sufficiently elevated to be free from marshes. It is regularly laid out, on streets of conven- ient width, which have been improved and beautified by laying off neat sidewalks and planting shade trees. The larger proportion of its residences are of tasty design and finish, and many of them really elegant specimens of archi- 288 TOWN OF EIVEEHEAD. tecture. The Middle Country Road forms the Main Street, and the other principal streets are Griffiing and Roanoke Avenues, running north from this and crossing the railroad, the former passing near the depot. The principal part of the village lies on the south of the railroad, between it and the river. The northern part is rapidly building up. Ten years ago there was not a dwelling to be seen on the north of the track. It was then occupied by cleared fields, and groves of native timber. Since that time roads have been laid out, and scores of handsome houses built, so that now we find this part of the village smiling with prosperity and im- provements. The village contains the Suffolk County Court House and Jail, the County Clerk's Office, the Agricultural Fair Grounds and Buildings, six churches, two grist-mills, two moulding and planing mills, a paper mill, three hotels, twenty stores, a cigar manufactory, and a considerable number of shops and offices. It is estimated that this village has a capital of half a million dollars employed in its mercantile and manufacturing enterprises. It has a population of about sixteen hundred, engaged mostly in various mechanical, commercial, and professional occupations. The first settlement of the village was commenced in 1690, by John Griffing and a few others. Its increase during the first hundred years was very small, the settlement at the close of the last century numbering only four or five houses. The progress of its growth during the present century may be inferred from the fact that in 1843 the village contained seventy dwellings, and at the present time, thirty years later, contains two hundred and eighty. The first grist-mill was erected in 1695. The TOWN OF RIVERHEAD. 289 Peconic River supplies power for driving a grist-mill and a paper mill, located at the village, and a woolen factory on the stream about a mile above. Another grist-mill in the village, is supplied by a canal leading from a pond about a mile away on the southwest. Bridge Street leaves Main near the centre of the village, and crosses the river at the head of boat navi- gation. The river up to this point is shoal, and the channel narrow and crooked. Several attempts have been made, at different times, to make it wider and deeper, so that medium or large sized vessels could come up to the village. An effort to accomplish this design was made in 1835, and a stock company was incorporated for that purpose, and the work commenced, but it was discontinued before it had made any remarkable progress. ( Appropriations by the Legislatures of the State and General Government have been made within the last three years, to the amount of $30,000, and it is intended to dredge the channel seventy-five feet wide, at low water, from the village to the mouth of the river, a distance of two and three quarter miles. Trade on the river is now carried on by means of scows and small sloops, which receive the cargoes of large vessels at the river's mouth and bring them up to the village. The improvement of this river will add greatly to the benefit and prosperity of the village. The courts of Suffolk County were moved to Riverhead in 1729, having previously been held at Southampton and Southold. A small frame building was erected in 1728, which answered both for court-house and jail, and the first court session was held in it March 27, 1729. This house stood until the storms and sunshine of a century had beaten it 290 TOWN OF KIVEItHEAD. almost to detsruction, when it was repaired, reconstructed and enlarged, and a new jail building erected. The old court-house, now in a fair state of preservation, stands in a favorite position, in the centre of the village, and is occupied by several stores and offices. The present court-house occu- pies a spacious lot on Grifling Avenue, near the railroad depot. It was erected in 1854 and '55, at an expense of $17,800. The building committee were S. B. Nicoll, of Shelter Island ; Wm. R. Post, of Southampton ; and Sylves- ter Miller, of Riverhead ; appointed by the Board of Supervi- sors. The building is constructed of brick and stone, is two stories in height, with a basement beneath, and contains the court-room on the second floor, the grand and petit juries' rooms and supervisors' room, on the main floor, and apart- ments for the family of the sheriff or jailer on the main floor and in the basement. In the rear of the building is the jail- yard, the court-house forming one side, while the other three sides are protected by a high board fence, surmounted by a thickly set row of sharpened spikes. The jail, standing in the centre of this yard, is a small two-story octagon about thirty feet in diameter, and is built of stone. The record of capital punishment in this county, since the close of the Revolution is as follows. John Slocum was executed Sept. 4, 1786, for horse-stealing. William Erskine (colored) was executed Oct. 5, 1791, for rape. "William Enoch was executed Jan. 12, 1835, for the murder of his wife. John Hallock was executed July 2, 1836, for the mur- der of a colored woman. Samuel Johnson was executed July 6, 1841, for the murder of his wife. Nicholas Behan was TOWN OF KIYEEHE1D. 291 executed Dec. 15, 1854, for the murder of James Wickman, at Cutchogue, June 2, 1854. The County Clerk's Office, a grim looking fire-proof build- ing, stands near the heart of the village, on the corner of Main Street and Griffing Avenue. It is a single, high story, about twenty by thirty feet on the floor, and its walls are completely lined with shelves and cases all filled up with documents, books, and massive record libers. Five men are constantly employed in the office, besides other, outside copyists who are employed part of the time, as necessity demands. As an illustration of the amount of business done at this office in the recording of deeds and mortgages, at the present time in comparison with the past, we will mention that Liber A, of Deeds, the first book in which such a record was kept by the County Clerk, notwithstanding its being a very small volume, was sufficient to contain all the deeds recorded from the year 1687 to the year 1714. Liber B begins with 1714, and ends with 1768. Liber C contains those records from 1768 to 1804. Liber A, of Mortgages, contains the record from 1755 to 1775 ; Liber B, from 1775 to to 4778 ; Liber C, from 1778 to 1794. The libers now used are massive, leather bound volumes, containing about six hundred pages each, and an average of five of these libers are now used every year for recording mortgages, and ten every year for deeds. Among the ancient records in this office is a small book containing a record of wills and court proceedings, covering a space of time from 1691 to 1733, which was for many years lost to the office, but was finally unearthed and returned Oct. 31, 1871, by Thomas S. Lester, of New York, a son of the Executor of the estate of EzraL'Hommedieu, who 292 • TOWN OF RIVERHEAD. held the office of county clerk for a number of years, and among whose papers it was found. Another, still older book, contains the record of court proceedings, &c. , from 1669 to 1684. The weight of records, documents and books on file in this office would amount to about six tons, and the written surface of its records would cover about eleven and a half acres of ground. N. arly all the available space in the present building is now occupied, and the constant accumulation of matter already calls for more room. The erection of a new office is being considered, and will probably soon be effected. The building proposed will be a fire-proof structure of two stories and a basement, twenty-eight by forty feet. The Fair Grounds of the Suffolk County Agricultural Society are located in the northwest part of the village, a short distance north of the railroad depot. The grounds cover an area of twenty and a quarter acres, which were bought for the surprisingly moderate figure of $1,650. This land was pur- chased by contributions from the people of Hiverhead, and donated to the Society for a permanent fair ground. The deed for it was delivered to the board of managers Jan. 22, 1868. The ground was enclosed that year, with a substan- tial board fence, and in 1869 the exhibition hall was erected. This building cost about $5,000, and at the time of its erec- tion was one of the finest county exhibition halls in the State. Its ground plan describes a cross, each of the four wings extending thirty feet from the common centre, which is forty feet square, being the square of the width of the wings. A gallery about eight feet wide runs entirely around the interior of the building, and this is reached by eight separate stair- ways running up at the angles formed by the intersection of TOWN OF EIVERHEAD. 293 the wings. "Wide doors open from the inain floor at the end of each wing. The building stands in the southern part of the enclosure. A small building occupied by the President's and Secretary's offices stands on the line of the street at the entrance gate, near the southeast corner of the grounds. Stalls for animals are ranged along the west side. A half- mile track, for the exhibition of horses and their trotting capabilities occupies the northern part. The total expense to the Society, for the grounds, buildings and improvements was about seven thousand dollars. Adjoining the Fair Grounds, en the east lies the village Cemetery. This is situated in a grove of young oaks, and is artistically laid out, with curved walks and avenues. It con- tains a great many neat and pretty monumental pieces, and well kept burial plats. In a circular, hedged enclosure, near the entrance, stands one of the most conspicuous structures in the cemetery — the soldiers monument. This was erected by the generosity of Hon. John S. Marcy, and contains the names of those who Were in the Union service from this vil- lage, in the late war. This cemetery contains about ten acres, only one half of which is improved, and it was opened for burial in September, 1859. * In 1829 a society of Congregationalists was formed from the membership of the church at Upper Aquebogue, and in 1831 this society erected a house of worship about two miles east of this village. The membership of this society was divided between Eiverhead and Northville, and in 1834 the church was divided and a separate one organized in each place. The house of worship was moved to Northville and the society at Eiverhead occupied the lower room of the building which 291 TOWN OF RIVERHEAD. had just been erected for a female seminary. This arrange- ment continued until the year 1842, when the present Con- gregational church was erected. It stands on Main Street, just east of the village centre, and having been rebuilt and en- larged in 1869, is a building of comfortable dimensions and re- spectable appearance. It occupies a roomy lot, and the Female Seminary above alluded to stands beside it. This building was erected in 1834, by Dr. Joshua Fanning and Mr. George Miller. Their object was to establish a first class school for young ladies, and also to provide a room for the accommoda- tion of religious services, without regard to any particular denomination or society. The upper floor was used for the school-room, and the lower floor for religious services. The school was opened in 1835, by Miss Leonard, who afterward became the wife of Mr. George Miller, and under her super- vision it has been continued from that time till within about a year of the present. The school has been well sustained, both by residents of the village and patrons from various parts of the island. During its many years of prosperity it had an average attendance of thirty to forty pupils. The Methodist Episcopal church, a splendid building, of magnificent proportions and elegant design, stands a short distance further east, on the same street. It is surrounded by a church-yard, well filled with graves. This building was commenced in 1869, and completed and dedicated in 1871, at a cost of about $12,000. The society to which it belongs rejoices in the fact that it is now clear of debt. This denom- ination was organized here in 1833, and its first house of worship was erected in 1834. This building, a very plainly finished house, was sold on completion of the new church, TOWN OF EIVEEHEAD. 295 and no w stands on the opposite side of the street, near by. A New Jerusalem [Swedenborgian] church, a very neat edifice of moderate dimensions, stands on the corner of Abner and Second Streets, in the midst of the village. Services by this denomination were maintained for a number of years previous to the erection of a church, in a private hall. The house of worship was erected in 1855. A small cemetery belonging to this denomination lies in the northern part of the village, adjoining the Roman Catholic grounds. St. John's Roman Catholic church, built about five years ago, is a handsome edifice, to which is attached the residence of the officiating clergyman. This stands upon a lot of about two acres, belonging to the church, and a part of which is occupied as a burying-ground for the denomination. This lies a short distance north of the railroad. Directly west of the last mentioned church stands the Episcopal church, completed last spring, 1873. It occupies a lot extending from Washington to Roanoke Avenue, fronting on the latter. It is a handsome Gothic structure, finished inside with hard wood ceiling, arched overhead. A neat little chapel on Concord Street, in the eastern part of the village, was built by a society of Free Methodists, in 1869. A church of that denomination was organized here Jan. 20, 1870, and has a 1 present a membership of about thirty. It is supplied with ministerial service in connection with a society of the same denomination at Greenport, which was organized at the same time. These are the only two societies of that denomination in the county. The public school of this village is accommodated in a handsome building, composed of three wings, standing in the 296 TOWN OF EIVEEHEAD. eastern part of the village. It occupies a lot which affords convenient room for play-grounds adjoining the Methodist Episcopal church yard on the east. The building is two stories high, and was brought to its present dimensions by the enlargement of the former house in 1867, and again in 1871. It was organized as a Union School in April, 1871 . Six teachers are employed in the school, whose aggregate salaries amount to $2, £00 a year. The average number of scholars attending the school is three hundred. The village has two fire-engine companies, sustained by voluntary effort and enterprise. Red Bird Engine Co., No. 1, was organized in 1836. It has thirty-eight members and owns a first class engine and two hundred feet of hose. Washington Engine Co., No. 2, was organized June 1. 1861. This has thirty members, and own a larger engine, and four hundred feet of hose. Riverhead Lodge, No. 645, F. & A. M., was organized May 2, 1867, with fourteen charter mem- bers. It is in a flourishing condition, and has at present a membership of one hundred and nine. A Division of Sons of Temperance has been in existence here since the early days of the order, some twenty-five years. It now numbers eighty-five members. The Riverhead Savings Bank was first opened for business on Saturday, June 1, 1872. During its first year of business it opened accounts with four hundred and twenty depositors, and received deposits to the amount of seventy thousand dollars. A newspaper, called the Suffolk Gazette, was started in this village in August, 1849. In the early part of 1851 it was moved to Sag Harbor, where it was published until Dec. 1854. when it was moved back to River- head and soon after discontinued. The Suffolk Union wa3 TOWN OP RTVEKHEAD. 297 started here in 1859, by Washington Van Zandt. It was continued until the winter of 1862-3, when its office was de- stroyed by fire, and the publication of the paper suspended. The Suffolk County Monitor was started here in 1865, by Buel G. Davis, and suspended in 1866. The Riverhead Weekly News, the only paper now published in the village, was commenced in March, 1868, by James B. Slade its present publisher. Kiverhead, being the county seat, and centre of attraction for nearly all the public gatherings of the county people, is much better furnished with hotel accommodations than would be required to answer the necessity of its own local business, though its arrangements in this respect are not as extensive as they should be to fully meet the demand of the frequent floods of visitors called together here. Besides a number of smaller boarding houses, there are three large hotels, the Griffing House, on the avenue of that name, and the Long Island House, and Suffolk Hotel, on Main Street. One of the heaviest business enterprises of this place is the moulding and planing mill of Charles Hallett. This is situa- ted on the bank of the river, just below the bridge, and the yard of the establishment has a dock front of one hundred feet on the river, where vessels can discharge lumber directly at the door of the mill. When the proposed improvement of the river is completed, vessels drawing six to eight feet of water can float up to this dock. This mill was started in 1868. Mr. Hallett in 1857 started a large planing and mould- ing mill just above the bridge, where the river supplied a water power for driving the machinery. That building and power is now used for a paper mill, and manufactory of 298 TOWN OF RIVERHEAD. wagon jacks, the former enterprise being owned by Mr. Hallett, and the latter by the Swezey Brothers. Hallett's mould- ing mill occupies a building forty by two hundred and twenty feet on the ground, and three floors in height. . It contains thirty different wood-working machines, and employs about fifty men. The machinery, with which the building is nearly filled, is driven by a sixty-horse-power steam engine. The establishment turns out about $100,000 worth of work annually, and this work is sent to all parts of the island. Fleming's planing and moulding mill, also run by steam, stands on the river, a short distance below. Two lumber yards are also located in this neighborhood. Hallett's paper mill, started about two years since, in the building first occu- pied by the planing and moulding mill, employs six men and turns out about a ton of straw board a day. This paper is made of oats, wheat and rye straw, about equal proportions of each. The straw is first placed in a large tank which will hold about a ton, and lime is sprinkled all through as it is put in. When the tank is filled steam is turned on, entering at the bottom and penetrating the whole mass. This process continues about twelve hours, when the rotted straw is placed in a tank, with water, where it is torn to pieces and ground into a pulp. To do this thoroughly requires about two hours, after which the pulp is run into another tank where it is mixed with more water, and from which it is led into a tray in which a wire gauze cylinder is constantly revolving. The pulpy mass, which at this stage of the process is thinner than cream, adheres to the cylinder, while the water drains through. As the cylinder revolves it comes in contact with a wide felt band which attracts the pulp from it and deposits TOWN OF RIVEKHEAD. 299 it on a solid wooden cylinder, under pressure. As often as the layer of paper thus formed on the wooden cylinder be- comes the required thickness for a sheet of board, it is cut and pulled off. The board after being dried, is run through between heavy iron rollers, where it is subjected to a pressure equal to many tons weight, and then it is ready for market. This mill is run during about eight months of the year,^and in that time manufactures about one hundred and twenty-five tons of straw board. Perkins' woolen factory, located on the river, about a mile above the village, is engaged in the man- ufacture of stocking yarn, flannel and cassimeres. The value of its manufactures amounts to about $20,000 a year. The organ manufactory of Earle & Bradley stands on the railroad line, opposite the depot. The manufacture of pipe organs was commenced in this village by George W. Earle, in Dec. 1868. Twelve to fifteen hands are employed in this establish- ment, and a very superior quality of work is turn- d out. Pipe organs ranging in value from $500 to $5000 are built here. Organs have been built by this firm for several of the large churches of this county, but their largest orders are from New York and its neighboring cities and towns. An organ worth $5,000 was completed here last spring, for a church in New Jersey, and two others have since been built for churches in New York, at prices of $2,400 and $3,500. The suburb of this village lying on the south side of the river is locally known as "Brooklyn." A small African church is located there. This is over the line, in Southampton town. About two miles north of Biverhead lies a tributary settle- ment cr lied Middle-Boad. This consists of about twenty-five farm houses, scattered along a road which runs e;;st and -.vest 300 TOWN OF EIVERHEAD. through a swampy locality, for a distance of two or three miles. A district school is situated in the midst of the vicin- age. Aquebogue is an ancient settlement extending along the Middle Country Koad about four miles, and joining Biver- head on the west. It contains two schools, — one near each end^of the settlement — a church, two stores and several shops. A saw mill and carriage manufactory is located on a small stream near the railroad, about a mile south of the main road. The church of this village, belonging to the Congre- gational denomination, is a large, noble structure, standing on the north side of the village street, near the head of the Meeting House Creek, which puts in from Peconic Bay. This house of worship was erected in the latter part of the year 1862, and inherited from its successor the title of the * 'Steeple Church." The former building, to which this title was first given, was built in 1797, and in 1833 re -modeled and re-built, at which time the steeple which suggested the title was placed upon it. On the opposite side of the road from the church lies a burying ground of about two acres, which was commenced in that use in 1755. The first church of this parish stood on this ground, and was probably built shortly before that time : the exact date is not known. The village street is a pleasant one, and it continues through an unbroken settlement for several miles eastward. This village contains a population of three hundred and fifty. It was formerly called Upper Aquebogue, to distinguish it from the settle- ment of Lower Aquebogue which adjoins it on the east. About two miles of the Country Koad, running east from the last noticed sottlemeat, was formerly called Lower, or TOWN OF KIVEKHEAD. 301 Old Aquebogue. This comprises about forty bouses, and contains a church, school, store, a few mechanic shops, and a somewhat ancient burying-ground. The first church in the town was built here. The society was founded as a Presbyterian church, and the edifice erected in 1731. It was repaired and enlarged in 1830, and rebuilt in its present shape in 1859, the denomination having been changed to the Congregational form a few months before. It belongs to the Congregational denomination. This settlement is now included in the sec- tion called Jamesport. The railroad station bearing that name is a short half mile below the main road. The village proper of Jamesport, lies on the shore of Great Peconic Bay, about one mile south of the railroad. It has a wharf at the head of ship navigation, five and a half miles below Biverhead. The village site is pleasantly located and regularly laid out with numerous streets crossing each other at right angles. It was the design of its founders to establish here a flourishing and important maritime village. The settlement was begun in 1833, at which time there was not a habitation here. Within five or six years from that time about forty dwellings were erected, but the village has made but little progress since. In 1843 there were two or three whale-ships belonging to this port. It now contains a store, a school, and a Methodist Episcopal church. This latter building w T as erected at the commencement of the set- tlement, by the people of the village, for a school, or house of worship, whichever it might be needed for. In 1854 the Methodist society, which had worshiped in it from the com- mencement, effected its purchase, and in 1871 it was ren- ovated. 302 TOWN OF KIVEKHEAD. The Jamesport camp-meeting grounds are located in a pleasant grove just south of the railroad depot. The first camp-meeting ever held here was in September, 1834. The ground was then owned by the Methodist Society, who in 1854 exchanged their title to it for the ownership of the house of worship. In 1870 it was re-purchased for camp-meeting purposes, by the Suffolk County Camp-Meeting Association, and has since been held for that use. In April, 1873, this Association was incorporated by a charter from the State Legislature. By this charter its management is vested in a board of twenty-seven trustees, two-thirds of whom are re- quired to be members of the M. E. Church. This ground comprises about six acres, and was purchased at a cost of $1,000. The expense for the preachers' head-quarters and other improvements that have been made upon it, amount to about $2,000. The village of Franklinville, which is the continuation of the line of settlement along the Country Koad, lies mostly within the limits of Southold town, and will be noticed in that chapter. CHAPTER XIV. SOUTHAMPTON TOWN— HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The town of Southampton occupies the greater part of the lower peninsula of the east end of Long Island. It is a little more than thirty miles in length, and varies in width from half a mile to eight miles. It is widest at the ends, and is nearly cut in two in the middle by the indentations of Shin • necock and Great Peconic Bays. It is bounded on the south, outside the beach, by the Atlantic Ocean ; on the west it joins Brookhaven ; on the north it is separated from Biverhead and Southold by Peconic Biver, and Great and Little Peconic Bays. The town of Easthampton joins it on the east. This town contains ninety-one thousand, five hundred acres, about one-third of which is under cultivation. The north side is hilly and sandy, and for the most part covered with forest growth. The settlements are along the south side, bordering the bays and the ocean. The soil of the western half is with few local exceptions light and sandy. East of Shinnecock Hills the south part is a beautiful plain of level fertile land. Stock-raising, farming and fishing are the leading pursuits of the people. In the early part of the year 1640, a company of eight young Englishmen banded themselves together at Lynn, Mass., purchased a small sloop, for the sum of £80, and in it started out to establish a settlement upon the then unfurrowed island of Paumanacke. The sloop was commanded by one of 304 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. the party, Capt. Daniel Howe, to whom the other owners assigned their various shares, to be paid for in the transporta- tion of goods and passengers at rates which were to be speci- fied. Further conditions stipulated that the vessel was to be kept by the said Daniel Howe, and to make as many as three trips a year between Lynn and their proposed "plantation" on the Island. This agreement was entered into before the departure from Lynn, and the original document entitled " The Disposall of the Vessell" is still preserved among the records of the town. It is dated March 10, 1639. The little band of pioneers thus organized, purchased of James Farrett, Agent for Earl Stirling, the right to further purchase of the Indians and thus to possess, eight miles square any where upon the island that they might select. The equivalent to be paid to Farrett for this right was four bushels of Indian corn. After a month or so spent in exploring, the parties landed at Cow Bay, (in Queens County) and after bargaining with the Indians for a tract of land, commenced a settlement. They had proceeded in this enterprise but a little while when the Dutch Governor of New Amsterdam, William Keift, who had previously purchased these lands of the Indians, and whose authority the Lynn settlers had disregarded, sent a squad of twenty-eight soldiers and officers, and arrested the "foreign strollers " who had thus intruded upon his posses- sions, " and even hewn down the arms of High Mightinesses." Six of the party were taken to Fort Amsterdam and examined before the Governor. This was on the 15th of May. Four days afterwards they were discharged on condition that they should abandon their settlement and depart beyond the Dutch claim. This they did as soon as practicable after their TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 305 release, and, sailing down the sound, through Plum Gut and up Peconic Bay, they landed at North Sea, and some time during the month of June commenced the settlement of Southampton. July 7th, following this, Farrett defines the boundaries of the plantation as beginning at the isthmus now called Canoe Place, and extending eastward the whole breadth of the land as far as the present limits of the town go. The settlers whose names appear in Farrett's grant were Edward Howell, John Gosmer, Edward Farrington, Daniel Howe, Thomas Halsey, Edward Needham, Allen Breed, Thomas Sayro, Henry Walton, George Wells, William Harker, and Job Sayre. The reader will perhaps notice that according to the dates as we have given them from history and the records of this town, there appears to have been a difference of more than a year between the time when the settlers of Southampton made ready to leave Lynn, and the time when they first appeared upon the island. Howell, in his History of South- ampton explains away this mystery in a very satisfactory manner by referring to the fact that about that time there existed a custom of reckoning the year as com- mencing with the 25th of March, so that while the first part of that month was counted in the year 1639 the latter part (or the remaining days after the 25th) of the same month was counted in the year 1640. This makes it plain that in reality the date of their landing at Cow Bay, about the middle of April 1640, was but little more than a month after their prep- arations for leaving Lynn, as indicated by the " Disposail of tho Vessel]," dated March 10th, 1639, 306 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. December 13, 1640, the Shinnecock Indians gave to the settlers a deed for this land, in consideration of sixteen coats already received, and sixty bushels of corn to be delivered by the last of September 1641, and a further condition that the said white settlers should defend them against the unlawful and unjust attack of any other Indians that might assail them. The town as thus first laid out comprised only about half its present territory. A deed for the remaining or western half was given by the Indians to the "Townsmen of South- ampton," Sept. 17, 1666. April 10, 1662, four years previous, the same tract had been purchased of the Indians by Thomas Topping, for twenty fathoms of wampum. In order to quell the dissatisfaction manifested by the Indians at the encroach- ments of civilization upon their territory the whole town was re-purchased of them Aug. 16, 1703, for which they received £20. In this way did the early inhabitants of the town pre- serve peace with the Indians, by compromising with their fickleness and ignorance. In addition to this they were subjected to the further annoyance of being twice compelled to take out patents under the different governors that were appointed over them. The first of these was granted under Gov. Andross, Nov. 1, 1676, and the second, which was but an amendment or confirmation of the first, under Gov. Don- gan, Dec. 6, 1686. The lands at first were held and occupied by the inhab- itants in common, but the increase of immigration soon ren- dered it necessary to make a division of lands among individ- uals in proportion to the various amounts each had invested in the purchase of them. In the early days of this little colony the people were their own legislators and jurors, and TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 307 assembled together twice a year, or oftener, for the purpose of attending to and deciding any civil or criminal cases that might be brought before them, and passing such laws as seemed appropriate or necessary. In 1644 the people of this town placed their heretofore independent government under the protection of the colony of Connecticut. By this arrangement the town was to have jurisdiction over its own local affairs, and to nominate, annually, three magistrates for the town, two only of which were to be approved and appointed by the General Court of Connecticut. These magistrates were the guardians and dis- pensers of justice, and had authority in all cases except where capital punishment was involved. Such cases were to be referred to the courts of Connecticut. An appeal was allowed from the decisions of these magistrates to the people of the town assembled in annual town-meeting. Among the regulations and orders passed by the town at different times, the following fines and penalties were pre- scribed. For lying, by a person over fourteen years of age, a fine of five shillings, or a seat in the stocks five hours. For stealing a man's working tools, a fine of ten shillings. If a man went on a spree and became drunken, he was fined ten shillings for the first offence, twenty shillings for the second, and thirty shillings for the third. If an Indian dug ground- nuts on land occupied by the whites, he should be set in the stocks, and if he persisted, the second time he was caught he should be whipped. If a youth under sixteen should steal any fruit from his neighbor's orchard, the law required that his parents should wallop him severely, in the presence of a spectator. If the culprit had no parents to administer this 308 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. ordinance, or if they refused to do it, the magistrates should attend to it personally, and in \he latter case also impose a sufficient joenalty upon the parent for his negligence. If a man spoke disrespectfully of his neighbor he was fined more or less, according to the circumstances of the case, or some- times sharply whipped. When a woman got in the way of using harsh words, she was stood up in court with a split stick on her tongue. The Puritan settlers believed in enforc- ing the doctrines of the Bible to the very letter, and this was the way they h td of bridling the tongue — that unruly mem- ber. Suppose these regulations were in force all over the country at the present day ? Wouldn't magistrates and reve- nue officers have stirring times, collecting fines, picking up drunken men, whittling out split sticks, and lathering bad boys ? The town kept a very strict watch over the character of its inhabitants, as their number increased. New comers were placed on probation for a season, to prove their honesty and good behavior, before being admitted to the full privileges of free-holders, and if their character proved unsatisfactory they were rejected and obliged to leave the jurisdiction. No inhabitant was allowed to sell his house or land to a stranger, except he was approved by the town. Wolves in early times were made a special subject of legisla- tion. Rewards of twenty and thirty shillings were offered by the town at different times for killing them. Though the people were on professedly amicable terms with the Indians it appears they were most of the time sus- picious of thsni, and lived in constant fear of an outburst of the savage element. All male citizens over sixteen years of TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. 309 age, unless exempt by law, were required to assemble for military drill six times a year, and to hold themselves in con- stant readiness for defense of the settlement. In cases of sudden attack an alarm was to be given by the firing of one or more guns, hearing which the people were to assemble at specified points, equipped for action. These regulations were more strictly enforced during such times as danger seemed imminent. We do not learn, however, as any attacks were ever made by the Indians upon the people of this town. The Indian name for this section was Agawam. The name Southampton, was given in remembrance of the place in Eng- land from which the settlers immigrated to this country. In 1644 the town passed regulations for equitably disposing of any whales that should be cast upon the beach, so as to give the whole people a share in such prizes, instead of allow- ing the greedy discoverers to monopolize the whole. The discoverer of a stranded whale was to receive a reward of five shillings for his trouble, "but yf yt shall be by the Magistrate or whom he shall appoint adjudged not to be worth five shil- lings, then the sayd parties which shall give information shall have yt for his paynes." It was further specified that if any one should find a whale on the Sabbath day, he should not be entitled to any reward. In later years the business of cruis- ing along the shore in small boats, after whales, grew up and was extensively engaged in by the people of this town. The following items are worthy of preservation. In 1641 the town forbade the sale or transfer of any war-like imple- ments to the Indians, under penalty of confiscation of the entire personal effects of the party so transgressing. In 1645 the town required each family to take turns in swiping out 310 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. the meeting-house, and making fire in it on Sunday mornings, in cold weather. Delinquents in the matter were subject to a line of two shillings and six pence a time. The same year the people, in order to be prepared for a sudden attack from the Indians, carried their fire-arms to church with them on Sundays. In 1680 the town paid their minister £100 a year in produce, at specified rates, besides the use of certain lands, and shares in the commonage. It appears that a mill for grinding grain was established at a very early period, and that this enterprise was under the management of the town. In 1652 "the town meeting agreed to allow their neighbors of Easthampton liberty to grind their corn at their mill, pro- vided they helped to open the sepoose. " In 1665 the town authorized John Jessup to "call forth thirty men to goe to the west sepoose," probably to assist in some repairing which was necessary. In the year 1653, during the time when the peace of the English settlements on Long Island was greatly disturbed by the suspicion that the Indians and the Dutch were conspiring to exterminate or drive them away, the general court of the town ordered that no Indian should be allowed to come within a specified distance of the village, nor to come to the mill with any gun or bow and arrow. The same year Jonas Wood was deputed to go to Connecticut, "to obtaine for ye towne a store of ammunition. " At that early period it seems the matter of establishing a permanent con- nection between Shinnecock Bay and the Ocean must have received considerable attention. August 18th of that year, *'At a towne meetinge it is ordered that there shall be another attempt to let go Shinnecock water. Thompson says, "In the year 1675 there were in this town seventy-five men who TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 311 b'jre arms in the militia." The total population of the town in 1698 was nine hundred and seventy-four. Of these there were three hundred and eighty-four "male Christians," three hundred and fifty "female Christians," forty male, and forty-three female negro slaves, and one hundred and fifty- two Indians, including women and children. A part of the village of Eastport, which has been noticed in connection with Brookhaven, extends into the southwest corner of this town. A Methodist Protestant church was built in the eastern part of this village about the year 1846. Seatuck Eiver divides the village nearly in the middle. An- other stream, of smaller size, runs down half a mile east of it, furnishing power for driving a saw and grist mill. The sec- tion between these two streams was once called Waterville. Speonk is a small village, rather compact for one of its class, lying in the west part of this town, about one mile from the boundary. The station on the Sag Harbor Branch R. R. is near the western part of the village, and two and a quarter miles east of Moriches Station. Speonk has a popula- tion of about two hundred. Its habitations, forty-five in number, occupy the sides of a single street, one mile and a half in length, running nearly parallel with the railroad and half to three fourths of a mile south of it. The whole village is beautifully located on a level neck of fine farming land, within full view of the bay about' half a mile distant, and the beach hills beyond. Its inland skirts abound with pleasant groves of oak timber. The people are nearly all farmers of the well-to-do sort. Fish Creek is a pond of salt water tribu- tary to the bay and skirted by flats of salt meadow, on the 312 TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. western boundary. The noticable institutions of the place are a district school, a post-office, a church, an academy and a summer boarding house. The latter is the Bay Side House, opened during the season of 1872 for the first time. Its loca- tion is near the centre of the village, and affords a delightful view of the beach, the bay, and the adjoining meadows. A very neat building, intended for an academy, was erected here about ten years ago, and a school was kept up in it a few years by Mr. John Tuttle, a native of this place. The in- stitution is now closed. The church of this place was originally Presbyterian, but late arrangements have placed it under the care of the Methodist Protestant persuasion, in connection with the church of that denomination at Eastport. Westhampton is a settlement, or rather a group of settle- ments, of extended but indefinite limits, covering ground enough for a respectable sized township, next in order east, and contiguous to Speonk. It is properly separated from the latter by Speonk River. This river rises just above the rail- road line, about one and a half miles from the Bay. It supplies a mill-pond, the upper end of which is crossed by the Branch R. R. , and on the dam at the lower end is the car- riage shop of E. P. & L. Tuttle. The business was estab- lished here in 1844, by Mr. Daniel Tuttle, father of the present proprietors. The present building, erected in 1859, is of brick, twenty-five by sixty- two feet on the ground, and two stories high. It contains various machinery for sawing turning, boring, drilling and otherwise shaping and working wood and metal, all driven by water power. Some very nice, substantial and even showy carriages are fitted up at thid shop. TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 313 The land on the east side of this river, and below the road which crosses the dam is known by the name of Brushy Neck. It contains a few houses. Next east of it is a rather indefinite locality called Tanner's Neck, from the fact that many years ago one of the early settlers, a Deacon Jagger, carried on the tanning business here. The neighborhood from Speonk River extending about half a mile east, including these two necks, and covering altogether perhaps twenty houses, has lately received the name of Union Place. A Methodist Episcopal church, erected in 1833, stands in the eastern part of the vicinity, upon the principal road through it. This road is the continuation of the one which branches off to the south from the old Country Road at Eastport, and forms the main street of that village, Speonk, and this place, join- ing the Country Road again at Beaver Dam, about a mile east of here. At Beaver Dam we find an ancient mill site. Tradition claims that the dam on which the mill is located was actually constructed by those industrious animals in whose honor it was named. The Westhampton post-ofiice, a store, a black- smith and wheelwright shop are located near here. Also a respectable sized brick school house. Near this is the old burying ground, covering a lot of three or four acres. In this we find some ancient graves, made about the middle of the last century, or perhaps before. The most prominent memory piece here is the soldiers monument, erected by the people of this parish in honor of their neighbors who fell while in the Union service during the late war. It is about sixteen feet high, by three and a half feet square at the base, p and was erected in 1SG3. The material is a coarse brown 314: TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. stone. The die contains the following inscription and names. "Westhampton's tribute to the patriotism and bravery of her sons, who in the war for the preservation of the Union, heroically fought, and honorably fell." Capt. Franklin B. Hallock, Serg't Cyrus D. Tuthill, Corp. Hiram H. Wines, Reeves H. Hayens, Timothy W. Robinson, Thomas M. Smith, Edward Stephens, James E. Griffing, Henry S. Ray- nor. Westhampton station is about a mile north of here, and two miles and three quarters east of Speonk. Down the west side of the stream upon which Beaver Dam is situated is a hamlet of less than half a dozen houses called by the Indian name of Pautuck. On the east side of the same creek we find another little hamlet rejoicing in the name of Onock. Edwin C. Halsey has a large summer boarding house here. It is supplied with gas, manufactured on the premises. This house is in convenient proximity to the bay, and as that body of water is quite narrow here, the beach and ocean are easily reached. The land here is level, and though naturally light, is well fed with fish and other fertilizers from the bay, and therefore made productive. Next east of this is the hamlet of Potuck, similar in general character to those we have passed, while just beyond that, we reach the breezy plain of Ketch- aboneck, which lies upon the west bank of Assjjatuck Creek. At this place is a small store and a district school. The Howell House, by Mortimer D. Howell, is a magnificent summer boarding house at this place. Its loca- tion is in the midst of a beautiful lawn, with an unobstructed prospect of the beach hills less than a mile away. This house, since its completion in 1866, has been the resort at times dur- TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 315 ing the "heated term," of the great showman, P. T. Barnum, He had spent some time here as a guest of the proprietor's father, before its erection, and in his "Struggles and Tri- umphs " he relates some of his amusing experiences while here in his genial and interesting style. From this place a road leads directly across to the beach, the great bay at this extremity being so narrow that it is spanned by a bridge. On this road, and within h ilf a mile of the ever thundering breakers, stands the sea side residence of Gen. John A. Dix. This spacious and elegant mansion, erected but a few years ago, stands by itself upon the ojDen plain, and shows in conspicuous relief against the naked landscape which surrounds it. The ground in the vicinity is level, and nearly as destitute of trees or shrubbery as the desert of Sahara. A lawn has been graded and "seeded down " in front, and young trees planted upon it, which will in time afford a refreshing shade, and relieve the monotony of the scenery. Notwithstanding the lack of trees or shade, this region during the heat of summer, is one of the coolest spots on the whole island. The very absence of any amount of trees or shrubs is a favorable condition to the free circulation of that almost invariable sea-breeze which sweeps over the land during the summer afternoon. A dam and bridge across Asspatuck Creek connects Ketch- aboneck with Quiogue. This little hamlet of about half a dozen dwellings occupies a peninsula which is about half a mile in width, and lies between the last named creek on the west and Quantuck Creek on the east. Both these creeks empty into Quantuck Bay, which is connected by a narrow outlet with the extremity of the East Bay. 316 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. The Presbyterian church of the parish of Westhampton, a plain building, but of comfortable size, stands in the border of the woods at this place. The first church of this parish was erected sometime about the middle of the last century. It stood within or hard by the burying ground we have no- ticed at Beaver Dam, about two miles west of here. The present house was erected in 1831, and dedicated Jan. 20, 1832. Westhampton Lodge, No. 885, of Good Templars, was organized on the 15th of April, 1869. It now numbers about forty-eight members. Several fish oil factories have been established on the beach opposite Westhampton. Quogue, situated upon a level plain, just east of the latter place, is a small village, rather compact, containing a sub- stantial population of one hundred and fifty, which is during the month of July and August temporarily increased to four or five times that number. This periodical increase is due to the "boiling over " of New York city during the heated term. The true aboriginal name of this place is supposed to have been Quaquanantuck, though from the similarity of the words , it seems to us more reasonable to suppose that this long name may have been the origin of Quantuck, the name of the small bay lying southwest of here. Quogue is a favorite watering place. It lies directly on the ocean, — only a flat of maado'w about half a mile in width intervening between the village street and the beach hills on the shore. It is fashionable, and perfectly natural for city dwellers, accustomed to the ceaseless round of confusion and excite- ment, and surfeited by the exquisitely refined nonsense of TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 317 artificial life, to resort for a season, as if in desperation, to the very opposite extreme of scenery and surroundings. From the city, where every inch of ground, and all that is possible of aerial space, is filled with the works of man, and the very air is darkened by swarms of human bees, it is a joyous relief to fiee to the solitude of these desolate and barren hills, where one sees nothing but the crude formations of nature and hears no other sound but the uncultivated voice of the murmuring sea. "What are the wild waves saying ? " is a question which many poetic dreamers have proj^ounded as they stood upon the burning sand and watched the ocean rave and wallow at their feet, as if mad with its fruitless attempts to communicate some important warning or information to the minds of men. This recreation of city people daring the hot summer months gives to this place its life, and the pecuniary result is its chief support. Six large houses are open during the sum- mer, for the reception of visitors. The village street describes a semi-circle, sweeping down towards the ocean and landward again. The village cemetery lies back of the settlement, in the fields. Near the centre of the village, on the corner of a street running to the ocean, is a neat little chapel, built in 1871, open to all Christian denominations, but under the care of the Presbyterian society of this parish, [Westhampton. ] The village has a store and a post-office. On the beach opposite this place, a visionary genius, sup- ported by capitalists from the city, commenced a few years ago extensive experiments in the manufacture of iodine from the salt water of the ocean. Large buildings were erected, and the process commenced on an extravagant scale, but the 318 TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. project proved a failure and was abandoned. Shortly after- ward the engineering spirit of that enterprise conceived the idea of manufacturing steel from the sand on the beach. Capitalists were again found to support the project, and mag- nificent experiments were set on foot in this new direction. The result of these experiments seemed to prove that a supe- rior article of steel could be produced here, but at so great a cost as to forbid any profits arising from the business. The enterprise was therefore pronounced a failure, and the estab- lishment with its machinery was sold at great sacrifice, and has been removed. Two miles northeast of Quogue, on a neck of land lying between two small arms which project inland from the west- ern part of Shinnecock Bay, is the village of Atlanticville, formerly called Fourth Neck. By the census of 1870 it has a population of one hundred and seventy-nine. The people are mostly small farmers, fishermen and mechanics. On the northern limit of the settlement is a small brook to which the Indians gave the name of Weesuck. The place has a "right smart" district school, a small M. E. church, a store and post-office. A Division of the Sons of Temperance was instituted here Feb. 4, 1869, and now numbers fifty-five members. Quogue Station, on the Sag Harbor Branch B. K., is located half a mile northwest from the upper end of this village, and about three miles from Quogue. The station representing Quogue was formerly located about a mile and a half west of the present stopping place, at a point more convenient for the people, but owing to some difficulty in regard to the erection of depot buildings, it was removed hither, evidently as a TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 319 means of reducing the obdurate Quogue people to a proper degree of penitence and submission. The accommodations at this station are a platform and a side track. This station is about three and a half miles east of Westhampton. A very few houses are scattered about the vicinity. About three score and ten years ago there stood a small house on the north side of the old South Country Road, about two miles west of the isthmus of Canoe Place, and about four miles east of the present village of Atlanticville. The house stood alone in a valley, on or near the premises now owned by Mr. Elisha King, and it was then occupied by an aged widow lady. In this comparatively fertile valley there stood a pool of water, no doubt on a clay bottom. Walking near it one day the old lady picked up a lump of the soil and made the chance remark "this is good ground.'" From this un- important incident the village of Good Ground took its name. Such is the tradition handed down among the natives of the place. Since that time this locality has become an important centre to the inhabitants of the neighboring hamlets. The principal part of the village lies along the road a distance of one mile from east to west, and contains twenty-six dwellings, a Methodist Episcopal church, built in 1836, three stores, a post-office, hotel, windmill, and a district school. The soil is light, and favorable to the growth of small fruits. Large quantities of strawberries were shipped from here during the season of 1S72 to the Boston "Jubilee." The Branch R. R. lies parallel with the village street, twenty to forty rods south of it. Good Ground depot is four miles and a quarter east of Quogue Station. 320 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. ■ The peninsula of Ponquogue, or more thoroughly aborigi- nalized, Paugonquogue, projects southward from the neigh- borhood of Good Ground into Shinnecock Bay, and nearly divides it into two parts. This peninsula is quite regular in form, and about two miles across it in either direction. It is partly covered with oakjand pine forest, and the surface for the most part is level and very sandy. On a point which forms its southern extremity is a clearing containing the hamlet of Ponquogue. This settlement contains fifteen dwellings and the Light House, which stands in majestic conspicuousness upon the point, a little in advance of the habitations and just one mile from the ocean shore. The lantern is one hundred and fifty feet from the ground, and one hundred and sixty feet above the level of the sea, and is reached by a flight of one hundred and eighty-nine steps. It is of French manu- facture, the lens of the first order, and the light a stationary one, visible thirty-five miles at sea. This " Light " was built in 1857, and lighted for the first time on the night of Jan. 1. 1858. The Bay View House, a commodious hotel standing near this point, is well patronized by pleasurists who wish to enjoy the facilities for gunning and fishing which the place affords. About a mile northwest of Ponquogue, on Smith's Creek, is a settlement of eighteen houses called Springville. This is on the west side of the peninsula. The most prominent institu- tion of the place is a district school of one hundred and twenty pupils. Still further up, and on the creek which forms the western boundary of the peninsula, and gives the locality its name, is the hamlet of Tianna, containing fourteen TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. 321 houses. This is about a mile southwest of the village centre of Good Ground. Red Creek is a scattered neighborhood, containing half a dozen houses, located three miles northwest of Good Ground, near Peconic Bay. Southport Bay is a wing of the bay lying behind a narrow strip of land called Red Cedar Point, which projects a mile northwest into the bay. The western part of this locality is also known by the name of Hubbardtown, and here a small grist-mill has been established on a brook which empties just west of Southport Harbor. Red Creek has a school, and by the census of 1870 a population of forty-six. The bay and creeks are skirted by immense tracts of salt meadows. Squiretown, on Great Peconic Bay, one and a half miles southeast from here, and the same distance north of Good Ground, is a hamlet consisting of six farm-houses. The first settlement was made here about eighty years ago by one Ellis Squires, the ancestor of that numerous family whose repre- sentatives are so often met with in this part of the town. Here also the shore is lined with salt meadows, and in pre- revolutionary times the people of other parts of the town were wont to come and cut the grass for hay. For their accommodation while temporarily sojourning here during the haying season, they had erected a rude house, and it was in this house that Mr. Squires with a large family of children established themselves and began the settlement. Canoe Place is a village of fishermen, but little more than a mile east of Good Ground. It is on the northern extremity of that part of Shhmecock Bay which lies east of the penin- sula of Ponquogue. The place has an air of historical and 322 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. scenic romance hovering about it, and teems with the associa- tions and legends of the dead past. Its site is among a group of low sandy hills, overlooking the bays north and south, and affording an unobstructed view of the bleak waste of Shinnecock hills on the east. The Indian name of the place is variously given by different authorities, as Merosuck, Niamuck, and Niamug. The land here is drawn up to a nar- row isthmus, less than half a mile in width, and the settlement is just on the west side of this contracted point. Across this narrow link the Indians used to haul their canoes from the Peconic to the Shinnecock and vice versa. Hence the pro- priety of the name. It has twenty-eight houses, an old established tavern, a store, and a small Congregational church. These are scattered among the sand hills which infest the vicinity. Canoe Place, like all the other hamlets which have been noticed under the head of Good Ground, is tributary to that place, and within the delivery of that post-office. The aggregate population of Good Ground with its tribu- tary settlements, excepting Red Creek, which has been given by itself, was by the census of 1870, five hundred and four. About half a mile east of Good Ground station the railroad passes through an old Indian burying-ground, which was also at an early period the site of a church belonging to the Shinnecock tribe. This ground is now grown over with bushes and trees, and bears no discernible evidence of the use to which it was once consecrated, except that within a little enclosure of weather-beaten picket fence a plain head-stone guards a single grave. This is but a few rods from the track, on the south side, and can be seen from the car window while passing by. It is the grave of the Eev. Paul Cuffee, a native TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 323 preacher of the Shinnecock tribe, who is mentioned by the historians as a man of extraordinary eloquence and talent. Of parentage somewhat mixed with African blood he was born March 4th, 1757; reared as a servant in the family of Major Frederick Hudson, at Wading Biver; on reaching the years of maturity, having not long before been converted from a career of persistent recklessness to the Christian religion, he was constrained by the promptings of his own heart to engage in the work of preaching the gospel to his native brethren. During the last thirteen years of his life he was employed by the New York Missionary Society to labor among the tribes on the eastern part of Long Island; That Society after his death erected the marble slab which stands by his resting place. He died on the 7th of March, 1812. Shinnecock Bay is an irregular body of water, about ten miles in length, extending most of the way from Quogue to Southampton. It is separated from the ocean by a sand beach, through which inlets have at different times been opened at various points. The present one is nearly closed. This bay, and particularly the eastern part, has long been famous for the great numbers and excellent quality of its hard shell clams. During years gone by an immense business has been done in collecting and shipping these clams to all parts of the State and New England, where they have held the highest reputation in the markets. On the eastern confines of Canoe Place the waters on the north and on the south approach each other so close that we may see them both from the car windows as we pass across the narrow isthmus of Niamug. A tradition exists, to the effect that at some period in the misty recesses of the past, 324 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. a canal #as opened across this narrow neck, connecting the waters of the Shkmecock with those of the Peconic. If it is true that such an enterprise was ever engineered by the savage natives, time or the hand of man has effaced all traces of it. The "Long Island Canal Co." was organized April 15th, 1828, with a capital of $200,000, having for its object the connection of the bays along the south side of Long Island, by canals, and the opening through to Peconic Bay at this point. A survey was made, but nothing further done. April 8th, 1848, the "Long Island Canal and Navigation Co." was organized with a nominal capital of $300,000, designed to accomplish the same object, but as before without successful result. Having crossed this narrow link of earth, we find ourselves at once amid the barren hills of Shinnecock, reveling in their legends of dark tragedies, and associations of savage romance. Here we are told that the dare-devil traveler who challenged all the grim spirits of the infernal regions to deter him from crossing these hills on a dark and stormy night, many years ago, was soon after found lying dead by the road-side, without a mark of violence upon him except that his tongue was drawn out "by the roots" and hung on a neighboring bush. As his money was found untouched in his pockets, it was evident the mysterious deed had not been perpetrated for plunder, and as the peculiar nature of the wound seemed to forbid the supposition that human hands were responsible for the deed, its commission was ascribed directly to the fiends of darkness whose vengence the hapless traveler had defied. Upon the southern border of this rugged group, and over- looking the bay, Sugar Loaf Hill raises its bald peak above TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 325 its lesser brothers. This hill rises abruptly from the shore of the bay to an elevation of considerable more than one hun- dred feet, being the highest point on the south side of the island, and the first land seen by the mariner when approach- ing this coast. These hills occupy the breadth of the peninsula as it widens, and extend from Canoe Place eastward about four miles. They were once the residence of that tribe of Indians whose name they bear. Huge piles of sand, they formed an almost impassible barrier, which divided the intercourse of civilization upon one side from that upon the other. This barrier is now pierced by the iron band over which the loco- motive trundles through these desolate hills, shrieking and panting like a frightened living thing, straining every nerve in its frantic haste to evade the ghosts of dusky savages whose soil it has desecrated and whose peaceful slumber its unearthly yells have disturbed. As we pass over the serpen- tine course which this railroad takes, the monotony of "fill " and "cut " is occasionally relieved by a pleasant glimpse of the slopes, the marshes, Peconic Bay, and the opposite shore. The undulating surface is a barren waste. Here and there a patch of some low growing shrub, and scattered blades of "poverty grass," are the only representatives of vegetation that dare venture an existence upon the hills. In the valleys and marshes some good pasturage for cattle is found. Graz- ing is the purpose to which this tract is appropriated. There are no trees here. Scarcely an apology for one is to be seen in the whole region. Nor do we see any evidence to support the conclusion that it ever was wooded, though it is possible that some parts of it were once productive of trees. 326 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. On the 16th of August, 1703, in order to settle difficulties which were constantly rising between the Indians and the white people, and to establish more definitely the understand- ing of each with regard to the rights of the other, the people of this town through their trustees, re-purchased of the Indians the land they occupied, and at the same time gave them a lease on the Shinnecock tract, which included these hills with the neck of low-land adjoining on the southeast. This lease was given for a term of one thousand years, and the considera- tion which it specified was the payment of one ear of corn to the trustees, on the first day of November of each year. By its terms the Indians were allowed the privilege of plowing, planting, and cutting timber for fencing and fuel, also "to cut rings, bulrushes, and such grass as they usually make their mats and houses of, and to dig ground nuts;" the townspeople reserving ''meadows, marshes, grass, herbage, feeding and pasturage, timber, stone and convenient highways." By an Act which passed the State Legislature on the 15th of March, 1859, the Indians were authorized to give their lease, by which they held these specified claims upon the whole terri- tory, in exchange for the absolute ownership of that portion known as Shinnecock Neck, which lies over on the southeast boundary of the hills. After the consummation of this arrangement the Hills were sold to a company of individuals, by whom it is still held in undivided shares. This sale was made at public auction, Feb. 19th, 1861. The territory thus enclosed in one common pasturage occupies about three thou- sand two hundred acres, and was sold for $6,250. The Indians that remain at the present day are considera- bly mixed with African blood. They are generally repre- TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 327 sented as being a sober, industrious class of people. The savage arts are forgotten among them. They own their lands in common, and elect three trustees annually, by whom they are represented in real estate transactions. They are neither subject to taxation, nor admissible to the privilege of the ballot-box. They have a small Congregational church, and a good school, which is supported by the State. Their occupa- tions are principally farming in a small way, fishing, and "go- ing to sea." At present they number about one hundred. A Division of the Sons of Temperance, is supported by them, and numbers about fifty members. About two miles east of Shinnecock Hills, in the midst of a fertile plain lies the time honored village of Southampton. It is to-day what it has always been, a village of sober, indus- trious, well-to-do farmers. It boasts of no magnificent specimens of architecture, either public or private, but its churches, residences and stores are substantial and commodi- ous. From the railroad depot, seven and a quarter miles east of Good Ground, on the northern skirts of the village, the main street runs nearly south a distance of one and a half miles to the sea shore. The street is wide and level, and the dwellings so thick upon it that one naturally supposes he is in the midst of a commercial or manufacturing village, and is hardly able to realize the fact that it is simply a farming com- munity. The place contains six stores, two or three black- smith shops, two district schools, an academy, a post-office, a wind mill, several private boarding houses, and two churches. This village is the capital of Southampton town. The town elections are held here, and the polls are opened in the base- ment of the Presbyterian church. 328 town oir Southampton. The first settlement of Europeans within the limits of this town was made here, in the month of June, 1640, by a com- pany from Lynn, Mass. The location of that primitive settle- ment was about half a mile east of the main village street, and the vicinity is now called "Old Town." The first church edifice was erected in the neighborhood, soon after the set- tlement was made, probably during the same or the following year. According to the best authority we can find, it was thatched with straw, and its exact Ijcation was on the corner of two roads, bounded on the east by what is now called Old Town Street, and north by a nameless highway. This, like most of the early churches of the island was probably congre- gational or independent in form, but as the religious ideas of the people developed and matured, the church adopted the Presbyterian title, and by that denomination the history of the early church is preserved. The precise period when the church was thus merged into the Presbyterian order is not known. At some indefinite period of time between the years 1650 and 1670 a second church was erected by order of the town. The size of this church was twenty-four by thirty-two feet, and its location on the east side of Main Street, a short dis- tance below the present church. In 1695 a bell weighing one hundred and seventy-three pounds was imported from Lon- don and placed in this church. The first bell used in the Southampton church weighed fifty-four pounds, and had been returned to the English founders in part payment for this new one. The price of bells at that time was fourteen ponce a pound. [Soe Howell's History, p. 138-9.] In the year 1707 a larger and more pretentious church was TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 329 built on the same side of Main Street, and on the corner of Meeting House Lane, opposite where the Presbyterian church now stands. This third edifice was the "tabernacle of God's house " during the dreary years of the revolution. It was reconstructed in 1821, and after the completion of the new church, in 1844 it passed into the hands of the Method- ists, who moved it to its present site, a little further up the street, and still occupy it. The present Presbyterian church was built in 1843 and is a commodious and respectable struc- ture. The Rev. Abraham Pierson was the first minister of this ancient church organization. He was installed over the little flock of six or eight members, before leaving Lynn. Among the curious relics of record preserved in the town clerk's office, illustrating the character, customs, and actions of the early inhabitants, we find the original copy of an agreement for pastoral services and their compensation, made between the Rev. John Harriman, third pastor of this church, and a committee appointed by the town for the purpose, dated June 1674. This document was written in a style of short hand, having a general appearance somewhat resem bling Pitman's system of phonography. It was preserved an unsolved mystery until two or three years ago, when it was translated into plain English long hand by J. Hammond Trumbull of Hartford, Conn. Southampton Academy stands on the corner of Main Street and Academy Lane, diagonally opposite the Presbyterian church. It is a plain building, two stories in height, of moderate proportions, and was built in 1831. In the summer of 1853 it was partially wrecked by a thunder bolt which struck it during a shower one morning. The steeple, chim- 330 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. ney, floors and windows were badly shattered, but as the accident occurred at a time when there was no one in the building, no injury to human life was done. In this village there stands at the present day an ancient specimen of architecture, which we deem worthy of notice. It is in fact a rare curiosity. It is a large two story frame house, standing on a lot next north of the store of Josiah and Benjamin Foster, on the east side of Main Street. This house is without doubt the most ancient of any now standing in the village. It is supposed to have been built in the year 1689 or somewhere about that time. We find no very substan- tial authority for this statement, but in the absence of any evi- dence to prove its inconsistency we accept it. It was built as tradition says, by a Frenchman, who strove to imitate the style of his native country, and in its day was no doubt considerably ahead of its associates, and a subject of much admiration. The lower parts of the windows are furnished with hinges at the sides, which allow them to swing open. Above these folding doors the space is filled by a stationary sash glazed with diamond shaped panes, and it may be that the same style of glazing originally filled the whole window. A projecting cornice runs along the front, above the windows of the lower story. The ponderous frame, racked and distorted by the jars of time, is covered with clapboards, held in place by huge nails, wrought on the anvil of some blacksmith whose labors have long since ended. Striking the fantastic wrought- iron latch, the great wide door swings back on its creaking hinges as it did in the days of forgotten long ago, when per- haps rustic maiden stood upon the threshold, and with beating heart and blushing face greeted the coming of her TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. 331 lover, or perhaps man of care and business was welcomed home from a journey of fatigue, to the bosom of his family, or friend or stranger mayhap found a shelter and a resting place from his wanderings, beneath the hospitable roof. Just within the portal the remnant of a horse-shoe nailed against the door-post reminds us of the superstitious precau- tions of former occupants. Up a winding flight of well worn steps, guarded by a clumsy hand-railing we pass to the fin- ished chambers above. These are large, and like the rooms below, the ceilings are remarkably high for a house of that olden time. During the revolution this house was occupied by the British quartermaster, and on the floor of one of the back rooms may still be seen the identical marks of the axe made in cutting up their meat. It is an item worthy of notice, that here, in a village of nine hundred and forty-three inhabitants, there is not a single open bar-room, No doubt there are intoxicating liquors bought, sold and used here, in a secret way and to a small extent, but the public frown seems invincibly set against the traffic, to such a degree as to prevent its being openly carried on. It is a happy thing that the descendants of Puritan ancestors have preserved so much of that jealous watch-care over the moral purity of their society, which characterized the early settlers of this old town. The oldest burying ground in the town was established on land in the rear of where the second church stood, and in thie, no doubt are interred the remains of the original settlers. This plot consisted of one acre of ground, which was set apart by the town for burial purposes previous to the year 1665. The oldest grave in this plot which is marked by any legible 332 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. inscription is that of Rev. Joseph Taylor, the fifth minister of this town, who died April 4, 1682. Besides this there are quite a number bearing dates ranging through half a century from that date. This is now called the South End burying ground. In the upper part of the village, where the road from North Sea forms a junction with Main Street, is the principal depository of the dead now used. This was bought by the town trustees, of Caleb Heathcote, in 1712, and con- tains something less than four acres. It is called the North End burying ground. It contains several neat and substantial monuments. The first interment made here was the body of Joseph Post, in the year 1721. This village, like most all others situated upon the sea shore, receives a share of the patronage of boarders from the city, who delight in listening to the roar of " old ocean," or bathing in its troubled waters. North Sea was first settled by John Ogden, with six fami- lies in the year 1649. The settlement lies near Peconic Bay, about three miles north of the village of Southampton, to which it is a tributary. It is a thinly settled farming district, containing a population of one hundred and twelve. The land bordering the bay is cut into a confusion of irregu- lar necks, capes, and points, by the rambling intrusions of the water. Sebonac and Cow Necks separated by Bullhead Bay, lie on the west and north. In the vicinity is an old burying ground, and a district school. It was at this point where the original settlers of the town landed, when they first came to survey the wild and unpropitious field upon which they were to establish the foundations of future pros- perity and civilization. In the woods about half a mile south TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 333 of tliis settlement are two pretty lakes of fresh water, still retaining the romantic Indian names of Agawam and Minne- sunk, the former lying a little distance east of the Southamp- ton road, and the latter, a much larger one, nearly the same distance to the west. At Watermill we find an interesting little village of about thirty houses, situated on the road between Southampton and Bridgehampton, about two miles from the former and three miles from the latter place. This vicinage was formerly called Mill Neck, and lies on the north of Mecox Bay, em- braced by two arms from that body of water. It has two grist-mills, oue driven by wind, the other by water power, also a school, store, post-office, hotel and carriage shop. It is loca- ted in the midst of a rich agricultural district. The Branch Bailroad passes within sight, just north of it, but has no stopping place here. A chain of ponds commence in the interior, about a mile back of this place, and after supplying power to the grist-mill discharge into Mecox Bay. This mill was established in 1644. The town constructed the dam, furnished the stones, and granted a forty-acie lot adjoining to the miller. Wickapogue is a scattered neighborhood, lying between here and the ocean, near the west end of Mecox Bay. A burying ground was established in this locality, by the town, in 1686. On the Branch Bailroad, five and a' quarter miles east of Southampton brings you to the depot of Bridgehampton. Taking the road from this point first south, then east, a good round half mile takes you to the vital centre of this extensive region. This centre was once called Bull's Head, and the 334 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. name is used to some extent at the present time, but the refined spirit of the day has nearly abolished the frightful appellation. Three large county stores, a hotel, windmill, burying ground, the Presbyterian church, an academy, a district school, and several shops are located nearly within a stone's throw at this focal centre. These are near a point where the main south road, from Montauk Point to Brooklyn is intersected by cross roads from the north side, Sag Harbor, and the ocean. The Presbyterian church is a noble building, of splendid proportions, and occupies a site on a beautifully sloping lawn. It was erected in 1842, during the pastorate of Rev. Amizi Francis, the fourth minister who had been installed over this congregation, since the organization of the church, one hun- dred years previous. The first church erected in this parish was on the west side of Sagg Pond, about one mile southeast of here, built near the close of the seventeenth century, and superseded in 1737 by another, located part of the way between the first and third sites. The second stood one hundred and five years, until the erection of the present one. Adjoining this church on the east is the village burying ground containing several handsome marble and brown stone monuments. About two furlongs west of the village centre stands the Methodist Episcopal church. This was originally built in 1833, on a lot near the Presbyterian church, between the Atlantic House and the residence of Mr. David Hallock. In 1871 it was removed to its present site, and enlarged and re-modeled in better accord with modernized ideas. This TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 335 church society was organized and the first house of worship built in 1820. A little southeast of this, on the road to Sagg, is the agri- cultural machine shop of C. H. Topping, a self-taught, but successful mechanic and manufacturer. He established the business here in 1862. Besides making repairs on all kinds of agricultural machinery he manufactures ten or twelve horse powers every year. The machinery contained in the shop is driven by a six-horse-power steam engine assisted now and then, when the elements are favorable and circumstances demand it, by a Hubbard patent horizontal wind-mill con- nected with the shop. The parish of Bridgehampton occupies the southeast part of the town of Southampton. It extends over an area of four or five miles square, and its inhabitants, numbering thirteen hundred and thirty-four, are scattered hither and thither over the broad level plain. The land is divided into large, well- cultivated and productive farms. The highways are very broad and "airy." It is divided into several vicinages having local names, but all included under the general title. In the extreme southeast corner of the town is an ancient settlement called Sagg, settled in 1670, located principally on the east side of Sagg Pond, near the ocean, and about one and a half miles from ''Bull's Head." It contains a school, a wind saw- mill and perhaps twenty-five houses. This was settled within a few years after the first settlement of the town, and at that time was called Sagabonack. In one of the ancient grave yards of this place we find stones dating back to the early 336 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. part of the eight aenth century, on one of which is the following eccentric but expressive epitaph : "My sun is set, My glass is run, My Candle's out, My work is done." Sagg Pond is a narrow sheet of water about one mile in length, the south end of which is separated from the ocean by the usual border of sand beach. West of this pond, and between it and Mecox Bay, is the district of Mecox, settled in 1679, having some twenty houses or more scattered over a territory of two miles in length lying between Bridgehampton centre and the ocean. In this vicinity is also an ancient burying ground, the oldest inscription in which bears date 1681. Hay Ground is a vicinage, northwest of the latter, and about two miles west of the churches, containing fifteen or twenty houses, a school, wind-mill, store and grave yard. These are located on the south side of and near the railroad track. Killis Pond is a pretty little lake in this neighborhood, lying south of the main road. It was named in honor of an Indian who lived and died upon its banks, many years ago. Scuttle Hole, containing twenty-five houses, lies from one to two miles distant from "Bull's Head," in a northwest direction. It is a rich and pleasant farming neighborhood, and contains a district school. On the main road, about a mile east of the centre of this parish [Bridgehampton] is a vicinity called Poxabogue, sur- rounding a pond of fresh water. This is on the crossing of the road from Sagg to Sag Harbor, and just before we strike into the wilderness of forest and sand which lies between here TOWN OF TOUTHAMPTON. 337 and the village of Eastliampton, The old town poor house was located here. The road which crosses here from north to south is called Sagg Street, and it runs from Sag Harbor to the ocean. The hamlet of Sac:g is built upon it, near the sea shore terminus. The road was opened at an early period, to accommodate the travel from the landing on the bay to this settlement. In consequence of this connection, that landing place received the name of Sag Harbor, long before it had been thought of as a prospective village site. Sag Harbor is the eastern terminus of the south branch of the Long Island Eailroad, which leaves the main line at Manor Station. It is located in the very northeast corner of this town [Southampton] one hundred miles from New York. A part of the village lies over the line, in the town of East- liampton. This is the largest village in Suffolk County, and one of the most handsome. It contains a population of about twenty-six hundred ; also six churches, two newspaper offices^ a flourishing public school, a large cotton factory, a morocco factory, two hotels, a score of large stores, and a variety of shops and offices too numerous to particularize. Main Street, the principal thoroughfare is lined for nearly half a mile with offices, shops and stores, including a number of large brick buildings of three of four stories in height which are devoted to business purposes. At the foot of this street, in the northern part of the village is the railroad depot, and Long Wharf, the only important landing for vessels in the harbor. In this vicinity are several large wooden buildings erected for storehouses to accommodate the whale fishery business of years ago, but since the failure of that enterprise devoted to other purposes or lying idle. A steamboat line plies between 838 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. here and New York city, running through the sound, and another between here and New London and the mouth of Connecticut Eiver. The mails for this village, and in fact, for all the villages on the peninsula east of Shinnecock Hills, are brought by the Long Island Railroad to Greenport and from there transported across by sail-boat ferries to this point. To a stranger it will appear at first as a matter of surprise that the post-offices of this town are not served with the mails by the railroad which passes near them and terminates at this village. The explanation of the subject is that the manager of the railroad refuses to accept the terms offered by the Department, so no mails have as yet been carried over this branch. Considering the liberality with which the people of this town supported its construction, as shown by their free gift of the right of way through tne whole length of the town, and the construction at their own expense of the depot build- ings along the line, it would have been no more than a gen tlemanly return of favors had the manager of the road allowed the mails to be carried over it, even at a small sacrifice of his own immediate profits if necessary. It is to be hoped that at some day not far distant the injured people of Southampton town may enjoy relief from the railroad impositions to which they are now subjected, either by the coming of a new rail- road or by the inauguration of a more liberal policy in the management of the present one. There is an air of quiet grandeur and unpretentious beauty about this village, scarcely seen in any other in the county. Though living amid the busy scenes of the present, it clings to the phantom of the past. To Sag Harbor the realization of the past is brighter than the anticipation of the future. TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. odd The whale-fishery of years ago was the great propelling ele- ment which buiit the village up, and though the palmy days of that enterprise has long since passed away they have left enduring foot-prints to remind us of its former importance. These dingy old storehouses and cooperages that stand down by the wharf meditating upon the scenes of by-gone years; these great blocks of brick buildings which line the business streets; these magnificent churches; these princely residences; these beautiful shade trees, and gas lighted streets, and flag- ged sidewalks; even these superannuated whaling captains whose silvered locks and time-scarred faces you meet at every turn, are all monuments of that day of prosperity whose glory has faded and gone. Still we think Sag Harbor may keep its place in the foremost ranks of Long Island villages. Though its position is somewhat isolated it possesses advantages which are not to be overlooked. Having a good harbor, and ready communication by land or by water with New York and various important points in New England, it. may flourish in the future as a manufacturing village, or as a popular summer resort for pleasure seekers. One thing which at present we think retards its progress in the latter direction is the lack of hotel accommodations. In many respects Nature has blessed it with superior attractions. If you wish for beautiful sailing or rowing, with an endless variety of scenery, this harbor with its contiguous bays, harbors, creeks and coves, presents a field that for extent, diversity and beauty is hardly surpassed by any other within as convenient distance of the great me- tropolis, if within the limits of the Union. If you delight in fine fishing, here it is in these same waters. If you want [leasanb (lii*vs, these shady streets are all that heart could 34.0 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. wish. If you want delightful walks, you will find them here, beneath the cool shade of these grand old maples, sycamores and elms, whose thick spreading branches hang far over the wide walks. The first attempt at making a settlement in this neighbor- hood appears to have been about the year 1730, when a few fishermen erected small cottages near the present foot of Main Street. The growth of the village from that time until after the revolution was slow. A Presbyterian church was erected here in 1767, or about that year. The congregation at that time however appears to have been so small that it was neces- sary to solicit aid from the people of the neighboring villages for the erection of this first house of -worship. For many years after its completion no regular minister was supported in it, but services were conducted by members of the congre- gation, and the people assembled on the S ibbath by the beat of the drum. The church society worshiping in this house was organized ^n 1791 on the Congregational order, and so continued till 1810, when it united with the L. I. Presbytery. But little progress had been made in the great whaling en- terprise when the war of the revolution for the time being put a stop to it altogether. Cruising for whales along the shore in small boats had been practiced almost from the first settlement of the town, and during later years a few small sloops had been fitted out upon short voyages from this port. In this early stage of the business, whenever a whale was cap- tured it became necessary to return ashore for the purpose of boiling out the oil. After the return of peace the whale-fish- ery from this port was revived on a more extensive and suc- cessful scale. In 1785, a vessel owned by Col. Benjamin TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 341 Huntting and Capt. Stephen Howell, was sent as an experi- ment to a more southern lattitude, and by her success laid the foundation for a more extensive prosecution of the business. From this time the business which characterized and built up the village began to increase with rapid strides, and con- tinued until about the year 1845, when it seems to have reached its zenith of prosperity, and soon after that began to decline. Its uniform progress was of course temporarily checked by the difficulties with England which culminated in the war of 1S12, r 13 and '14. In 1807 there were four ships owned and fitted out from this port in the whaling business. This number does not seem to have been increased until after the war, when the business was renewed with greater energy than before. The number of vessels engaged in the enter- prise from this port, at different periods were as follows: in 1832, 20; in 1838, 29; in 1841, 41; in 1843, 52; in 1845, 61: in 1847, 63. It is estimated that Sag Harbor was more exten- sively engaged in the whale-fishery than all the rest of New York State combined. During the height of its success it employed a capital of nearly two million dollars, and furnish- ed an occupation to about eight hundred men and boys. Tho aggregate tonnage of vessels employed in the business from this port during the year 1838 is estimated at 11,700, being an average of over four hundred tons to each vessel. In the year 1837 there were twenty-three arrivals, bringing horns 31,- 784 barrels of oil, 8,634 barrels of sperm, and 236,757 pounds of whalebone. The total products of the business up to that date from the time of its revival after the revolution were about 350,000 barrels of oil, 40,504 barrels of sperm, and 1,506,765 pounds of whalebone. The cooper-shops of this 342 TOWN OS SOUTHAMPTON. village in those days manufactured oil casks to tlie extent of 25,000 barrels a year, to supply the demand which that immense business created. In 1845 the population of Sag Harbor numbered 3,621. The whaling business, once so flourishing, has been gradually losing ground until at the present time it scarcely has a name. There are however two ships from this port engaged in the business at the present time. The cause of this great decline in the success of the enterprise is the scarcity of w r hales and the greater difficulty in capturing them, which has been brought about by the re- lentless prosecution of the enterprise in former years. While the British held possession of the island during the revolution, this village was garrisoned by a smart detachment of soldiers, and made a depot for military supplies and forage. A number of ships were also stationed in the bay, some of them heavily armed and manned for defense. In May, 1777 a daring and brilliantly successful raid upon the British works and stores at this point was made by a body of Conti- nental soldiers under the command of Col. Meigs, in which twelve vessels, and a large quantity of hay, grain, provisions and merchandise was destroyed, and a number of prisoners taken, without the loss of a single man. Fuller particulars of this expedition are given in another chapter. During the war commonly known as the "war of 1812," considerable alarm was excited in regard to the safety of this village, and a detachment of militia was stationed here to de- fend it against an expected attack. In 1813 a British fleet under command of Commodore Hardy occupied Gardiner's Bay, and in June of that year an attempt was made to destroy the shipping in this harbor and perhaps to plunder the village. TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 343 To accomplish this a launch and two barges with one hundred men approached the village by night, and landed on the wharf. An alarm was immediately given, and the guns of a small fort occupied by the militia were turned upon them. This fire became at once too hot to be faced with impunity, and the assailants retired with all possible expedition after hav- ing set fire to a single sloop. In their disorderly retreat they left a number of guns, swords, and other arms behind them. The fire they had started was quickly put out, before much dam- age was done, and thus ended the abortive exploit in which the surprisers became the surprised. Besides the restraining influence of war, with which the improvement and prosperity of this village has had to con- tend, its uniform growth has been interrupted by the ravages of two destructive fires. The first of these occurred on the 26th of May, 1817, and laid the most valuable part of the village in ashes. The energetic spirit of the people, however, encouraged by the propitious smiles which were then beam- ing upon them through the success of the whale-fisheries, soon rebuilt the waste places and healed the breach made by the devouring flames. Again, on the night d! November 13, 1845, the village was scourged by a most desolating conflagra- tion. This, likewise, laid its course through the most valua- ble and compact portions of the village, sweeping stores and warehouses by the dozen, with the greater port of their valu- able contents, and even extending to some of the shipping in the harbor. Fifty-seven warehouses and stores, thirty-live dwelling houses, and a large number of stables, barns and other buildings were destroyed before the progress of the flames could be arrested. The district thus laid in ruins was again 344 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. rebuilt, with larger and more substantial structures than be- fore, and the wheel of progress rolled on. Sag Harbor was incorporated as a fire district in 1803, and as a village in 1846. The Fire Department at present con- sists of two engine companies, the " Minnehaha," No. 1, and the "Torrent," No. 3; each having an engine and about thirty members; the "Gazelle" hose company, of thirty members, and the " Phoenix" hook and ladder company with twenty members. A third fire engine company [No. 2] was disbanded several years ago. A number of large wells dis- tributed about the village, have been settled by the corpora- tion, for the convenience of obtaining water in times of fiery emergency. These wells are about fifteen feet across the bottom, and the sides taper inward as they rise. Water is drawn from them by the proverbial old " town pump." The by-laws of the village also require that the owner of every dwelling house or store shall provide for each an India-rubber or leathern bucket, of at least two gallons capacity, marked with the owner's name or initials, to be kept in a convenient place in such store or dwelling house, where it may be in readiness for use at any alarm of fire. These arrangements, together with the facilities at the Maidstone Mills, and the Cotton Mills, for throwing water in their immediate neigh- borhood make this village pretty thoroughly fortified against the contingency of fire. Had it not been for the organized fire companies and their engines, which were in active opera- tion at the time of either of the two conflagrations of Sag Harbor, no one knows whether the ravages of the fire-fiend could have been stayed before every vestige of a building within its reach had been swept out of existence. There are TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. 345 in this county to-day near a score 01 large villages, composed mainly of frame buildings, so compactly set that fire if started under ordinarily favorable conditions would make as great havoc as it did here ; and yet no provision whatever is made for protection against such a calamity, to the liability of which they are almost daily exposed. It would be -wisdom in the people of these unprotected villages to learn a lesson from the painful and costly experiences of Sag Harbor, and give this matter their early attention. Daring the early part of the present century this village was engaged to some extent in the cod-fishery. Thompson quotes from the Suffolk Gazette the substance of an item to the effect that during the year 1807, G,600 quintals of cod-fish were taken by vessels from here, and brought into port. The manufacture of salt by the solar evaporation of sea water was also undertaken and carried on to some extent, but did not continue a permanent success. During later years the Alosa menhaden, or "bunker" fisheries in the waters adjoining, have occupied considerable attention. Several factories for the manufacture of "guano" and oil from these fish have been established in the neighborhood of this village, but for sanitary reasons they are obliged to maintain a respectable distance. The manufacture of clocks was at one time exten- sively carried on here. Other manufactures have at one time or another been engaged in to a considerable extent. The Sag Harbor Steam Cotton Mills, the most conspicuous and important institution of a business character, stands near the centre of the village, fronting on Washington Street, near its junction with Division; and the busy hum of its machinery may be heard all over the village. This noble edifice is two 346 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. hundred feet long, by fifty-five feet wide, and it has four floors, covering in the aggregate a space of forty-four thou- sand square feet, all rilled with machinery for the manufacture of various kinds of cotton goods. The basement story is of granite, the walls of which are three feet thick and fourteen feet high. The upper stories are of hard brick, laid in cement, and are in respective order from the bottom, fifteen feet, fouiteen feet six inches, and ten feet high; making a total height of walls, from basement floor to roof, of fifty- three feet six inches. The mill has in front, a double tower, hirty-two feet wide and eighty feet high, standing out near the centre. In front of this, a double flight of solid stone steps lead to the main entrance. The tower contains a fine toned bell, weighing one thousand four hundred pounds, which is rung at stated hours through the day and night. The working machinery consists principally of forty-eight cards, nine thousand spindles, and two hundred looms. The picker room is in the basement, and is eighty feet long by thirty feet wide. Adjoining this is the engine room, containing four arge boilers, and a 230-horse-power engine, which drives the machinery of the mill. Three different kinds of loom are used, varying in their capacity from thirty-six to fifty-two yards each per day. It is interesting to note the accuracy, and the speed with which this great bedlam of machinery does its work. Here, for instance, are nine thousand spindles, each buzzing round six thousand times every minute, and altogether spinning out some fourteen thousand miles of yarn a day. About one hundred and seventy operatives are em- ployed in the mill, and some two million yards of fabric annually manufactured. The office of the factory is in a de- TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. ' 347 tached building, standing a few rods from it, upon the same lot. The establishment is heated by steam, conducted through pipes to all parts of the factory and the office. The whole concern is lighted by gas, manufactured on the premises. The precautionary and defensive arrangements against loss of life or property by fire are complete. One rotary force pump in the mill is capable of throwing one thousand gallons of water a minute through three hundred feet of hose, and a special steam fire pump lately put in operation throws three hundred gallons a minute. Both these connect with a well on the premises, twenty feet in diameter, which is supplied by an inexhaustible spring. To guard against fire in the picker room, where the danger is greater than in any other part of the building, the room is made perfectly fire-proof, by having brick walls, brick floor, and iron ceiling over-head; and in addition a pipe directly from the boiler connects with the room; so a huge jet of steam could at any time be turned into it, which would be sufficient to smother any amount of fire within two minutes time. The factory was first established by a joint stock company composed chiefly of citizens of Southampton town . About seven years ago it passed into the hands of a New England manufacturer, Mr. C. C. Loomis, under whose able management it has enjoyed more uniform success, and at the present time is profitably conducted. The establishment as it stands, with all its appurtenances and equipments is valued by the present proprietor at $350,000. The first cost of the building was estimated at $130,000. The business of leather currying was started here in 18M, by Abel C, Buckley, and is still continued by his successor, Samuel N. Davis, whose annual rales of finished leather 348 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. amount to about $18,000. The manufacture of morocco has recently been started on an extensive scale in a large building which stands in the southern suburbs of the village, and was once used as a clock factory. J. Freudenthal's Segar manu- factory employs about seventy five hands, turning out goods to the value of one hundred thousand dollars per annum. The Maidstone Flouring Mill, the largest establishment of its kind in the county, stands in the northern part of the village, near Long Wharf. The building is 80 by 34 feet, and has three floors. It; was originally intended for a cooper- age, and was fitted up for the present use in 1862. Thous- ands of bushels of grain are stored in bulk upon its upper floors. It has five "run" of stone, with a capacity of one hundred barrels of flour a day. The machinery is driven by a sixty-five-horse-power steam engine. Sag Harbor is lighted with gas — in the night, that is. The gas works are located in the northwestern part of the village, near the railroad depot. The gas is made from rosin, and supplied at $8 a thouand feet. At this price it is said to be cheaper than the gas in New York city at a nominal price of $3 a thousand. The difference is supposed to be mainly in the measurement. The principal streets are lighted with gas until 12 o'clock at night, at the expense of the corpora- tion. The corporation, however, does not propose to set up opposition to the Moon; so when that luminary shines out full and clear the street lamps are allowed to hold their peace and save their ammunition. The Sag Harbor Savings Bank was chartered April 12, I860, and opened for business on the 7th of June, the same vear. J. Madison Huntting, of East Hampton, was its first TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 349 President. He died in February 1868, and his place was filled by Josiah Douglass of this village, who was also re-* moved by death Feb. 5, 1869. Hon. H. P. Hedges of Bridge- hampton was elected to the vacancy, and still continues in the office. The business of the bank since 1864 has been under the care of Wickham 8. Havens, Esq. On the 31st of Octo- ber, 1862, the bank was robbed of treasure to the amount of $14,000, of which only §2,600 was recovered. The stolen funds were in Coupon Bonds and Treasury notes, temporarily deposited for safe keeping with the Suffolk County Bank which was then doing business in this village. The final result of the loss was a discount of 10 per cent, on all deposits in the bank at the time. On the first of January, 1872. its complete assets amounted to 8219,071.22, and its total liabili- ties, being the amount due depositors, $205,697.73, leaving a balance of assets amounting to $13,973.49. The first newspaper established on Long Island was started in this village by David Frothingham, on the 10th of May, 1791. It was called the Long Island Herald. In June, 1802, it was sold to Sellick Osborn, and its name changed to the Suffolk County Herald. In February, 1804, it was transferred to Alden Spooner, and its name again changed to the Suffolk Gazette, under which title and management it continued until its suspension in April, 1811. The Suffolk County Recorder was first issued in Oct. 1816, by Samuel A. Seabury. In 1817 its name was changed to the American Eagle ; and in 1819 its publication was suspended until 1821, when it was revived at Huntington. The Corrector was established August 3, 1822, by H. W. Hunt. It is now the oldest living newspaper in Suffolk 350 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. county, but still up with the times, both in regard to its editorial management and its artistic appearance. Its present proprietor is the Hon. B. D. Sleight, into whose hands the paper was transferred in 1859. The Republican Watchman was started in this village by Samuel Phillips, in September, 1826. In September 1844 it was moved to Greenport, where it is now published. The Sag Harbor Express was commenced in 1859, by John II. Hunt, who had previously been connected with the Cor- rector, and whose father had been its founder. The Express is a healthy looking sheet, and still continues to flourish un- der its original management. The Password, a weekly journal devoted to the interests of Masonic and Temperance organizations was published a few months in 1871, by George Latham. The Suffolk County Sabbath School Journal, a small sheet containing reports of the meetings of the Suffolk. Co. Sabbath School Convention, after being issued quarterly for a few years has been discontinued. Oakland Cemetery is one of the oldest and finest in the county. It lies one mile south of the business centre of the village, in an appropriately retired locality. It was organized and incorporated under the general law of the State, and opened for burial purposes in 18-10. The original plot was purchased of Lewis, Nathan P., and Harriet Howell. Since that time it has been added to, until it now covers eight acres, and is being again enlarged. Its name is appropriate to the fact of its being located in the midst of an oak forest, and the greater part of it is shaded by these trees. It is laid out with avenues twenty feet wide running parallel with each TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 351 other and alternating with two courses of lots, each twenty- four feet square and joining each other at the sides, with the exception of where an occasional walk crosses between. The street front of the ground is protected by an iron fence. The fencing of the lots is rather monotonous, consisting mostly of a neat wooden rail supported by posts about two feet high. There are however some nice iron enclosures. It contains many elegant and costly family monuments, and two family vaults. A few of the monuments have carved on them the family coat of arms ; relics of ancestral nobility fittingly preserved. As in the village of the living, you will also find in this village of its dead the frequent reminders of that former enterprise, the whale-fishery, in which many of those who have found a resting place here were engaged, or perhaps lost their lives. One of the most interesting objects here presented to the visitor is the "Whaler's Monument," one of the largest, and perhaps the most expensive one in the cemetery. This stands in the central part, and its dimensions are about as follows : — foundation, seven feet square; base, five feet square ; die, four feet square ; cap, four feet, eight inches square ; total height, eighteen feet. The shaft, representing a ship's mast, broken and shattered at the top is about ten feet high, above the cap, and two feet in diameter. Around the bottom of it is a coil of heavy rigging, about the size of a ship's hawser. The stranded end of this hangs over the edge of the cap. On the face of this edge is carved a harpoon and a lance, laid across each other. Directly below, on the west side of the die, is a carved picture representing a scene on the ocean, in which a sperni whale has struck and wrecked a whale-boat loaded with men. A part of the boat is 352 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON* floating bottom upw;ird£j, and upon it three men are clinging, holding the dead body of a fourth, while two others are buffeting the waves and struggling to reach it. Near by, a school of whales are blowing and plunging, and another boat-load of men are coming to the rescue of their comrades. Two ships are lying in the back-ground. The representation occupies a space about three feet square. The carving is very fine ; every feature of the men, and their clothing the drifting oars, the sea-foam, the clouds in the distance, and every minute particular of the sketch being accurately defined. So beautiful and impressive is the delineation of the scene that as we gaze upon it we can almost imagine we hear the plashing of the waves and the distressed voices of the men as they face death upon the bosom of the mighty deep. The monument contains the names of the following ship- masters, with the date of their death, age, and name of the ship to which each belonged, which items we condense as follows : John E. Howell ; July 23, 1840 ; 27 ; "France." Charles W. Payne ; Jan. 4, 1838 ; 29 ; "Fanny." Stratton H. Harlow ; Oct. 31, 1838 ; 26 ; "Daniel Webster." Alfred C. Glover ; Jan. 14, 1836 ; 28 ; "Acasta." Eichard S. Topping ; Feb. 1, 1838 ; 28 ; "Thorn." William H. Pierson ; June 4, 1846 ; 29 ; "American." It will be noticed that of the whole six, neither had reached the age of thirty years. The east side of the die contains the following memorial. "To commemorate that noble enter- prise, the Whale Fishery ; and a tribute of lasting respect to those bold and enterprising Ship Masters, sons of South- ampton, who periled their lives in a daring profession, and TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. 353 perished in actual encounter with the monsters of the deep. Entombed in the ocean they live in our memory." This monument was erected in 1856, by Nathan P., Gilbert, and Augustus Howell, bi others of the one whose name stands at the head of the above list." On the same lot stands the Howell family monument, containing the inscriptions of sixteen mem- bers of the family. From this we learn that Stephen Howell, Sen., the ancestor of this family was "A native of Southamp- ton, L. I., born Oct. 23, 1744, and died January 18, 1828. An American Whig, he took an early and decided stand for his country at the commencement of the revolutionary war. He entered the army as a soldier in the battle of Long Island, Aug. 26, 1776. He shared the suffering and honor of that gloomy day in the successful and memorable retreat of the American Army under General Washington in the face of an overwhelming and victorious army, and to the end of the Revolutionary struggle was identified with the American cause. Returning peace found him among the first to revive the prostrate enterprise of the country. He engaged in the Whale Fishery from this port in 1785, and was one of the ounders of that extensive and successful business which for a long period characterized and distinguished his native town." The old village burying ground is located on the east side of Madison Street, adjoining the Presbyterian church lot, which forms the rear boundary. It occupies about two acres, and has several hundred graves in it, though the remains of many once interred here have been removed to Oakland Cemetery. The plot is on a hill, commanding a fine view of the village and the harbor. The proposition of transferring the remaining graves to the cemeterv, and converting this 354 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. ground into a village park has for some time been tinder con- sideration. Near this, on Union Street (which crosses Madison at right angles) stands the old "Arsenal" building. This is a grim looking brick structure, about the size of an ordinary barn, placed here during the war of 1812, and used at that time as a store-house for munitions of war. It now belongs to the United States Government, and is used occasionally as a stor- age for wrecked property or merchandise brought from the sea shore. On the east side of Main Street, in the southern outskirts of the village is a small body of water, lying in a deep basin, c.illed Otter Pond. Its name is derived from the fact that in former days those animals used to inhabit its shores in great numbers. This pond is one of a succession of ponds and marshes which extends across the town, with short intervals between them, from here to Sagg Pond, near the ocean. About the commencement of the present century this pond was occupied as a mill site : and in order to increase the sup- ply of water, the owner of the mill connected two other ponds with it, by a canal nearly a mile long. About the same time the owner of a mill on the other end of this line of ponds opened a connection between some of them until the central one was tapped from both directions, and the flow to the north was completely cut off. From some cause or an- other which we are not able to explain to our own satisfaction, the water of these ponds has been diminishing for many years, and both the mill sites once supplied by them have long since been abandoned. After the removal of the mill from Otter Pond a channel was opened from it to the "Cove " which TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 355 extends from Peconic Bay along the west side of the village to within a short distance of this pond. Since that time it has been the resort of great numbers of fish and eels. Prime estimates that many years ago, when the pond was stocked with streaked bass, the produce in a single winter amounted to more than fifteen hundred dollars in value. It is still noted for its eels, though they are not found in as great num- bers as they formerly were. Legonee Brook, which forms the southwest boundary of the corporation limits, empties into the " Cove " a short dis- tance beyond this. As we have before stated, the first church erected in Sag Harbor was built about the year 1767, and continued in use until the year 1817, when it was pulled down and another one erected in its place. The materials first procured for the con- struction of the new church were all destroyed by the great fire of that year, but the people were at once " up and doing,' and the second church of the Presbyterians was completed in June of the following year. This stands upon the corner of Sage and Church Streets, and since the removal of the Presby- terian congregation to their present quarters it has been pur- chased and occupied by the Episcopal denomination. Its belfry contains a "town clock." The present Presbyterian church was commenced in 1843, and dedicated May 16th, 1844. This is the largest and grandest church edifice in Suffolk Co. , and cost at the time of its erection upwards of $25,000. It is safely estimated that to build it now would cost over $40,000. The steeple is one hundred and eighty feet high; and is accessible by steps which go up inside to within ten feet of the top. A delightful view of the surrounding country may 356 town of Southampton. "be obtained from this elevated point. The bell-room contains a sixteen hundred pound bell. The auditory, including the galleries, will seat a thousand persons. The organ-loft con- tains an elegant pipe organ recently re-built by Earle & Brad- ley, of Eiverhead, and now valued at 82,500. A Methodist Episcopal church was erected here in 1809. This was afterward sold to the Roman Catholics. The present M. E. church was built in 1837, in the eastern part of the village, upon a pleasant elevation called Sleight's Hill. In 1861 it was taken down and rebuilt upon its present site, on Madison Street, in the central part of the village. It is a building of magnificent dimensions. The tower is furnished with a clock and bell. The Baptist church, upon the same street, is a plain but commodious building, and was placed here in 1844. The chief corner stone of St. Andrew's Roman Catholic church was laid amid imposing ceremonies on Sunday, June 16th, 1872. This large and handsome structure has been completed and was dedicated a few months since. It stands on a lot facing on Division, Sage, and Union Streets. The colored people have a small but well regulated and suc- cessful church organization called Zion Methodist. Their house of worship, erected in 1840, stands in the southeastern suburbs, called Eastville, formerly Snooksville. An Academy was erected in this village in 1845. It was destroyed by fire on the night of Feb. 10th, 1864. At that time it was occupied by the Academical Department of the Sag Harbor Union School, which had been formed by the consolidation of three former school districts under an Act of the State Legislature passed April 22d, 1862. The other de- TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. 357 partments of the school were at that time distributed about the village in different school-houses occupied under the for- mer system. After the destruction of the Academical build- ing, that department was accommodated in the basement of the Baptist church until its removal with the other depart- ments to their present quarters. The Sag Harbor Union School Building stands on the east side of Main Street, in the business centre of the village, and is the largest and one of the handsomest school buildings in the county. It is four stories in height ; built of brick ; and with its furniture, apparatus, &c, is valued at $10,000. The ground floor is occupied by three stores, from which the school derives a revenue of $j00 a year. The school occu- pies the second, third and fourth floors, having its entrance from Division Street, in the rear of the building. This noble structure was built in 1846, and used as a hotel, called the Mansion House ; but finally being offered for sale under a partition suit, for the purpose of settling the estate to which it belonged, a number of the liberal spirited citizens of this place, headed by Dr. Frederick Crocker, having long felt the need of a suitable building for school purposes, pur- chased this building at auction, and presented it to the Dis- trict for a school house. At this sale it was "struck off" at the insignificant price of $7,510. It was fitted up for the purpose, and the school moved into it in 1871. The school now nnmbers three hundred and seventy-five pupils, and employs a corps of eight teachers, including the Principal. Besides the great variety of English branches included in the regular course of this school, instruction is also given in the Latin, Greek, and German languages. 358 TOWN OF SOUTHAMPTON. The Town Hall, a small building located on Sage Street, near the Episcopal church, is used for all public meetings of t le corporation. Suffolk Lodge, I. O. O. F., the first of the order established in the county, was organized here in 1843, with five members. At the present time it numbers ninety ; and is in a prospering c mdition. An "Encampment" was started in 1859, but a'ter working about ten years was suspended, until May 1871, when it was again revived, and now numbers twenty-five strong. Wamponamon Lodge of Free Masons numbers one hundred and six members. (Wamponamon is the Indian name of Montauk Point. ) Montauk Division, Sons of Tem- perance was instituted here soon after the commencement of the order, in 1844, and continued in existence until 1865. Agawam Division, its successor, was instituted April 5, 1867, and has now a membership of over one hundred. A local Temperance Society under the patronage of the Methodist and Presbyterian Churches, holds monthly meetings alter- nately in each church. This village also rejoices in the pos- session of a musical society called the Sag Harbor Choral Union, whose object is to develop home talent ; and a flourish- ing Brass Band, whose performances before the public are well received. Sag Harbor was made a port of entry in 1784, and by itself now constitutes a district of customs. It form- erly belonged to the district of New London. Hog Neck is a peninsula lying between here and Shelter Island, connected to the town of Southampton by a narrow beach, sometimes flooded by the tide, about a mile west of Sag Harbor. From the vicinity of the railroad depot in this village a long bridge, once a "toll bridge," forms a direct TOWN OP SOUTHAMPTON. 359 connection with the Neck. This peninsula is about three miles long and one and a half wide, stretching its length north and south. The surface is undulating, and it contains some fine farming land. Here and there over its territory are scattered pleasant farm-houses on locations which command delightful prospects of the surrounding scenery. Apprecia- ting its beauty and advantage of location, a few gentlemen from the city have recently established summer residences upon it. Hon. Charles P. Daly, of New York, has fitted up a cottage for himself on a site which affords a beautiful view of the village and its institutions, as well as the neighboring country and the surrounding waters. A light-house was built upon Cedar Island, at the entrance to the port of Sag Harbor, in 1839, and re-fitted in 1855. The light is a fixed one, thirty-four feet above the water level, and is visible at a distance of ten miles. Noyack is a settlement of about twenty houses, on Little Peconic Bay, three miles west of Sag Harbor. It contains a grist-mill and a district school. Flanders is a village of fishermen lying on an indentation from Peconic Bay, about three miles southeast of Biverhead. It contains about thirty houses, a store, school, and two small churches. These are a Congregational church which was erected some forty years ago as a chapel under the care of the church at Upper Aquebogue, and a Methodist Episco- palmore, recently established. The place has been an im- portant point for the exportation of cordwood. CHAPTER XV. SOUTHOLD TOWN — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The town of Southold occupies the eastern extremity of Long Island, on the North Branch. The connected land of the town is about twenty-two miles in length, and the western half has an average width of three miles, while the remainder varies in width from a mere sand beach of a few rods to one and a half or two miles. Plum Island, Great, and Little Gull Islands, and Fisher's Island, all belonging to this town, extend in a line about twenty miles beyond the extreme point. Bobbins Island, also belonging to this town, lies in Peconic Bay, and Great and Little Hog Necks project into the same water. Numerous creeks, coves and bays divide the shore into irregular forms. These creeks afford abundant resources for sea-weed, grasses, shells and mud, which are used for manures on the adjoining land. The principal pari of the land of this town is cleared, and being divided into farms of moderate size is kept in an excellent state of cultiva- tion. The soil naturally is of fair quality — not remarkably different from that of the county generally, — but under the economical and successful system by which it is managed, we venture to say that the land of this town returns larger profits for its cultivation, and commands a higher price in the market, than the land of any other town in the county. The first settlement of this town was made in September 1640, by a party of thirteen, whose names were as follows : Rev. John Youngs, Barnabas Horton, William Wells, Peter TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 361 Hallock, John Tuthill, Kichard Terry, Thomas Mapes, Math- ias Oorwin, Robert Akerly, Jacob Corey, John Conkline, Isaac Arnold, and John Budd. Most of them had emigrated from the vicinity of Hingham, in Norfolkshire, England. After remaining a short time at New Haven they crossed to the island and commenced the settlement here, nnder the leadership of Rev. John Youngs, who not only stood at the head of the little colony as a political body, but had been installed pastor of the ecclesiastical society into which they had already been organized. The settlement begun by this party of immigrants was on the site at present occupied by the central portion of Southold village. The land was purchased of the Corchoug Indians, a numerous tribe then occupying this section, and by them it was called Yennecock. The settlers at first gave it the name of Northfleet, and afterward it was called the South Hold by the authorities of the colony of New Haven, which name appears to have been suggested by the fact that they had gained a hold upon the land which lay over on the south of them. The Governor of New Haven, and other magistrates of that colony prepared the way for the settlers, by purchasing the land of the Indians, and for several years held the conveyance in their own hands. By this means they were able to exercise some control over the town or "Plantation," but the arrangement proved so unsat- isfactory to the people that in 1649 the general court of New Haven consented to release it. Previous to that time the limits of the "Plantation " does not appear to have ex- tended further west than the present site of Cutchogue vil- lage, but that year an additional purchase of the Indians was made in behalf of the jurisdiction of New Haven and Con- cG2 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. necticut, which purchase extended about eight miles further west, and included the localities called by the Indians Matta- tuek and Aquabouke, and in 1659 this tract was re-purchased by the town, and the claim of the colonies across the sound released. The peninsula of Oyster Ponds, or Orient, the eastern extremity of the land, called by the Indians Poqua- tuck is supposed to have been first purchased of the natives by Peter Hallock, in 1641. He afterward returned to England for the purpose of bringing his family hither, and being absent a considerable length of time the Indians sold it again to other parties. John Tuthill, John Youngs Jr., Israel Brown, Eichard Brown, Samuel Brown, and John King were the first settlers on the peninsula, and the time of their settlement was about the year ] 616. v In this way the Indian claims upon the territory of this town were extinguished, and its limits expanded from the extreme point of Oyster Ponds on the east, to the head of Peconic River and the Wading River on the west, a distance of thirty-seven miles. The islands belonging to it were purchased by individuals at different times. The affairs of the town were managed like other towns, by the people in town meeting, otherwise called the General Court. But the strict Puritan principals seem to have been more rigidly adhered to here than in most other towns, inas- much as communion with the Church was made a necessary qualification for admission to the privileges of Freemen. Only such were allowed to vote or have a voice in the civil government of the town. For several years no regular code of laws was established, other than the laws of God which were delivered by Moses, those laws being adopted as the TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 363 foundation for the administration of the town government. In 1655 the general court desired Gov. Eaton to frame a code of laws which should be more appropriate to the wants and necessities of the plantations under the New Haven jurisdic- tion, which was done, and the year following five hundred printed copies were distributed, of which the town of South- old received fifty. As in other towns, provision was made for the education of children, the support of the gospel, and protection against enemies that might invade them. Every man was required to provide arms and ammunition for him- self, and to be in readiness to comply with any summons to assemble, either for drill or for the defence of the settlement. No stranger was allowed to settle within its jurisdiction with- out the approval of the committee which the town appointed to investigate the character of candidates, and no inhabitant could sell or lease real estate to any who had not been thus approved. March 10, 1658, Humphrey Norton, a Quaker, was sent a prisoner from this town to the General Court of New Haven, to be tried on a charge of slandering Mr. Youngs, the pastor, seducing the people from their allegiance to the settled doc- trines of religion, endeavoring to spread heretical opinions, and using plasphemous expressions, attempting to vilify or null'fy the authority of magistrates and the government, and instigating rebellion and disorder with boistrous language and unseemly conduct. He was fined £20, and sentenced to be severely whipped, branded with the letter H on his hand, and banished from the jurisdiction. In 1619 the Indians of the vicinity become troublesome, and committed several outrages, among which were one or 36tt TOWN OF SOUTIIOLD. two murders. The town established a vigilant guard, which no doubt prevented additional acts of violence. These hos- tile depredations were committed by individuals, without the concurrence of the tribe as a body. In order to be prepared to repel to the best advantage any attack that might be made upon them by the savages, it was required that every male inhabitant between the ages of sixteen and sixty should provide himself with a sword and a gun, and keep supplied with ammunition, under penalty of ten shillings fine for every default. It was also directed by the general court of the New Haven colony that each planta- tion should keep on hand one hundred pounds of powder and four hundred pounds of shot, and keep their great guns loaded ready for use. Six trainings a year were held, and one fourth of the train bands required to come to the place of public worship, armed and equipped, at the beat of the drum, Sentinels were kept on duty night and day, and the militia in readiness to assemble for defence of the settlement. These strict measures are supposed to have been in force, during such times as apprehensions of Indian hostilities were great. On the arrival of the new charter of Connecticut, in 1662, by which New Haven was joined to that colony, this town came under the general court at Hartford, and in 1664 it was united with the other towns of the island under the Duke's government of New York. Dec. 7, 1665, the town obtained from the Indians a deed of confirmation for their land, made to Capt. John Youngs, Barnabas Horton, and Thomas Mapes, and signed by the sachem and thirty-five others. "When the colony of New York was surrendered again to the Dutch in 1673, Southold with the other eastern towns refused to sub- TOWN OF SOTJTHOLD. 365 mit, and the Dutch attempted to force them to allegiance, but without success, Connecticut sending assistance to repel the latter. During the short term of Dutch rule this town remained with Easthampton and Southampton in connection with Connecticut, and the people were desirous of continuing that connection after the colony had been again surrended to the English in 1674, but their wishes were disregarded, and with much reluctance they were compelled to return to the Duke's government, which was then re-established under Gov. Andros. The people at first refused to apply for a patent for their land, but being threatened by the Governor with disfranchisement if they persisted in such obstinacy, they yielded, and a patent for the town was issued Oct. 31, 1676. This covered the territory now occupied by this town and Biverhead. The patentees names were Isaac Arnold, Justice of the Peace ; Capt. John youngs ; Joshua Horton, Constable ; and Barnabas Horton, Benjamin Youngs, SamTiel Glover and Jacob Corey, Overseers, for themselves and their associates. The annual quit-rent was as usual, one fat lamb. The town was divided, and Biverhead formed from the western part, by Act of the State Legislature March 13, 1792. The town of Shelter Island also, though properly a distinct incorporation, was by the desire of its inhabitants united in its government and public deliberations with this town until 1730. During the early period of the colonial government the courts of the county, or "riding," were held in this town a part of the time. Dec. 15, 1684, men were appointed by the court "to view and apprise the old meeting house, in order to make a county prison of said house, and upon their return 3GG TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. they give in they valued the body of the house at thirty-five pounds." The house in which courts are said to have been previously held is still standing in the village of Southold, and forms a part of a dwelling which was new many years later though now sadly defaced by age. The old church probably answered the purpose until the erection of new buildings and the removal of the county seat to Biverhead. The Hon. Ezra L'Hommedieu, one of the most useful and enterprising men of his day, was a native and resident of this town. He was born Aug. 30, 1734. His grandfather, Benjamin was a native of France, settled in this town in 1690, married a daughter of Nathaniel Sylvester, of Shelter Island, by whom he had two sons, Benjamin and Sylvester, the first of whom was the father of Ezra. "He was called early into the public councils of the State, and for forty years without intermission his name is found associated with the prominent patriots and legislators of this State and the Union." He was elected to the Continental Congress in 1779, and again in the years 1781, '82 and '83. From 1788 to within a short time before his death he was almost constantly in the senate of this State. In 1784 he was appointed clerk of the county, which office he held twenty-six years. He was one of the "Begents of the University" from 1787 till his death, which occurred Sept. 27, 1811. This town presents almost a solid and continuous settle- ment, from one end of its territory to the other. Nearly the whole surface is occupied by farms, and the settlements joining each other in unbroken lines, are compact enough to be pleasant, and still afford sufficient room for the convenient prosecution of farming operations. TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 307 Franklinville is a settlement of about forty houses, on the Middle Country Road, in the southwest corner of the town, and lying partly in Riverhead. The L. I. R. R. runs through the settlement, and has a freight station for its accommoda- tion. Farming, gardening, small fruit raising, and the culti- vation of root crops are the principal occupations of the peo- ple, and these branches of industry are extensively and successfully carried on. A Presbyterian church, pleasantly situated in the midst of this settlement, was completed and dedicated in 1831. Franklinville Academy was erected in 1832, and the school opened the following year, which has been most of the time fairly sustained. Mattituck is a more ancient settlement, scattered over several square miles of territory, lying on the east and north of Franklinville. Its thinly settled suburb lies in the north- west part of the town, adjoining Northville, while the main centre of the village lies at the head of Mattituck Creek, about three miles from the western boundary of the town. The L. I. R. R. passes through the midst of this centre, and has a depot here. The village cemetery, two churches, two stores, a hotel, and a few shops are located near by. Mattituck Creek, or Bay as it is sometimes called, is a considerable body of water, extending from the sound, inland more than two miles, being nearly two thirds the distance across the penin- sula. From its sides a number of arms extend into the land, forming a variety of irregular necks and points. A grist-mill is located on the creek within a mile of the sound. This water and its shores affords a field which is much resorted to by the inhabitants of the neighborhood and sportsmen in pursuit of fish, clams, and wild fowl. 368 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. Tlie settlement of this village is supposed to have com- menced soon after the purchase of the territory from the In- dians in 1649. The village, including the rambling settle- ment around Mattituck Creek, now contains a population of about six hundred. They are engaged mostly in farming, gardening, and small fruit raising. Immense quantities of strawberries are raised here : also cauliflower, cabbage and root crops. Cranberries are cultivated to some extent. Ex- tensive seed gardens have also been established. A number of handsome country residences are scattered about the vicinity. Mattituck Lake is a beautiful sheet of fresh water lying in the western part of the village, and a road which runs around its shore affords pleasant sites for a number of dwellings. Hallock's Pond, lying in the western part of the village is another sheet of water, of about the same size, upon which improvements may be made with profitable results. The village school stands near the former lake. The first church of this village is stated by Thompson to have been built in 1697, but according to evidence unearthed by Prime it was built in 1716. The first church was of the Presbyterian order, and the denomination and site are still preserved. Under date of Nov. 7, 1715, James Beeves con- veyed to the society two acres of ground, for a meeting house site and burial place. A new church was erected in 1830, This was sold to the Methodist denomination, and in 1853 the present Presbyterian church was built. This was rebuilt in 1871, and is now surmounted by a tall steeple, one of the finest on the "East End." The M. E. church lot adjoins the burying ground on the west. A Division of Sons of Temper- Mice numbers eighty-eight members. TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 3G9 About two miles north of Mattituck village a tributary set- tlement commences near the Creek, and extends along a road which runs eastward about three miles. This settlement oc- cupies a school district, and contains about forty houses. It is locally known as Oregon. It abounds in rich, highly culti- vated farms. The eastern part of the locality extends along on the north of Cutchogue. The village of Cutchogue, named in remembrance of the tribe of Indians which once occupied this whole township, adjoins Mattituck on the east, being centrally distant about three miles. The main part of the village lies along the Middle Country Road a distance of three miles or more-. The settlement boasts of considerable antiquity, having been commenced, as is supposed, but a few years after the first settlement of the town. This village is located on the site of an Indian village; as also is the case with Mattituck. Like its neighbors, it is an extensive and highly cultivated farming- district. The products of the adjoining bay and creeks, such as sea-weed, grasses, fish and the like, are extensively used as fertilizers, and with profitable results. The land is level, or gently rolling, and the soil naturally good. The farms are comparatively small in area, but large in productiveness and value. Sixty acres is considered a large farm here, and from $200 to $300 an acre for farm land is a common price. The village contains three stores, two district schools, three churches, and a population of about seven hundred and fifty. Cutchogue station on the L. I. R. R. is about a mile north of the village street. A Presbyterian church was erected in this village about the year 1737. In 1838 it Avas re-built. The present church stands on the north side of the main street, 370 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. near the central point of the village. The Congregational church, standing on the opposite side of the street, near the same spot, was erected in 1SG2. A Methodist Episcopal church was erected in the eastern part of the village in 1829 or r 30. A new church was built by this denomination in 1857. This stands a short distance to the west of the old site, and the village cemetery lies in the rear of it. In 1858 the old church was sold and converted into a dwelling house. An ancient burial ground lies on the opposite side of the street from it. The Roman Catholic denomination have purchased a lot, with a view to the erection of a house of worship. Services are held in a former dwelling house which stands on the lot. St. Peter's Hall, a select school for boys and girls, which enjoyed considerable favor and patronage from the people of this and the neighboring towns, was located in the eastern part of the village, on a section of ground known as "The Commons." The school was founded in 1844, by Miss E. C. Mapes, and continued under the same management until 1869. The school was self-sustaining, and from a very small beginning the attendance was shortly increased to seventy pupils, and during the twenty-five years of its exist- ence it maintained an average of about forty-five. The peo- ple of this and the neighboring villages are noted for their constancy on the Temperance question. A Division of the Sons of Temperance was organized here about the commence- ment of that order, and now, after a prosperous existence of more than a quarter of a century, numbers one hundred and thirty-nine members. TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 371 New Suffolk is a pleasant little village, of modern origin, delightfully situated on the shore of Great Peconic Bay, one and a half miles south of Cutchogue. The village plat is laid out in regular squares, and contains a school, a store, a hotel, and a population of about two hundred. It lies upon a point of land projecting somewhat into the bay, and has a con- venient wharf, the adjoining water being of sufficient depth to accommodate vessels of the largest class. The village was commenced about the year 1840. In 1843 it had some com merce, including two or three ships engaged in the whaling business. Steamboat lines connect with Sag H arbor, Green- port, New London and New York. During the summer season it is visited by considerable numbers of city boarders. A very important source of revenue for this village is furnished- by the scallop trade, which is extensively carried on during the winter. Immense numbers of these bivalves are caught in the neighboring waters, and a number of shops are devoted to the business of preparing and packing them for market. Bobbins Island lies in Peconic Bay, directly opposite and about a mile distant from New Suffolk. This island was a part of the twelve thousand acres chosen by James Farrett as his remuneration for acting as agent to Lord Stirling in the disposal of Long Island real estate. By him it was sold in 1641 to Stephen Goodyear. At the commencement of the; Revolution it was owned by Parker Wickham, and by an act of the legislature Oct. 22, 1779, it was confiscated as the property of a tory. In 1784 it was conveyed by the commis- sioners of forfeitures to Francis Nicoll and Maj. Benj. Tall- madge, by whom it was sold to Ezra L'Hommedieu. The island contains about four hundred acres, the most of which 372 TOWN OP SOUTHOLD. is a heavy, strong soil, which has in years past been produc- tive of great quantities of wood. The manufacture of brick has been extensively carried on for several years by Ira B. Tuthill, the present owner of the island. Nassau Point, formerly called Little Hog Neck, is a penin- sula projecting from the eastern part of this neighborhood into the bay, about two miles. It contains about five hun- dred acres of good soil, and is owned principally by Mr. James Wilson. Extensive improvements have recently been commenced upon it, with a view of making it a pleasant sum- mer resort and watering place. Fishing by means of shore seines is extensively carried on about the shores of the penin- sula and the land bordering the bay. The village of Peconic, formerly called Hermitage, is a rich and beautiful farming section, lying between Cutchogue on the Avest and Southold on the east. The centre of the neigh- borhood lies at the railroad station, three miles east of Cutch- ogue, and contains the post-office, two stores and one or two shops. The whole region is occupied by farms, and the population, embracing a school district, numbers about three hundred. Hutchinson's Creek rambles into the land from a cove on the south side called South Harbor, and Goldsmith's Inlet enters the north shore from the sound. A grist-mill, carried by the tide, is located on the latter, near the sound shore. The village of Southold, the original settlement of this town, adjoins Peconic on the east. Its location is ninety miles from New York, ten miles from the western boundary of the town, and twelve miles from the eastern extremity at Orient Point. The village is a thickly settled agricultural district, TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 373 abounding in highly cultivated farms, and enterprising, suc- cessful farmers. The settlement occupies the breadth of the land, from the sound to the. bay, and contains a population of about eleven hundred. The central portion, or the village proper, is ranged along the Middle Country Road, which is thickly settled, forming a beautiful street a distance of abont two miles. Most of the dwellings are large, plain and sub- stantial in appearance, and give evidence of being occupied by a well-to-do, highly civilized, and peace loving commu- nity — just such a one as might do honor to the memory of those Puritans who planted here the seeds of civilized indus- try, sobriety, and Christianity, when the wilderness howled with the sounds of savage life. The village contains four churches, an academy, a savings bank, a newspaper and print- ing office, a hotel, five stores, and several shops and offices. At or near the central point of this village was the location of the first settlement of this town, which was one of the two first English settlements on Long Island, this being nearly cotemporaneous with that of Southampton. By the best authorities we are able to consult we learn that the first settlement of this village was made in September or October, 1640. Oct. 21, 1640, the church constituted by the settlers was re-organized, or "gathered anew," having first been re- organized into a body at New Haven, before coming to the island. The Indian name of this locality was Yennecock. Here the Rev. John Youngs, and the church under his minis • try, founded a town, subject to the New Haven jurisdiction, which permitted none but church-members to vote or hold office. The first meeting-house was built in 1610-1: This stood in the northeast corner of the burying ground, a few 374 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. rods west of the present Presbyterian church site. After a better one was built, in 1684, the first was sold to the County for a prison, in which use it was continued until 1725. A deep excavation, which may be seen in the grave yard at the present day, is the remains of a dungeon which was con- structed beneath the building, and now indicates the site of the original church. A third building was erected in 1711, and continued in use ninety-two years. It was in size thirty- two by fifty feet, and stood on the opposite side of the street from the first, a short distance west of the present chapel. While this building was standing the Revolution occurred, and the State became the possessor of the eminent domain. The State required the church to elect trustees according to law, and directed these trustees to take the property of every kind and however acquired, which had been used for relig- ious purposes, and hold it for the use and benefit of the church. This was done forthwith, and so the First church of Southold become the first church organized in Suffolk county under the authority of the State of New York. The present Presbyterian church was erected in 1803. It is a substantial looking edifice, forty by sixty feet in size, and supplied with the modern improvements, standing on the south side of the main street in the northeast part of the village cemetery. This old burying ground having been enlarged, comprises some five or six acres of ground, and is well filled with graves, some of which contain the remains of the primitive settlers. The interior of the church was re-built and re-furnished in 1850. A chapel belonging to this church was built in 1871, at a cost of $2,000. It stands on the opposite side of the street, TOWN OF SOUTHOLE. 375 and in the rear of it stands a long row of sheds which cost upwards of $1,000. An Academy was built in Southold during the year 1834. The people of the First church contributed about four-fifths of the money for the purpose, but they consented to its organization on very objectionable principles, and the build- ing was soon sold for debt. It was incorporated by the State Legislature April 21, 1837, and during a part of the time was sustained in a creditable manner. It changed ownership, however, some eight or ten times, and the building was at different times appropriated to different purposes, until April 7, 1863, when it was sold to an agent of Bishop McLaughlan. It was afterwards moved, en- larged, and adapted to the purposes of public worship for St. Patrick's E. C. church, organized that year, and is still occupied by that denomination. It stands on the north side of the main street, a short distance west of the Presbyterian chapel, and a handsome residence for the use of the Priest has recently been erected on the east side of it. Southold Academy stands on a pleasant site, adjoining the railroad track, a short distance north of the institutions already noticed. The land was bought, and the building erected in 1857, under the direction of Messrs Barnabas H. Booth, Henry Huntting, and Kev. Epher Whitaker. These persons had collected from about forty donors nearly six thousand dollars for this object. Henry Huntting, Esq., and Capt. Theron B. Worth had each given $1,000, and the former afterwards greatly increased his donation. The founders placed the title, by a deed of trust, in the hands of the Trustees of the First church (Presbyterian) thereby se- 376 TOWN OF SOUTHOLU. curing the permanent and proper management of the prop- erty. The Academy was first opened for instruction, Dec. 16, 1867. It is supplied with books of reference, library includ- ing works on teaching and education, music books, organ, globes, maps, &c. The Principal has two assistants, and more than forty pupils. Already a considerable number of young men and young women have prepared for college or for business, and about twenty have become teachers, and the prospects of future success and usefulness of the institu- tion are growing brighter with each advancing year. Religious services by the Methodist Episcopal denomina- tion were commenced here in 1793. In 1819 the first church of that denomination was built here. A second church was built in 1850, and this was rebuilt and enlarged in 1866. It is now a handsome structure, and stands on the south side of the main street, a short distance east of the Presbyterian church. A Universalist church, erected in 1835-6 stands on an angle of the street a short distance west of the Presbyterian church. The Southold Savings Bank was incorporated in 1858, and the first deposit received July 5th of that year. This institu- tion owes its origin in a large degree to the enterprise and public spirit of Mr. J. H. Goldsmith, and it is said to be one of the most successful illustrations of the savings bank in a purely rural community that we have in the State. The amount of deposits in 1872 was $199,068.35 ; and tfre amount withdrawn the same year $153,616,06. The Suffolk County Mutual Insurance Co., an institution of this village, was incor- porated April 30, 1836. The amount insured, on the 1st of January, 1873, was $2,791,721.50 and the aggregate amount TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 377 of all actual available assets at that date was $233,098,93, con- sisting of premium notes and cash. The aggregate amount of losses paid by the Company up to Jan. 1, 1873, was $8,855.17.. This company confines its business exclusively to Suffolk County, taking no risks outside of that territory. "Eastern Star " Lodge of Good Templars was instituted in this village in 1870. Southold Lyceum, an institution de- signed to cultivate literary talent, and furnish literary enter- tainment, was organized here Oct. 3, 1871, and now numbers sixty-six members. It has a library of one hundred and forty-five volumes. Willow Hill Cemetery is pleasantly loca- ted in the western part of the village. It was organized Aug. 25, 1855, comprising about three acres, and contains a num- ber of finely kept lots, and handsome family monuments. A district school is located a short distance west of this. Another, the principal public school of the village, is located in the eastern part, and occupies a commodious lot. The Long Island Traveler, a weekly newspaper now published in this village, was started at Cutchogue Sept. 20, 1871, and moved here Aug. 20, 1872. Southold Division S. of T. is a flourishing institution, numbering about two hundred mem- bers. Horton's Point Light-house stands on a bold clifT on the sound shore, opposite this village, about two miles north of the central portion. This has a tower, thirty feet high, from its base, giving the light an elevation of one hundred and ten feet above the level of the sound. It was built in 1857, and gives a fixed light, visible twenty miles distant. Great Hog Neck lies south of the village, projecting into Peconic Bay about two miles. The cove which is formed on 378 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. the east of it is called Southold Bay, or Town Harbor, and from this several creeks project inland toward the village. The former town-poor-house was located near one of them. The peninsula of Great Hog Neck is about one and a half miles in width, and contains some two thousand acres, most of which is excellent farming land. It comprises a school district, and contains about forty farm-houses. Arshmamogue is a swampy locality lying about two miles east of Southold. A school district in this neighborhood comprises about thirty houses. Brick-making is carried on to considerable extent. The island here is less than two miles in width, and a creek from the bay puts into the land so far as to leave but a narrow sand beach of only a few rods in width between its head and the water of the sound. The village of Greenport, five miles beyond Southold, lies at the extremity of the Long Island Railroad, ninety-five miles from Brooklyn, and is one of the most thrifty and growing villages in the county. It is pleasantly located, bounded south by Greenport Harbor, east by Sterling Creek, and north by the Long Island Sound, though the thick set- tled portion of the village does not extend to the sound. The swampy locality of Arshmamogue lies on the west. The har- bor is one of the safest and most commodious on the Atlantic coast. It is completely land-locked, and the largest vessels can come up the lower bay into it, and find a safe harbor and complete shelter from storm. Even the Great Eastern can come into this harbor and anchor within a few feet of the main wharf. The village is well built, and has a very neat and clean appear- ance, great care being taken by the inhabitants to keep their premises in repair, and to decorate and adorn their grounds. TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 379 The streets are more regularly laid out tlian most villages in the county, and the inhabitants are a thrifty, industrious class of people. Greenport is a modern village, having been built within the past forty-five years, and therefore has not a very ancient record. The locality was originally called Sterling and the name is still preserved in the village. On the east is Sterling Creek; then there is a Sterling St., a Sterling- Place, a Sterling Ave. , and a few years since there was a Sterling Ladies Seminary. Previous to the Revolution there was a wharf near the outlet of Sterling Creek, where sloops engaged in the West India trade were accustomed to land their cargoes of rum and molasses. Remnants of this wharf are still to be seen. About the time of the Revolution there were six houses on the site of the present village, five of them being on Sterling St. , at that time called Sterling Lane, that being the only street or lane near this locality. At the com- mencement or early part of the present century a considera- ble part of the village site was the farm of one Capt. David Webb, and this was sold at auction on the 23d of March, 1820, being the first step in the building up of the village. The bank on the east of Main Street wharf was called Green Hill, and opposite this was a favorite spot for vessels bound down the bay to anchor and lay over night. The name of the vil- lage was changed to Greenport by a meeting of the inhabi- tants in 1834. Main Street was laid out in 1827, and the first set of marine railways laid the same year. The Main Street wharf was built that year and has been enlarged several times since, and was incorporated in 1830. Union wharf, at the foot of Central Ave., was commenced in 1838, and in- corporated in 1851. The Long Island Railroad was built to 3S0 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. Greenport in 1844. The wharf of the company, at the end of the trick, was built the same year. This wharf has been allowed to decay and fall to pieces until it is but an unsightty and rotten mass of broken timbers and piles, very much disfigu- ring the appearance of the water front. The company built new wharf on the south side of it in 1871. Soon after the completion of the road a mail route, between New York and Boston, was established upon it, connecting here with steamers for Allen's Point, Conn. This arrangement was kept up about three years, and a similar one was revived in 1872. The village of Greenport was incorporated in 1867. It contains a population of something more than two thousand. There are about twenty stores, and a number of saloons and tradesmen's shops. Also seven churches, five hotels and a number of private boarding houses, a bank, two newspapers, and various other institutions which we shall presently notice. The Fire Department is one of the institutions of the vil- lage, and is held a special object of pride, by the inhabitants as well as the members of the department. In this matter Greenport is probably better furnished than any other village in the county. The first fire engine was purchased by volun- tary contributions of the the citizens in 1847, and a company formed in connection with it called " Damper Engine Co., No. 1." About a year afterward the company was disbanded. "Game Cock Engine Co., No, 1," was soon after organized with the same machine, and was also furnished with a quantity of hose and a house. "Neptune Engine Co., No. 2," was organized in 1855, and the same month received a new piano- TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 381 deck engine. The Fire Department w^s organized by the association of the two companies, Sept. 12, 1856. "Phoenix Hook and Ladder Co., No. 1," was organized Jan. 30, 1860. About that time the name of " Game Cock " Engine Co. was changed to " Empire" Engine Co. Daring the winter of 1864-5 the Department was incorporated by act of the legisla- ture, and so it remained until it was merged in the village corporation in 1867. The ''Phoenix Hook and Ladder Co." was incorporated by act of the legislature in 1869. Feb. 2, 1872 a new double-deck engine was procured for Engine Co., No. 1, and a few days later a first-class piano-deck engine of great power was purchased by Company No. 2. " Eagle Hose Co. No. 1 " was organized in the early part of 1872, in con- nection with Engine Co. No. 1; and "Belief " Hose Co., No. 2, in connection with "Neptune" Engine Co. the latter part of the same year. The Presbyterian church stands at the junction of Sterling and Main Streets, facing down the latter. This is a handsome building, and was dedicated Dec. 3, 1835. A neat chapel stands beside it. The society was organized Feb. 7, 1833, mostly from the membership of the church at Southold. The Baptist church stands a few rods below, on the east side of Main Street. The society was organized Sept. 12, 1831, and the church edifice, erected in 1835, stood in the upper part of the village, near the "North Road." It was moved to its present site in 1844, and having been enlarged in 1855, is now the largest church in the village. The Methodist Episcopal church stands a short distance south of the Baptist, on the opposite side of the street. It was built in 1834; partially destroyed by fire about the year 1847, and enlarged in 1858. 382 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. A commodious lecture room stands adjoining it. The Congre- gational church is located on First Street, corner of North. It was built in 1848. This is a very fine building and has & capacity sufficient to seat four or five hundred, but for several years no service has been held in it. The Episcopal church, called the Church of the Holy Trinity, is a modest but neat looking building, located well up-town, on Sterling Street, at the head of First. The society was organized Oct. 19, 1863, and services according to the usages of the Protestant Episco- pal Church were first held in the cottage building in the rear of the Wyandank Hotel. May 23, 1865, A. M. C. Smith, Esq., donated a lot on which to erect a house of worship, and the corner stone of the structure was laid on Easter Monday, 1865. The Roman Catholic church, standing in the southwest part of the village was built about the year 1856. There is also an African church, and a congregation of Free Method- ists in the village. The Greenport Union Free School is located on First Street, near the centre of the village. The first school house was erected on the same site, in 1832, and the identical build- ing now serves as a kitchen to a house standing near. The initial part of the present building was erected in 1845. This was in size forty-five by twenty-six feet, and two stories high. In 1868 the building was enlarged by the addition of thirty feet on its length. It is now too small to prDperly accommodate the increasing numbers of the school. The Union Free School was organized as such in 1868. It now numbers about four hundred pupils, and employs the services dl five teach- ers. TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 383 The Greenport Cemetery lies in the north part of the village. It comprises about four acres, and was laid out in 1843. This is not under the charge of any organized society, but the land was bought by one person for the purposes of a burial ground, and sold in lots to individuals, and the grounds are kept in order, and fences made and repaired by the sub- scriptions and charity of the people of the village. It is nicely laid out, and contains a number of handsome monu- ments. The Republican Watchman, a weekly newspaper, was started at Sag Harbor on the 16th of September, 1826, by Samuel Phillips, and was moved to Greenport in September 1814. Mr. Phillips continued the paper, but in 1852 its editorial management was transferred to his son, S. Wells Phillips. In 1858 Mr. Phillips, Sen. , died, and the paper was sold to Henry A. Ketves, into whose hands it was transferred Dec. 4, of that year. It is still published by Mr. Reeves, and has a circulation and influence second to none in the county. The Suffolk Times was established in this village in 1856, by John J. Rid- dell. In 1862 it was purchased by Cordello D. Elmer, who in 1865 sold it back to Mr. Riddel 1. It was transferred to Buel G. Davis in 1866, and in 1870 sold to Wni. R. Duvall, by whom it has since been published. The First National Bank of Greenport was organized in 1864, with a capital of $50,000, which was increased in a few years to $75,000. The Bank building, occupying a conspicuous and convenient locality, was erected in 1870. Peconic Lodge of Free Masons was organized in 1854, and received its charter in June, 1855. It lias a membership of one hundred and forty. Sithra Chapter of Royal Arch Masons was organized in 1867. Greenport 384 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. Lodge of Odd Fellows was organized in 1855. It has a mem- bership of about seventy-five. The whale fishery enterprise was carried on from this port for many years, and with considerable profit. At one time about twenty ships from here were engaged in the business. The first ship was purchased in 1830, and after a brief though prosperous existence the enterprise declined and was abandon- ed some twenty years ago. For many years there has been a large fleet of fishing smacks owned and hailing from this port, engaged in the halibut and cod fisheries and the lobster trade. Greenoort has also a considerable number of vessels engaged in foreign and coastwise commerce. On the books of the Surveyor of the Port there are at present two hundred vessels of all descriptions, with an aggregate tonnage amounting to 11,240. The ship -building industry is an important feature of the place. There are four yards and several sets of marine railways. The menhaden fisheries and manufacture of oil and " guano" have been extensively carried on in the vicinity of this village during the past twenty years. In 1870 there were some twenty factories in this neighborhood, with an in- vested capital of about $400,000. At that time about four hundred men were employed in the business. It was estima- ted that the product of the business about that time amounted to near $300,000 in a single season. The business has since greatly declined. There are at present six factories located on the shores of the bay, and two floating hulks in which the same business is carried on. The manufacture of stereotype plates has recently been started in this village, by the Middle- ton Stereotype Company. About thirty-five hands are already employed, and a larger number is expected as soon as the TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 385 business becomes established. There are many German families living in this village and its immediate neighborhood, who are a temperate and industrious class of inhabitants. They are mainly employed in the manufacture of torpedoes for Fourth of July and other celebrations. A pottery was established in this village some forty-five years ago, and con- tinued until within the year past. Extensive beds of clay are found in the swamp of Arshmamogue. about two miles west of the village. Two brick yards located there turn out about one and a half million bricks a year. The village of East Marion, formerly called Roclrf Point, lies about two miles east of Greenport. It is a pleasant neighborhood, lying along the . main road which runs east to the extremity of the peninsula, and contains a population of three hundred and fifty. It is a rich farming district. At the eastern extremity of the village the land is contracted to a narrow isthmus, less than half a mile in width, and even this is nearly cut in two by a creek which puts in from the bay so far as to leave but a strip of a few rods in width be- tween its head and the sound shore. A grist-mill run by the ti e is located at the mouth of this creek. A wind grist-mill stands near the centre of the village. Besides these the vil- lage contains a church, a handsome district school, a temper- ance hall, and two stores. East Marion Lake is a handsome sheet of fresh water, lying between the village street and Orient Harbor, the name given to that part of the bay which indents this shore. Large quantities of ice are gathered from this lake and stored in a number of ho ses on its shore, for use in the neighboring villages. A cemetery lies on the northwest shore. A Baptist church society was organized 386 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. here in 1844, its membership having withdrawn from the church at Greenport. The house of worship, standing near the centre of the village was built soon after. " May Morn " Division, Sons of Temperance, numbers sixty-nine members. It meets in "Temperance Hall," the property of the Division. Orient is a village of about seven hundred inhabitants occupying the peninsula formerly called Oyster Ponds, and by the Indians named Poquatuck. This peninsula is about five miles long, by two to three miles wide, and containing about three thousand acres, forms the extremity of the north branch of the island. The surface of the peninsula is level, or gently rolling, except that the north side is considerably broken and rugged. The soil is good, and most of the land is cleared and occupied for farming purposes, the fields being enclosed to a large extent with stone walls, material for which is found in plentiful qnantities on the natural surface. Farm- ing operations, which occupy the principal attention of the people, are largely and successfully carried on, and the soil kept under a high state of cultivation by means of the fertil- izing products of the adjoining waters. The peninsula was first purchased of the Indians by Peter Hallock, soon after the first settlement of the town. It was settled about the year 1647 by a few families whose names were Youngs, Tut- hill, and Brown. On its eastern extremity a fort was erected in 1776, by Col. Livingston, with a view to prevent the land- ing of British troops on this part of the island. From near the eastern extremity a long sand beach returns on the south side of the peninsula a distance of some five miles, partially enclosing between it and the peninsula an irregular body of water called Long Beach Bay. Near the western TOWN OF SOTJTHOLD. 387 extremity of this Long Beach is a light-house established in 1871. It is built on the shoal which makes out from Long Beach Point, and serves to mark the entrance to Orient and Greenport Harbors. In 1872 it was protected by a stone ice-break. The light-house was erected at a cost of about $17,000, and the ice-break at an additional cost of several thousand dollars. The lantern gives a red light, which is fixed, and visible some twelve miles. The Principal village of Orient lies on the shore of Orient Harbor, on the western part of the peninsula. The village is rather compact, and contains two churches, three stores, two hotels, two boot and shoe shops, and a few other trades- men. A commodious steamboat wharf projects into the Harbor. The village school is a creditable institution, well sustained. A wind grist-mill stands near the shore. The name of the village was changed to Orient about the year 1836. The growth of this village may be inferred from the following figures, which are taken from "Griffin's Journal." In 1650 it contained six families; in 1700, twenty-four families; in 1750, forty-five families; in 1800, sixty families; and in 1855, one hundred and thirty-six families . The village has some commerce. The first church is supposed to have been commenced in 1717, and completed about ten years later. This belonged to the Congregational order. The building is said to have been a peculiar specimen of architecture, resem- bling a series of squares piled one upon the other, and the whole surmounted by a spire and a sheet-iron whether-vane representing a game cock. This church was torn down in 1818 to make room for another which was built about the same time. Another, much larger, more handsome and bet- 388 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. ter adapted to the purpose was built in 1844. This stands on the main road in the northern part of the village, and the old vil- lage burying ground lies across the road near by. Another, a more modern cemetery,lies off the road a quarter of a mile south of this . Still another, a much more ancient burial place than either, lies on the sound shere, a little north of the village. This resting-place of the dead lies in a deep valley, amid the appropriate and impressive solitude of the shore line hills, where scarce another sound ever breakes the stillness but the moaning of the wind and the murmer of the sea. The Meth- odist Episcopal church, standing near the center of the vil- lage was built in 1836, the corner stone laid on the 3d of June. A Division, S. of T., is sustained in this village, and numbers about one hundred members. Orient Point is the eastern extremity of this peninsula. It is a beautiful, level plain, and about twenty-five houses are located along the road which runs to the point. On the south side of the point is a steamboat wharf, and near it is a large summer boarding house which is largely patronized during the summer season by throngs of people who are at- tracted by the retirement, beauty, and varied privileges of this location. The house was built in 1834 and 5, and having been several times enlarged is capable of accommodating two hundred and fifty guests. ' Plum Island lies across Plum Gut, about a mile east of Orient Point. This island is about three miles in length, and contains some eight hundred acres. The surface of the island is very rough, rocky, and hilly. There are a few families living upon it. The island was purchased of the Indians by Samuel Wyllys, of Hartford, in 1659, for one barrel of buscuit, TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 389 one hundred muxes, and a few fish-hooks. A patent for it was granted by Gov. Andros, April 2, 1675. It was after- wards sold to Joseph Beebe. The historians tell us of a sin- gularly poised rock, which was found upon this island, and remained in its curious position until it was dislodged by a few of Commodore Hardy's sailors, in 1814 This rock was quite regular in form, rather roundish in shape, and about ten feet in diameter. It stood upon the very edge of another, larger rock, which lay in a plain, level field. The poised rock stood upon a very small foundation upon the other, and to all appearances would require but a slight effort to throw it off its balance. A light-house was erected on the west end of the island in 1827. This was re-fitted in 1856. The tower is thirty-four feet high, from its base, and stands upon a hill which gives the light an elevation of sixty-three feet above the water level. It is a revolving light, flashing every thirty seconds, and is calculated to be visible twelve miles distant. In the "Kace," a few miles east of Plum Island, are situated two lesser ones, called Great, and Little Gull Islands. These are composed almost entirely of solid rock, otherwise they might have long since been washed away- Great Gull Island contains about fifteen acres, and Little Gull Island but about one acre. The latter is surrounded by a solid stone wall, which cost $10,000 and used more than 25,000 tons of stone. Upon the island stands a very important light, which serves to mark the entrance or passage from the ocean to the sound. This light was established in 1806, and re-fitted in 1857. It has a fog bell attached. The tower is fifty-six feet high, and the light seventy-four feet above the water. It givesa fixed 390 TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. light, visible thirteen miles distant. This light is about seven miles beyond Orient Point. About four miles further in the same direction, which bears somewhat north of east, lies Fisher's Island, also belonging to the town of Southold. This island is about eight miles in length, with an average width of nearly one mile, and con- tains about four thousand acres. The surface is hilly and uneven, and the shores irregular, two small harbors being formed on the north' side. Wickaposset is the name given to the eastern point, and Race Point the name of the western extremity of the island. Some of the land rises in peaks and bluffs of considerable elevation, prominent among which are Mt. Prospect, near the west end, and another near the middle said to be considerable higher. Much of the surface is rocky. The soil is good, and is mostly occupied for grazing and farm- ing purposes. Considerable quantities of brick have been manufactured from a mine of clay found at the base of one of the hills. This island was first discovered by Adrian Block, in 1614. It was then named Vissher's Island, as is supposed, in honor of some of his companions. It was purchased of the Indians by John Winthrop, (afterwards Governor of Conn.) in 1644, and a patent of confirmation was given by Gov. Nicoll, March 28, 1668, in which it was constituted an independent town- ship, with • ' equal privileges and immunities with any other town, enfranchised place or manor, within the government of New York ; and to be in no wise subordinate, or belonging unto or dependent upon, any riding, township, place, or jurisdiction whatever." In 1680 the government of Connec- ticut laid claim to the island, but without sustaining it. It TOWN OF SOUTHOLD. 391 has remained in the possession of descendants of the original purchaser, down to the present day. North Dumpling Light-house stands upon a small island in Fisher's Island Sound, two or three miles north of the island. The light-house was built in 1848, and re-fitted in 1855. Ifc gives a fixed light, which is visible twelve miles distant. The tower is twenty-five feet above its base, and the light shines from an elevation of seventy feet above the level of the sur- rounding water. CHAPTER XVI. TOWN OF SHELTER ISLAND — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. Shelter Island lies between the two arms or peninsulas of the east end of Long Island, about half way from the head of Peconic Bay on the west to Montauk Point on the east. Across the strait on the north Greenport lies near a mile from the shore, and crossing a narrow channel and the peninsula of Hog Neck on the south Sag Harbor lies near the isthmus of that neck about four miles from the shore of this island. Sail boat ferries connect with either of these villages. The shores of this island are very irregular. Upon all sides rugged points and headlands project into the surrounding waters, and rambling bays, creeks and inlets penetrate far into the inte- rior. The surface also is very undulating and hilly, some of it being considerably elevated, and the whole island present- ing the most beautiful and varied scenery * of hill and valley, creek and cove, to be found on the borders of Long Island. Delightful groves, and enchanting prospects, with which the island abounds, add to the attractiveness of its scenery. The island contains about eight thousand acres, being about four miles in width and six miles in length . Gardiner's Bay washes its eastern shore and Peconio Bay, or Shelter Island Sound, washes the western shore. Besides the salt waters which in- dent the shores, numerous ponds of fresh water are scattered in the valleys. Swamps and peat beds are also common. The shores of the island are bold, and in some parts lined with TOWN OF SHELTEIi ISLAND. 393 rocks. Some of the hills attain an elevation of o ne hundred feet or more. The soil of the island is good, and a consider- able part of it is under cultivation. Sheep raising is carried on to considerable extent. The English claim upon Shelter Island was given by Earl Stirling to James Farrett in 1637, and by Farrett sold to Stephen Goodyear, May, 18, 1641. It was at that time called Farrett's Island. June 9th, 1651, Stephen Goodyear sold the island to Nathaniel and Constant Sylvester, Thomas House, and Thomas Middleton, for sixteen hundred pounds of Mus- covado sugar. These proprietors obtained a confirmation of the purchase from Yokee or Youghco, the Indian chief, and others of the tribe which occupied the island. In 1656 Thomas Rouse sold his share to John Booth, who again sold it to Nathaniel Sylvester. May 25, 1666, Gov. Nicoll, in con- sideration of £150, one half of which was paid in beef and the other half in pork, gave to the Sylvesters a release, exon- erating and acquitting the island from all "taxes and rates, either civil or military, and from all trayning, setting forth and .Keeping any soldiers, horses, arms, troopers, or other war- like provisions other than what they should voluntarily doe for the defence of their said island and this government in case of foreign invasion or disturbance by the natives." On the 31st of the same month Gov. Nicoll issued a patent of confirmation, constituting the island a township. After the re-capture of New York by the Dutch, Gov. Colve, April 28, 1674 declared Constant Sylvester and Thomas Middleton enemies of the government (they being absent at the time), and confiscated their shares of the island; and Aug. 28, of the same year sold their interest to Nathaniel Sylvester, for £500. 394 TOWN OF SHELTER ISLAND. He thus became possessor of the whole island. He had five sons, among whom the island was divided in equal shares, but three of them dying without issue, it eventually became the property of the other two, Giles and Nathaniel, the former of whom owned four fifths and the latter one fifth. Giles after- ward conveyed to William Nicoll of Islip, by sale and devise, one half the island. This Nicoll estate has been handed down through the family to the present time, being now occupied by Samuel B. Nicoll, M. D. At the death of Giles Sylvester, his brother Nathaniel came in possession of the remaining half of the island. Nathaniel Sylvester, in 1695 sold one thousand acres near the middle of the island to George Havens, among whose numerous descendants, down to the present day, have been some of the most respected and honored men of this town. A considerable portion of the es- tate of Nathaniel Sylvester is still in the possession of his de- scendants, though having been transmitted through female members of the family the ancestral name is lost. Among the family names which have succeeded are Dering, L'Hom- medieu, Gardiner, and Horsford, the present owner. At the time of the discovery and settlement of this island it was occupied by a powerful and warlike tribe of Indians, numbering some five hundred strong, called the Manhassetts, or as some authorities give the name, Manhansett. The In- dian name of th^ island was Manhansack-aha-qushu-wamock, said to mean " an island sheltered by islands." This tribe of Indians was under tribute to the Pequotts and Block Island Indians. They are said to have been friendly to the whites. Poggatacut, the sachem of this tribe was an elder brother of Wy undanch, and had exercised the authority of Grand Sachem TOWN OF SHELTER ISLAND. 395 of Long Island, which authority after his death passed to Wyandanch about the time, or soon after the first settlement of the neighboring towns. The principal residence and head- quarters of the sachem was upon the south side of the island, and the place is called Sachem's Neck to the present day. The first settlement of the town was made in 1652. Though properly a town by itself, for many years the public business of the island was by mutual agreement of the inhabitants transacted at the town-meetings of Southold. This arrange- ment continued until 1730, when the first town-meeting of Shelter Island was held, on the 7th of April. The town at that time contained twenty male inhabitants, of full age. The names of these early citizens of the town were as follows: William Nicoll, John Havens, Samuel Hudson, George Ha- vens, Elisha Payne, Joel Bowditch, Abraham Parker, Edward Havens, Samuel Vail, Thomas Oonk.ing, Edward Gilman, Brinley Sylvester, Jonathan Havens, Joseph Havens, Noah Tuthill, Sylvester L'Hommedieu, Henry Havens, Samuel Hopkins, John Bowditch, Daniel Brown. For many years after the first settlement was made upon the island, the people were in the habit of attending divine worship at Southold, not having sufficient numbers upon the island to support an independent organization. This arrange- ment continued until 1733, and no distinct church organiza- tion was established here until the year 1808. In 1712 Jona- than Havens, Jr., gave half an acre of ground near the middle of the island, for a meeting-house site and burying- ground. In 1743 Jonathan Havens and others united in erecting a house for religious worship, and obtained contribu- tions for the purpose from the neighboring towns, and from 396 TOAVN OF SHELTEB ISLAND. Boston and New York as well. This was tli9 first meeting- house on the island, and its site was the same spot where the present Presbyterian chureh stands. Previous to the organiza- tion of a church here the pulpit was irregularly supplied, much of the time by ministers from neighboring congrega- tions. A Congregational chureh was organized here in 1803, which was changed to the Presbyterian form in 1812. This church has been the recipient of two valuable legacies, the first bequeathed by Brinley Sylvester in 1752, being £100, and the second given by Benjamin Conklin in 1826, amounting to about $8,000, a considerable portion of which is still invested for the benefit of the church. The present Presbyterian church, standing on the original site, near the center of the island, was built in 1816. In the building of this church Gen. Dering gave the timber from a forest which had been mutila- ted by the memorable September gale of 1815. Services according to the usages of the Protestant Episcopal church were commenced in the Town Hall on Sunday, May 14, 1871. During the past season [1873J a meeting-house has been erected, chiefly by the liberality of the Nicoll family. The building stands about half a mile east of the Presbyterian church, upon a lot of one acre of ground which was pur- chased and donated to the society for the purpose by Dr. S. B. Nicoll. The church was erected at a cost of about four thousand dollars. The inhabitants of this town are principally engaged in farming and fishing. They are scattered over the surface, and number about six hundred and fifty. The more thickly set- tled portion is the interior. Here are two stores, a post-office, and a telegraph office. The latter was established here about TOWN OF SHELTEE ISLAND. 397 fourteen years ago, and a daily mail in 1854. The town has but one public school, and this is centrally located, and has at times been so well conducted that pupils from Connecticut and other places were sent here to secure its advantages. The present commodious building was erected in 1868, and school opened in it for the first time in Feb. 18G9. The Greenport Ferry, landing at Dering's Harbor, on the north side of the is- land, one and a half miles from Greenport, was incorporated by aet of Legislature on the ninth of April, 1859, with a charter to run ten years, which by another act, of May 2, 18G8, was extended ten years longer. During the summer season a steam propeller is run upon this ferry line, making trips every hour. Within the last twenty-two years sixteen fish factories have been established on the shores of the island. By an order of the Board of Health they have all been removed. The people of this town are noted for their sobriety and regard for temperance principles. The island is free from grog-shops. In 1828 a temperance society was formed here, which was continued in existence until 1842, when the Colum- biaL Total Abstinence Society took its place, and has ever since contiu ued to exert a wholesome influence among the people. During the last two or three years extensive improvements hf ve been made upon the north side of the island, by the Camp-meeting Association, and the Parks Association. The grounds of the Shelter Island Camp-meeting Association oc- cupy a beautiful hill, of considerable elevation, rising from the west side of Dering's Harbor. The grounds cover some two hundred acres, and have been beautifully laid out with walks, avenues and meeting-grounds, as well as cottage lots. A 308 TOWN OE SHELTEK ISLAND. large hotel occupies a delightful position on the slope, and a number of tasty cottages have been erected upon the grounds. Camp-meetings have been held here, under the supervision of the Methodist Episcopal church, during the last two summers. The grounds of the Shelter Island Park Association lie on the east side of Dering's Harbor, upon what is commonly known as Locust Point, being the northeast part of the island. This is situated upon the estate which has been handed down through the descendants of Brinley Sylvester. Its latest owner is Prof. E. N. Horsford, from whom about two hun- dred acres were purchased by this Association for the purpose of establishing here a magnificent watering place and summer pleasure resort. The grounds are delightfully situated on rolling surface, considerably elevated, and presenting splendid prospects, overlooking Greenport village half a mile distant, and the shore of the peninsula, as well as the endless stretch of water which forms about the island. The grounds are laid out with artistic design, showing walks, avenues, drives, parks and pleasure grounds. Several cottages have been built, and a mammoth hotel, the "Manhansett " House, was opened the last season. This hotel is some two hundred feet long and four stories high, with a wing of about two hundred feet in length running back from one end. On the front it lias a tower one hundred and twenty feet high . The house is beautifully situated, and a wharf extends from near it into the water, making a convenient steamboat landing. CHAPTER XVII. EASTHAMPTON TOWN — HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION. The town of Easthampton occupies the southern peninsula of the east end of Long Island, from the line of Southampton eastward as far as the land runs, being in length about twen- ty-five miles, and in width at the broadest point nearly eight miles. The average width however, would not exceed half that distance. The north shore is very irregular. The territory of this town is washed by the ocean and its tribu- tary waters on all sides except where it joins Southampton, on the west. A considerable part of this territory is em- braced in the peninsula of Montauk, and much of the re- maining portion is covered with forest and scrub-growth, leaving but a small proportion under cultivation. The south coast in some places is a low sandy beach, in others formed into small hills assuming every variety of shape, while on Montauk are high and rugged cliffs against whose base the waves of the ocean dash with almost ceaseless violence, any- thing like a profound calm here being of rare occurrence. The north shore being less exposed to the heavy action of the sea is for the most part level, and indented with numer- ous coves and small bays abounding in fish and in some instances navigable for small vessels. Though a great part of the land is inclined to be sandy there are considerably patches here and there of very fine soil. In fact some of the most fertile and beautiful farming land upon the whole island may be found within the limits of this town. 400 TOWN OF EASTEtAMPT'Off. At the time of the first settlement by Europeans the soil was owned by the Montauk Indians, of whom purchases were made. The first settlement within the present jurisdiction of the town was made by Lyon Gardiner on Gardiner's Island in 1639. The organized settlement of the town however did not take place until 1648. April 29 th of that year Theophilus Eaton, Governor of New Haven, and Edward Hopkins, Gov- ernor of Connecticut, at the solicitation of a party of emi- grants who wished to set Je here, obtained a grant of land from the Indians, and transferred their title in the same to the colonists. This grant embraced about thirty thousand acres, or the principal part of the town, excepting the penin- sula of Montauk. The consideration given the Indians for the same, was twenty coats, twenty four looking-glasses, twenty-four hoes, twenty-four hatchets, twenty-four knives, and one hundred muxes, valued altogether at £30, 4s, 8d, The Indians also reserved the privilege of fishing in any of the waters and hunting in the woods ; and were also to have the "ffynnes and tayles of all such whales as shoall be cast upp." The Indian deed was signed by Poygratasuck, Sachem of Manhassett ; Wyandanch, Sachem of Montauk ; Momometou, Sachem of Corchaug ; and Nowedonah, Sachem of Shinnecock. Though the land granted was occupied only by the Montauks, yet it seemed desirable as a measure of prudence to secure the assent of the sachems of these three neighboring tribes in order to guard against the possibility of their afterwards inserting any claim to the same lands. The settlers came from the neighborhood of Lynn, Mass., and commenced the first settlement on the site of the present village of Easthampton. The name Maidstone was given to TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 401 the town at first, in remembrance of the place, in Kent, England, where several of the settlers had emigrated from. About fourteen years afterward it was dropped for the pres- ent name. The dwellings of the original planters are sup- posed to have been of very rude construction, without glass in the windows, with straw roofs and wooden chimnies which were plastered on the inside. The settlement was governed by laws enacted by the people assembled in town-meeting, or as they sometimes called those official gatherings, the general court. Civil and ministerial officers were likewise appointed ; and the decisions of magistrates confirmed or reversed by the same tribunal, from which there was no appeal, except to the general court of Connecticut, after the town was taken under that jurisdiction. Lands were at first allotted to individuals as the increase of population rendered necessary, and the proprietors were prohibited as in other towns from releasing any of their title therein to any proposed settler who had not first obtained the approval of the magistrates or the general court. "Whales were common along the shore and frequently drifted upon the beach. Men were kept at convenient sta- tions watching, and boats in readiness to start in pursuit whenever one was seen within range. At a very early period oil became a staple article of export, as well as home exchange. Very friendly relations appear to have always existed be- tween the white settlers of this town and their Indian neigh- bors. The latter occupied the peninsula of Montauk and were several times compelled to flee to the settlement of Easthampton for protection against their savage enemies, the Narragansetts by whom they were much annoyed, and kept in 402 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. a state of constant fear. In return for the kindness showed them by their English neighbors the Indians allowed them the privilege of the pasturage on Montauk. In the original division of land among the proprietors in common, a house lot of ten or twelve acres was laid off for each in the village plat, and the woodlands and meadows were afterwards divided at different times as occasion demanded. Large parcels of ground in different places were left in com- mon and some of these remain at the present day. The officers of the town consisted of three justices of the peace, or magistrates, a clerk and constable. Actions for slander were among the most numerous class of cases which came before the courts of the town. In these the amount of damages recovered in any case could not exceed £5, but in other actions the jurisdiction of the courts was not limited. Among the municipal regulations of 1651 we find the following : "Noe man shall sell any liquor, but such as are deputied thereto by the towne, and such shall not lett youth and those under authority remain drinking att unreasonable hours; and such persons shall not have above half a pint among four men; and further Ordered, that Goodman Megg's lot shall not be laid out for James Still to goe to work on, and that he shall not stay here." "Noe Indian shall travel up and down, or carry any burthen in or through our towne on the Sabbath day; and Avhoever is found soe doing, shall be liable to cor- porall punishment" * 'March 7th, 1652. — At a general court it is ordered that any man may set guns to kill wolves, provided they be not set within half a mile of the town, and also to take up the guns by sunrise; and further that it shall not be lawful to sell any dog or bitch, young or old, to any Indian upon penalty of thirty shillings." TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 403 "June 3d, 1G53. — It is ordered that one half the town shall carry arms to meeting upon the Lord's Day, with four suffi- cient charges of j^owder and shot." This it will be remem- bered was during those troublesome times when the suspicion was forced upon the English towns of Long Island that the Indians were conspiring with the Dutch to destroy the Eng- lish settlements. Great alarm prevailed about this time on account of these suspicions, and every possible measure was adopted for the safety of the little isolated colony. An extra supply of ammunition was obtained from Say brook fort, and a guard was maintained to prevent the fearful consequences of a sudden attack. The court authorized the guard to shoot down any Indian who should refuse to surrender on being hailed the third time. These precautionary measures it is probable were after all of no real necessity, as it does not ap- pear that any attack was made or even contemplated by the Indians of the neighborhood. "Feb. 12, 1654. — Ordered that whoever shall arise up a false witness against auy man, to testify that which is wrong, there shall be done unto him as he had thought to have dona unto his neighbor, whatever it be, to the taking away of his life, limb or g6ods." "May 8th, 1G55. — It is ordered, that for the prevention of abuse among the Indians, by selling them strong waters, no man shall carry any to them to sell, nor yet send any, nor em- ploy any to sell for them; nor sell any liquor in said town to any Indian for their £>resent drinking, above two drams at a time." "1G56, a woman was sentenced to pay a fine of £3, or stand one hour with a cleft slick upon her tongue, for saying that her .husband had brought her to a place where there was neither gospel or magistracy." The disposal of any guns, swords, powder or lead to the Indians was prohibited by law. The owners of straw thatch- ed houses were required to keep ladders near them, which 404 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. should be long enough to reach to the ridge. Persons were appointed by the town to inspect chimneys and see that the inside was well plastered and kept clear of soot. Every able- bodied man was required to take his turn in watching on the beach for whales. For a number of years it seems the whipping-post was maintained as a common method of punishment for certain offences. In 1727, R. Syme occupied the position of common whipper by vote of the town. His official fees for this kind of i3ublic business were fixed at three shillings for each sub- ject whipped. In 1657 this town placed itself under the protection of Con- necticut, and the year following sent to that colony for a copy of laws suitable for their government, the most or all of which they adopted. At an early period Charles Barnes, one of the first settlers, was employed as a school-master at a salary of £30 a year, a part of the amount to be raised by a tax on the inhabitants. The first settlers were strict Puritans, and the establish- ment of gospel institutions was made a primary object. Pub- lic worship was held for the first few years at the ordinary of Thomas Baker, for the use of which he received eighteen pence a week. In 1652 a meeting-house was erected. This primitive temple was 20 by 26 feet on the ground, with posts eight feet high, and the roof was covered with straw. In 1651 the salary of Rev Thomas James, the first minister, was fixed by the town at £45 a year "and his lands to be rate free." It was also specified by an order of the town that '-'his grain should be first ground at the mill on the 2d day of every week. His salary was afterwards raised to £60 a year. TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 405 The town was incorporated under the colonial government of New York by a patent from Gov. Nicoll granted to John Mulford, Thomas Baker, Thomas Chatfield, Jeremiah Conck- lyn, Stephen Hedges, Thomas Osborne, Sen'r, and John Osborne, and their associates, on the 13th of March, 1CG6. A second patent confirming the first, was granted by Gov. Dongan, Dec. 9, 1686, in which Eev. Thomas James, Lieut. John Wheeler, Capt. Josiah Hobart, Ensign Thomas Tall- mage, Samuel Mulford, Thomas Chatfield, Sen.. Jeremiah Conkling, Steven Hand, Robert Dayton, Thomas Baker, and Thomas Osborn w ere designated as patentees, and by which the freeholders and inhabitants were made a body corporate and politic forever, for an annual quit-rent of one lamb, or the value thereof in money. That fearless and independent spirit which the early inhab- itants frequently manifested is shown in the following order, occasioned by the call of Gov. Dongan for a general assembly of representatives from the towns. The Capt. Young spoken of was the high sheriff of Yorkshire, through whom the call was transmitted. "Sept. 24, 1683.— Town chose Thomas Tallmage, John Wheeler, Samuel Mulford, and Steve a Hand to join Southold in selecting representatives for this riding to meet at York, according to order. The town have likewise desired Mr. James to go with our men, and advise with them in our con- cerns, who are to stand up in the assembly, for maintaining our privileges and English liberties, and especially against any writ going in the Duke's name, but only in his Majesty's, whom only we own as our sovereign. Also, in the town's name, to certify Capt. Young, that they do not send these 406 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. men in obedience to his warrant, but because they would not neglect any opportunity to assert their own liberties." The people of Easthampton, isolated as they have been to a great extent from intimate relations with the outside world, have always preserved the lines of character drawn by the original planters more perfectly than the people of any other town. ' In their opinions, feelings and customs, they have always been remarkably unanimous. This unity of sen- timent and action extends to political as well as to religious or social matters. Town elections have frequently returned a unanimous vote, and there is hardly an instance on record even down to the j)resent time, where the people were much divided on any important subject. For more than two hun- dred years there was but one church in the town, and but few representatives of any other denomination than the " stand- ing order " among the inhabitants. At the commencement of the Revolution the people of this town were unanimous in their adherence to the cause of liberty. In June 1775 an " Association " was formed in sup- port of the measures of the Continental Congress, and its articles were signed by every male inhabitant capable of bear- ing arms, numbering altogether two hundred and fifty-three, among whom were John Chatfield, Col. Abram Gardi- ner, Burnet Miller, Rev. Samuel Buel, and Thomas Wickham. Gardiner's Island, called by the Indians Monchonock, or Mashongomuc, and by the early English settlers the Isle of Wight, lies on the eastern border of Gardiner's Bay, three and a half miles northeast from the main land of this town. It contains about three thousand three hundred acres, chiefly TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 407 devoted to grazing and stock raising purposes. The soil is good and the surface undulating. This island was purchased of the agent of Earl Stirling March 10, 1639, by Lyon Gardiner, he having purchased the Indian claim, for which he paid a few blankets, a dog, a gun, some ammunition and some rum. He also agreed to pay to the representative of Earl Stirling £5 a year if demanded, which arrangement probably did not continue but a few years at the most. A patent was granted by Gov. Nicoll to David Gardiner Oct. 5, 1665, and the quit-rent which was then fixed again at £5 a year was afterward commuted by Gov. Lovelace in 1671 for one lamb yearly. The island remained an inde- pendent plantation until 1680, when it was annexed to the town of Easthampton. The settlement of Mr. Gardiner here, in 1639 was the first English settlement within the limits of the present State of New York. The island has passed down from generation to generation to the present time in the pos- session of his lineal descendants. Lyon Gardiner was a man of considerable ability, energy and enterprise, and evidently possessed a character in which the noblest qualities of man were well developed. No doubt the happy relations which existed between the settlers of this town and the Indians were in a great measure due to the friendship and confidence which he by his acts of kindness and consideration had inspired in the hearts of the natives. Among his townspeople he held a very prominent position. He died in 1663, and his descendants at the present day are among the most substantial and respected inhabitants of Easthampton. In the summer of 1699 William Kidd, the notorious pirate, 408 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. on his way to Boston, landed at Gardiner's Island and depos- ited there a box of gold, silver, and precious stones which he had taken during his plundering expedition on the high seas. The place of this deposit was made known to the owner of the Island who was restrained from exposing the secret under penalty of death. Kidd had been sent out in 1696 in command of a vessel fitted out to defend the com- merce of all nations against the ravages of pirates who in- fested the seas. He was at first very successful in the under- taking and his movements elicited the plaudits of those who looked upon him as their protector and friend. But his thirst for plunder soon swallowed up whatever principle of justice or desire for honorable distinction he ever had, and instead of a defender of commerce he became its greatest enemy. On his arrival at Boston, Kidd was seized by the authorities and sent to England, where he was tried and hung in May 1701. When he was arrested, among the papers found in his possession was an account of the . deposits he had made in different places, and the Governor of Massachusetts ap- pointed commissioners to secure the hidden treasures. In the discharge of their duty these commissioners visited Gar- diner's Island and secured the spoils there buried. This island is of very irregular shape, and including its long arms it extends from north to south a distance of about six miles. It contains a number of creeks and ponds, and a considerable part of it consists of woodlands and meadows. A light-house standing upon the extreme northern point was built in 1855. The tower is twenty-seven feet high, and it gives a fixed light, twenty-nine feet above water, and visible sixmiles distant. TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 409 A small part of the village of Sag Harbor extends into the northwest corner of this town, but as that village has been noticed under the head of Southampton we pass it in this connection. About three miles east of that point is a scattered settle- ment called Northwest, containing perhaps twenty houses, and a district school. It lies near the shore of Northwest Harbor, in the neighborhood of a creek of the same name which extends inland from that water about one and a half miles. The locality is infested by low sandy hills, and several ponds lie in the vicinity. Wainscott is a hamlet of about thirty houses, lying on the sea-shore in the extreme southwest corner of this town. The people are mostly farmers and mechanics. An ancient burying-ground and a district school are located near the centre of the neighborhood. This settlement being on the border of Southampton town may be considered as a tribu- tary to Bridgehampton, about two miles northwest, with which it is most intimately connected in its church and postal relations. The village of Easthampton, reveling in its antiquity and abounding with historical associations to a greater extent than any other village within the range of these sketches, occupies a moderately fertile plain near the sea-shore, four miles east of the town line and twenty miles west of Mon- tauk Point. It has for several years been growing in popular impro- tance as a sea-side resort, and during the heated season is visited by thousands, who seek retirement for a while from the wearing scenes of city life. The hotel accommodations 410 TOWN OF EASTIIAMPTON. are however very imperfect. There is not in fact a single hotel or boarding-house of any considerable size in the place. To make up for this deficiency almost every private house becomes temporarily a boarding house, and even then the accommodations are not sufficient to answer the demand. Here is certainly a splendid opening for a few mammoth hotels similar to those we find in some localities where the necessity is not half as great. With the establishment of these, and some improvement in the means of access, East- hampton must become one of the most desirable watering places on the Long Island coast. The present means of communication are tedious stage routes connecting with railroad or steamboat at Sag Harbor, seven miles northwest, or with railroad at Bridgehampton, about same distance west. The main part of the village lies upon the sides of a singla street, a mile and a half in length and running in a north- easterly direetion from a point about half a mile from the ocean. This street is level, of great width, and most of the way is lined with massive shade trees, whose wide spreading branches hover over the spacious walks that run along its borders. The village has a population of about six hundred, and contains two churches, an academy and three stores, one of the latter, displaying the sign of A. M. Payne, being one of the largest country stores on the island. Most of the habi- tations are large farm-houses, many of which are thickly embowered in foliage, and some of them bearing evidence of considerable antiquity. There are also several handsome residences surrounded hy spacious grounds, richly orna- mented with trees and shrubbery. Two windmills are located TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 411 at the north end of the village, and another at the south end. Near the former is a district school and a burying-ground. Near the latter is another, more ancient depository of the dead, embracing several acres, and containing a number of handsome monuments. This was the first burying-ground established in the town, and it contains the graves of many of the original inhabitants, among which is that of the Rev. Thomas James, the first minister, who died in 1696, and at his own request was buried on the east side of the plot, with his head to the eastward, so that when the trumpet of Gabriel should call forth the sleeping dead he might rise facing his congregation. One of the largest monuments here preserves the memory of David Gardiner, who died Feb. 28, 1844: in the sixtieth year of his age. " In the vigor of a life adorned by eminent virtues, solid abilities, and rare accomplishments, beloved and venerated, he was stricken with instant death by the bursting of the great gun on board of the steam frigate Princeton, on the river Potomac ; a national calamity which wrung many hearts, and deprived the country of some of its most distinguished and valuable citizens." This monument is about five feet square at the base, and twenty feet high. The sailors monument, an object of much interest to the visitor, stands in the north end of the enclosure. This is about twelve feet high, the base four feet square, and con- tains the following inscription : — " This stone was erected by individual subscriptions from various places to mark the spot where with peculiar solemnity were deposited the mortal remains of the three mates and eighteen of the crew of the ship John Milton of New Bedford wrecked on the coast of Montauk while returning from the Chincha Islands on tho 412 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 20, February, 1858, when, together with those who rest be- neath, Ephriam Harding the Captain and four others of the mariners, being the whole ship's company, were drowned in the waves." The ship "John Milton " was a vessel of 1,445 tons, loaded with guano, and came ashore in a snow storm at a point about five miles west of Montauk Lighthouse. The bodies of the men washed ashore and were brought hither and buried by the hand of sympathizing strangers. An ap- propriate funeral sermon was delivered on the occasion by the Kev. Stephen L. Mershon. This grave-yard as well as the one at the north end of the village was first established in the middle of the broad high- way, and for many years was allowed to remain unfenced. Both are now enclosed by neat fences, allowing ample room for highways on either side. The first civilized settlement of this town was made in the neighborhood of a pond which lies adjoining the burying- ground at the south end of the village. The first church was erected in this village in L652, four years after the settlement was commenced. This church was covered with thatch and as we have previously stated its dimensions were twenty by twenty-six feet, with posts eight feet high. It was enlarged and repaired in 1673, and again in 1698. It stood on the south end burying ground. A new church was commenced in 1717, on a site further up the street, and finished in the year following. At that time it was probably the largest and finest one on the island. It was furnished with a bell and a clock, and some years afterward a second gallery, above the first was added to its interior. In 1823 it was repaired and reconstructed. It was torn down in TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 413 1871, after standing a period of one hundred and fifty-four years. This church was occupied by the Presbyterian de- nomination. The present Presbyterian church, a large and handsome building was erected in 1861 at a cost of $13,500. It contains a bell and clock. St. Luke's Episcopal chapel, a structure of less dimensions, but neat proportions, was built in 1859. Clinton Academy is an ancient looking structure built part of wood and part of brick, with gambrel roof and dormer windows, standing on the street directly opposite where the old church stood. This institution was founded in 1784, through the efforts of Rev. Dr. Buel, and Mr. William Payne, the latter of whom was the first teacher. It was named in honor of Gov. George Clinton, by whom it was presented with a bell. It has the honor of having been one of the first two academies chartered by the Regents of the University of this State, and the bill adopting the system by which that board was authorized was introduced in the state legislature upon a petition from the Academy, and prominently sup- ported by Hon. Ezra L'Hommedieu of this county, who was at that time in the senate. John Howard Payne, a dramatist of considerable merit, and author of the immortal poem, "Home, Sweet Home,'* was a native of this village and son of Mr. William Payne spoken of above. The home of his childhood, a modest, time beaten cottage standing beside the Academy building, is pointed out to the stranger as one of the many interesting objects which this place affords. 411 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. The "Hook Pond " is a narrow sheet of water about a mile in length lying behind the beach hills just below the village. About two miles west of here and near the settlement of "Wainscott is another larger body of water called Georgica Pond, sometimes connected with the ocean. Three men, Joseph E. Stratton, Zebedee Osborn, and John Hoppin were drowned in crossing the outlet, in 1714, and four others were drowned in the pond in 1719. A bridge which formed the connecting link across it, on a desirable route between Bridgehamp^on and Easthampton was constructed a few years ago, but has been washed away. The town poor house was located on the main road near the head of this pond. About three miles northeast from this village is a body of water several miles in extent, called Three Mile Harbor, con- nected by a narrow inlet with Gardiner's Bay. About a mile east of this is a neat little settlement of sixty houses called The Springs, having a store, a post-office, and a district school, of about ninety scholars. This village lies near Acabonac Harbor, which latter is an irregular body of shoal water straggling into the eastern shore of this main- land. The surface is level ; the soil a sandy loam ; and the people mostly farmers and fishermen. A part of the neigh- borhood is known by the local name of Eire Place. Amagansett, retaining the Indian name of the locality, is a village of three hundred and fifty inhabitants, lying near the ocean. It occupies one mile in length on a single street, is beautifully located, three miles east of Easthampton, and is the easternmost village on this branch of the island. It has two churches, two stores, a district school of seventy scholars, and a wind grist-mill. An ancient grave-yard is located in TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 415 the eastern part. Settlement is supposed to have commenced here but a few years after the first settlement of the town. The soil in the neighborhood is a dark rich loam, and the inhabitants are mostly farmers. A Methodist Episcopal, church was erected in this village inl847. It stands in the western part. A Presbyterian church was built here in 18G0. Proceeding eastward from Amagansett we enter immedi- ately upon the dreary waste of Napeague Beach, where this part of the island is narrowed down to a width of about one mile by an abrupt advance of the water upon the north side. This beach varying in width from one to two miles extends east a distance of about five miles and forms the connecting link between the main island and the peninsula of Montauk. It is a low sandy isthmus containing an occa- sional patch of grass or bushes. A remarkable phenomenon is presented in the fact that during warm weather this region is infested by myriads of musquitoes, while a few miles beyoud, upon Montauk, neither mnsquitoes nor flies are ever known. The peninsula of Montauk, containing about nine thousand acres occupies the eastern extremity of the south branch of Long Island. It is about eleven miles in length and fro.ru one and a half to three miles across it. The surface, elevated twenty to one hundred feet above the sea level, is thrown into countless hills and valleys, comparing veil in its undula- tions with the waves of the adjoining ocean. The greater part of it is bare of timber, and covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, affording excellent pasturage for stock, and to this purpose it is almost exclusively devoted. To the rich- ness of its feeding add the abundant supply of pure whole- some water afforded by numerous springs and ponds which 416 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. are scattered over the surface ; the cool and refreshing sea breeze ; and the entire absence of annoying insects ; and we find this spot peculiarly favored for the purpose to which it has been appropriated for more than two hundred years. Animals in a very low condition turned on here are said to imp ove and become fat in a surprisingly short time; Only a small portion of the tract upon the north side is now cov- ered with timber. The soil is a deep, rich loam, surpassing in fertility almost any other section of the island. It is still held by the " heirs and assigns " of the original purchasers, in undivided shares, and the remnant of the Indian tribe still hold the reservation of their ancestors upon it. The shareholders in these Montauk lands are represented by a board of seven trustees in whom the management of the common property is vested. Three keepers are employed to look after the animals that are turned on here to pasture, and change them from one enclosure to another as occasion re- quires. Each keeper has the use of a house and as much land as he wishes to cultivate, also the privilege of pasturing a certain number of cattle. The houses are located about four miles apart. The cattle of different owners turned together upon this common pasture are identified by certain slits, nicks, punctures, and cuts, made upon the animal's ears ; corresponding representations of which are recorded by their respective owners. Montauk was originally bought of the Indians, between 1GG0 and 1687, inclusive. Its purchase was made by three different companies, in three distinct parcels. These com- panies were soon after consolidated, so that the interest of each individual in one or more of the separate parcels was TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 417 made to ran through the whole land, which under this arrangement — it is believed — was divided into forty shares, each share being estimated at £40. The shares of the origi- nal owners were unequal in value, and those interests have been constantly changing, by purchase and sale, by devise and inheritance, down to the present time so that the propri- etorship now lies in about eighty persons, whose interests vary in amount of estimate from £280 down to the fraction of a penny. A share or estimate of £40 is the unit of division. The body of proprietors have at different times bought up individual interests and extinguished them in the common ownership, and in this way the original forty shares have been reduced to a fraction over thirty-five. The present market value of an original £40 share, is about $4,400. These shares are divided into "eighths" which are com- monly reckoned in ordinary transactions. The increasing value of Montauk land may be seen by comparing former estimates with the present. In 1843 these "eighths" were valued at 3300, each ; in 1860 at $350 to 8400 each ; and at the present time these are worth, according to the estimate just given, $550. Each share entitles the owner to the pas- turage of forty-eight cattle, or six to each "eighth." One horse counts as two cattle, and seven sheep are allowed on one cattle right. The proprietors make about fifty rights for the keepers to improve, and allow the Indians to hire out what they do not require for their own cattle up to fifty. About fifteen hundred cattle, one hundred horses, and eight hundred sheep are turned on here during the season. The days for driving on and bringing off the animals are designated by the trustees, according to the exigencies of the season and 418 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. the consequent state of the pasture. The season for sheep generally lasts from about the latter part of March to the first of December ; and for cattle and horses from the first of May to the middle of November. Among the numerous ponds which beautify and vary the scenery of Montauk, Great Pond, lying within four miles of the eastern extremity, is the largest. This is the largest body of fresh water on the island, being about two miles in length, and covering an area of six hundred acres. Two miles west of it is another considerable body of water called Fort Pond, by the Indians Konkhonganock. Near this is an ancient burial ground, once the location of the citadel or stronghold of the Indians. Fort Pond Bay makes a deep indentation upon the north shore in this vicinity, and in connection with the pond, nearly cuts the peninsula in two. Still further west, near the union with Napeague is another, yet smaller pond bearing the Indian name of Quannotowouk, and called in English Fresh Pond. An ancient fortification of the Indians is said to have been located near this. In the neigh- borhood of the ''Indian Fields," which lies upon the north side near the east end, are several smaller ponds among which are Oyster, Great Reed, Little Reed, and Money Ponds. Some of these are elevated several feet above the sea level, while others are so situated that by an unusual rising either of the pond or the tide they have at times been temporarily connected with the sea. All these ponds and the neighboring shores and swamps are frequented by great numbers of wild fowl, including geese, ducks, brant, plover, teal, and several other species. As a consequence this region is a favorite field for sportsmen, dur- TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 419 ing the autumn months, who in the absence of any regularly established accommodations for visitors find temporary homes with the stock keepers. Montauk is also noted for the great numbers of fish that play about its shores, and are taken by those who engage in the exercise either for pastime or for profit. Moss bunkers, blue fish, bass, flounders, codfish, paugies and black fish are among the inhabitants of the surrounding waters. These are taken with nets or hook and line. Pleasure fishing is carried on either in surf-boats along the shore or by standing on the beach and throwing a squid out into the water. Some of the fresh water ponds are stocked with white perch. The shore in the neighborhood of the Point is rocky, and the bottom of the ocean for a long distance eastward is strewn with huge boulders. The supposition is favorably enter- tained by those who have studied the subject, that this land once extended nearly or quite to Block Island, which lies in range of the coast fourteen miles beyond. At any rate there is positive evidence that it extended a considerable distance further into the sea than it now does. The ceaseless action of the surf upon this point, directly exposed as it is to the angry beetling of the Atlantic, is slowly but surely wearing it away. It has been estimated that altogether about two acres of the surface of this peninsula is by this means torn down and washed away every year. The point presents a bold cliff, rising abruptly sixty feet or more above the water, and against its base the everlasting surges of the ocean are almost contin- ually dashing with irresistible fury. During a storm, when the waves, driven landward, are breaking among the rocks 420 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. and thundering upon the shore, the scene presented here is terrific and impressively sublime. Fearfully interesting indeed would be the story of destruc- tion that has been wrought by the high carnival of ocean upon this wild forbidding shore. Fragments of wrecks, embedded in the sand, are scattered at short intervals along the beach* reminding us how the mad waves make play-things of the noblest works of man. Of the numerous ship-wrecks that have occurred here but few happily have been to very great extent destructive of human life. The most disastrous in this respect, of any of which we have learned was the wreck of the ship "John Milton," in 1858, some particulars of which have been given in connection with Easthampton, where most of the unfortunate crew were buried. Many reminiscences of brave deeds and hair-breadth escapes might be given in connection with the story of suffering, death, and destruction which the history of these casualties would reveal. The line of kfe saving stations which extends along the whole south coast of Long Island terminates at this point. Montauk light-house stands upon "Turtle Hill," the ex- treme point of the peninsula, called by the Indians Wampon- amon. It was built in 1795, and cost $22,500. The tower is eighty-five feet high, built of stone, the walls of which were afterward lined with brick. The height of the lantern above the sea level is one hundred and sixty feet. It has a " Fren- sel " lens of the first order, and gives a flashing light appear- ing every two minutes, visible twenty nautical miles distant, and under favorable circumstar c 3S several miles further. Wrapt in a halo of solitude, Montauk sleeps peacefully amid its wild surroundings, and dreams of its un-written tragedies, TOWN OF EASTHAMHTON. 421 its un-told legends, its forgotten history of unknown ages past. A. little more than two hundred years ago it was part and parcel of the common wilderness, and in common with the whole land was the home of the American savage. The hand of civilization came and spangled the neighboring wilderness with cities, towns, and villages. Before its transforming influence the savage nation was driven far into the western wilds, and the evidences of savage life gradually faded out. But, like a magnificent dissolving view, as the traces of savage life disappeared from the scene, the outlines of civilized life were developed and intensified. Wigwams gave place to cottages, farm-houses, and mansions ; church spires out- stripped in their upward progress the smoke of Indian war- fires ; hunting grounds were changed to smiling farms and gardens ; and as if by magic the few and simple accessories of the native dispensation vanished before the hand of the white man. But while that hand, skilled in the arts which had been for centuries developing, and propelled by the enterprise which grew out of religious persecution, has been busy scattering cities, towns, and villages, churches, schools, railroads and manufactories over the broad face of a conti- nent, this spot, situated for two hundred years in the very midst of these transformation scenes, and only one hundred and twenty miles from the great focal centre of the dissolving view, has remained to the present time with scarcely a mark of improvement upon its former condition. Though by nature blessed with advantages superior in many respects to other sections where Art has been lavish of its works, that busy hand has scarcely turned a stone, or drawn a line, or left a finger mark upon this wildly beautiful peninsula. 422 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. Shades of the unfathomed past hover round us as we ex- plore the thousand hills and valleys, up and down whose grassy sides the dusky monarch of Paumanacke and his nu- merous subjects were wont to range and ramble long years ago. Though now we look in vain for the Indian warrior 4n his primitive glory, yet so little change has been wrought in the field of his former dominion that we may still behold, with very slight variations, the same picture that greeted the eyes of the first European immigrants. The history of this romantic spot since it passed under the control of the white settlers is but little more than a monotonous blank. Across this void we naturally look with curious eye to inquire into the history of that period of aboriginal occupancy which immediately preceded it. In answer to this inquiry we learn that at the time the island was settled by Europeans, this peninsula was the home of a numerous and powerful tribe of Indians called the Mon- tauketts. They had conquered, and then held under tribute all the othei tribes of the island except the Canarsees at the west end ; and themselves were under tribute to the Pequots across the sound. At that time Wyandanch was Sachem of the Montauketts and Grand Sachem of the island. The settlers, not only of this but of other towns as well, were anxious to secure the signature of this dignitary to their pur- chase deeds, in addition to those of the sachems of the re- spective tribes from whom their land was purchased. The Montauketts were supposed to have distinguished themselves by their valor and warlike achievements, and were frequently involved in wars with the neighboring tribes of tha main. TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. 423 Wyandanch appears always to have been the unwavering friend of the white settlers, and on this account had incurred the wrathful hatred of Ninicraft, Sachem of the Narragan- setts. That sachem had attempted to secure the co-opera- tion of Wyandanch in exterminating the then feeble settle- ments of the whites, but the latter refused to join him, and moreover exposed his plots to the English. In consequence of this, Ninicraft opened war upon the jMontauketts, which continued several years, and nearly destroyed that once power- ful tribe. This was commenced about the year 1652. In one of their raids upon the Montauketts during this siege, the Narragansetts captured among others the only daughter of Wyandanch. The assault was made while the sachem and his friends were celebrating the marriage of that daughter, and when the assailants departed with their spoil the newly made bridegroom lay upon the bloody field, one of their slaugh- tered victims. Lyon Gardiner afterward rescued the daughter of Wyandanch from her captors, and restored her to the bosom of her father, in return for which the latter gave Mr. Gardiner a deed for a tract of land which now forms a part of the territory of Smithtown. During the latter part of the year 1658 the Montauketts, already very much weakened by this protracted war, were still further reduced by a fearful epidemic which is said to have carried to the grave more than half their numbers. About this time [in 1659] Wyandanch died from the effects of poison, secretly administered. After his death the royal supremacy of the Montauketts, as well as their numerical force began rapidly to decline. In fact the decline had set in before his death took place. Wyandanch was the last monarch of the Long Island savages who appear3 424 TOWN OF EASTHAMPTON. to have been worthy of that name, or even held the reins to any considerable extent. After his death the sceptre fell to his widow Wiccnitaubit, styled the Sachem Squa, and his son Weoncombone, who jointly exercised authority for a few years. The latter, being at the time of his father's death under the age of legal maturity, Lyon Gardiner was appointed and acted as guardian for him. The Sachem Squa died in 1660, and the exercise of royal authority fell upon Weoncombone who was then nineteen years of age. In 1662 he died of small pox, as also it is supposed his sister did, and so the royal family of Wyandanch was exterminated. Thus the ravages of war and pestilence compelled the surviving numbers of the tribe to forsake their houses and flee for protection to the settlements of their white neighbors. They were kindly received, and in return gave liberal grants of pasture privileges to their bene- factors, and finally conveyed to them their land, reserving only such claims as their necessities demanded. And had it not been for those reserved claims which have passed down through their posterity to the present day, the royal Montauk- etts, like the dispersed Israelites, or most of the other tribes of the island would long since have been scattered abroad, with out a home, or a place, or a name. The remnant of this tribe, now occupying the land of their ancestors numbers eight adults — four males and four females — and about the same number of children. SHE END. Letter from Dr. Edgar F. Peck of Brooklyn, A SHORT HISTORY OF LAKELAND. To R. M. Bayles y Esq.: As my name for more than thirty years past has been ex- tensively before the public, in connection with ' ' the Plains or Barrens " of Long Island, and as I have therewith been very greatly misunderstood and misrepresented, either in ignorance or by design, I propose to state as briefly and as plainly as I can the leading facts as to the time and manner of my journey in the wilderness of Long Island. Up to the spring of 1841 I did not know that there was any land, or any considerable portion of land on Long Island that could be cultivated but what had been cultivated. Then in 1841 I re- moved from New York to Smithtown. on the place formerly occupied by Rev. Dr. Pillsbury, when my attention was directed to these lands, and where during a residence there of nearly six years I had full opportunity to become acquainted with the lands and the country, and during the summers of 1841, '42 and '43 I carefully examined the soil, geology and natural productions on both sides of the Long Island Bail- road from East New York to Ronkonkoina Pond, and more than fifty square miles of the land in the towns of Islip and Brookhaven, I found that those lands — "those vast tracts" called the "plain's" or "barrens," — did not differ in soil and geology, at all, from the cultivated lands on their borders, that the soil was not, and is not destitute of any of the sup- porters of vegetation and was and is suitable in every way for culture. 11 LETTER FEOM DE. PECK. After the opening of the railroad into those condemned regions, I purchased of the late Harvey W. Vail a tract of a few hundred acres at Suffolk Station, under the advice and encouragement of the late George B. Fiske then President of the L. I. R. R. Company. This purchase was made with and for no speculative purpose or object, but expressly for my own use and intended occupancy. I intended to associate a few friends with me in a private way who would improve the land by building upon it and clearing it up, but the men that I associated with me at that early period, proved utterly faithless and false. Mr. Fiske's health failed him, he left the road, and soon alter died, whereby I was deprived of his aid and favor. These unfortunate circumstances at the very outset, rendered it impossible for me to do, even in a very moderate way, what I desired to do towards forming a settlement there, the local obstacles were so great, so formida- ble that my early plans were frustrated. I hoped these diffi- culties might be overcome, or removed, the chief of which was I did not own — nor could it ever be purchased" for less than three times its fair market value — a portion of the land abso- lutely needed for the settlement on the south side of the R. R. track. I could not and would not improve land that I did not own and could not buy. The continued refusal of the owner of this land to improve it or to allow it to be improved, alone prevented all settlement there, and that place remains desolate to the present day from the same cause that existed then. After I had thus become involved, and burdened with the land, instead of abandoning the whole matter, as I ought to have done, and submitted to the first loss, I hoped to see the obstacles removed, and I continued to exert myself to induce new purchasers and finding that nobody else moved in the matter of inviting or encouraging settlement, or in offer- ing the land for sale, I endeavored to bring in new owners and new interests, and for that purpose and for nothing else, not for anything that could be made on the land pur- chases, I purchased by contract most of the land between Thompson and Suffolk Stations, of N. O. Clock and F. M. A. Wicks. The land on which Brentwood is, was a tract of something over lour hundred acres which I purchased of Mr. Wicks, without the wood for $2.75 per acre, and under my contracts the land was sold and conveyed to New York men, to J. E. Johnson, H. I Wheeler, Uel West, Nathan Stephens, Christopher Wray, J. Agate, R. J. Richards, S. P. Townsend, LETTEK FEOM DK. PECK. lli and others, and it was expected that nearly all of these pur- chasers would make some improvements on it, but with a single exception they did not, because they were advised by those who professed to know better than I did that the land was not worth improving, and it was not until the land had passed through several hands, and several years after, that any considerable improvement was made on it. My old friend the late Samuel Fleet, then Editor of the Am. Artisan (not the paper now published by that name) rendered through his paper, essential service in miking these sales. My purchases gave the first market value to these lands, that they ever had beyond the value ef the wood on them. The Rev. Mr. Prime says in his history of L. I. at page 60: — "The only value attached to these vast tracts of land, is derived from the timber they bear, and when this is destroyed, they be- come absolutely worthless, at least to the present generation." and at page 19 he says, "about forty miles from the west end (that is about where Brentwood stands) the sand increases in fineness, even in some places to fluidity for there is no soil. " Mr. Thompson says in his history at page 29, that it "is a vast tract of barren land, so entirely composed of sand, as to be unsusceptible of profitable cultivation by any process at present known." Up to 1848, nothing had been effected toward making any settlement, or improvements upon these lands, notwith- standing the sales herein before mentioned. Only one small house had been erected on the lands thus sold: that was on the N. O. Clock land, north of the R. R. I then proposed to the L. I. R. R. Co. that I would purchase a tract of land on their road, near Ronkonkoma and make an agricultural settlement, if they, the Company would aid and promote it by the carrying of freight ancf passengers, for the settlement, which they agreed to do, and acting under this agreement of promised aid, I purchased of Win. H. Ludlow in the year 1848, about eight thousand acres of land, at prices from five dollars per acre to thirty dollars per acre : for about six thousand nine hundred and fifty acres, $34,- 750 ; for two hundred acres, 830 per acre ; for one hundred acres, $20 per acre ; making $8000 for three hundred acres between the Railroad and Ronkonkoma Pond; and a'>out one thousand acres west of this last named lot and north of the R. R. , at $10 per acre. This last lot was purchased by contract (I did not take the deed for this lot,) and a little over two thousand acres lying to the west of Connetquot Brook iV LETTER FKOM DR. PECS. of Wm. Nicoll, for $12000. These large purchases amount- ing to over $00,000, were all on a cash basis, no trade or sham about it, and all bearing interest at 6 per cent, payable yearly, from date of sale, secured by mortgage, the " death gage'''' or "dead pledge" which may take away a man's life hj taking away the means he has to live. The land inclu- ded in the purchase was then the darkest and most deso- late of all those regions. It was as dark and as black, as the ace of spades, as a most distructive fire had run over it in the month of August 1848 ; had burnt for two weeks and burnt over about seventy -five square miles. I then proceeded to make improvements, and show what the land would produce, and the mode of clearing it. I erected buildings at the Kailroad depot, laid out Ocean Ave- nue and opened it, at my own expense, procured from Bug- gies, Nourse & Mason of Worcester, Mass., the best plows and agricultural implements then known, purchased three yoke of oxen for the purpose of breaking up the land with the plow, instead of the old slow and expensive mode of grubbing it out by hand, and the work on the land was en- tirely successful. The force of only two yoke of oxen was required to break up the roughest land, and the crops of the garden, and field were of the finest kind. All of this work and outlay was done under great disadvantages, my builders and most of my workmen were hired in Brooklyn, and I had to pay full wages, from the time they left home until their return ; had to hire Mr. John Newton at the Pond, to board them, and to carry them to and from their work with his wagon, as it was too far to walk. Now just as all this outlay and labor was completed, and everything in a favorable con- dition to proceed with the settlement, the L. I. R. R. Co. failed, and the road and all its affairs, rights and franchises, property and interests, passed into the hands of a Receiver, appointed by the Supreme Court, and the Receiver acting under the sage advice of ono " Robert Schuyler," then a sort of railroad king, and an officer in the Brooklyn and Jaruaica Railroad Co. , the Plaintiff in this disgraceful and damaging affair, and which brought my matters at Lakeland to a stand. I could not give the privileges and facilities to settlers, which in my advertisements, I had proposed to give, because the Railroad and the Receiver refused to comply with theii promise and I had not only to withdraw my advertisements, out to pay damages, in some cases, for my promises made on the faith of my agreement with the Railroad. LETTER FROM DR. PECK. V The effect of this Railroad failure, was extremely damag- ing to the road and everything connected with it. Its stock was knocked down to six or seven dollars a share, and reports were circulated by designing men, that the road was ruined and would never recover, and this affected me most seriously, for nobody would invest money in the lands on its borders, and the whole matter fell upon me with crushing weight. I made every effort to remove the obstacles, and to go on with my work in a manner satisfactory to me but I could not, for the ndverse parties would concede nothing. I had up to this time [1851] from 1848, laid out in improvements, and paid out upon iiind about $15,000 in cash upon the Lakeland settlement. I had paid Mr. Ludlow for more than fifteen hundred acres of the land for which I had taken from him a clear title mnking the payments to him more than $8,500 in cash. I don't speak of an outlay of fifteen thousand dollars in money as being a very extraordinary matter, under other circumstances and in common business matters, but an out- lay of that amount a quarter of a century ago, in such a re- gion, on such kind of property, and under such circumstances, was not a common affair, on the representative land of nearly half a million of acres set down and written down, by common consent as barren and utterly worthless; and the sum of fifteen thousand dollars was more money than the whole tract purchased of Mr. Ludlow could have been sold for in cash to any man, or men in the world, other than my- self. The late Judge Selah B. Strong said I had given from three to five times more than I ought to have given for it, and the late Benj. F. Thompson, author of the History of L. I. , said it was not worth over two dollars an acre, and that he regarded it as the most worthless and unproductive property in the State of New York. I paid and caused to be paid, by providing for the payment, all the large sums herein before named, to the uttermost farthing, with interest, and in some cases large, heavy and oppressive costs. Under the pressure and embarrassments brought upon the settlement by the Railroad failure, for so far as myself and the work I had undertaken to do, the road might as well have ceased to run, for I could not use it. I sold out the entire property in 1851, to Chas. Wood of New York. I supposed he was an honest man, and as the outlay and labor had been made to start the settlement, it could be continued with much less trouble and cost than I had had, and about the time of the sale, the Railroad prospects bjgan to be better. I thought I had done my part, VI LETTER FEOM DB. PECK. had done enough to show that the land could be cultivated, coul dbe used for garden and farm purposes. My titles were all good, I never gave or offered to give, or ever thought of giving a bad or defective title, and I refer to the records of Suffolk County, to show that my titles to Wood were good, just what they purported to be. In proof of this I offer the following letter of Mr. Young a resident of Lakeland. Lakeland, L. I., June 30th, 1868. To De. Edgab E. Peck, Deab Sib : Your favor of the 10th of May last was duly rec eived. Se- rious indisposition, together with a pressure of business, has prevented an earlier attention to the subject of your not \ To your first question, "Will you have the kindness to inform me if, in your examination of the Charles Wood land titlth at Lakeland, you find anything on the Record, or eise- whei' , to connect me or my name, with any of .Wood's defec- tive or imperfect titles ? " I answer, No. I have made very extensive examination of the Records of Suifolk County ; in fact, from the. date of Wood's first purchase up to 1857, and have in no case found any sale made by you to Wood that did not fully and prop- erly describe the land then sol 1, and in all cases wh ere there was any incumbrance on the land thus sold to Wood, such incumbrance was fully stated in the deed of conveyance, and the payment of such incumbrance assumed by Wood. To your second question, " How long have you resided at Lakeland, and have you spent much time in the Suffolk County Clerk's office ? " I have lived at Lakeland since the month of October, 1854-. I spent six months at one time, and several weeks at intervals in the Clerk's office at Riverhead ; the entire time occupied in searches in relation to the Wood titles. I have read your published description of the soil at Lake- land and its vicinity and fully concur with you in an appreci- ation of the capacity of the soil for agricultural pui poses. Respectfully yours, J. C. YOUNG. Having said something of what I did on the land, I propose to say something of what I did for the land. After having carefully examined it, and satisfied myself fully of its fitness for use and culture, I called to my aid some of the best agri- LETTER FROM DR. PECK. Vll cultural men in this State. I said, "Go and examine the lands and see for yourselves ; " and in every instance where it was examined by these men they sustained me and my views as to the fitness and value of the land for culture, and said they, "To bring it into use and culture would be a matter of great public good." I brought the subject before the Ameri- can Institute, and a committee was appointed to examine the lands, and their report was extensively published in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington. I advertised and published the lands extensively and at great cost, in the following agricultural papers : The Albany Cultivator, the Boston Cultivator, the New England Farmer, the Hartford Homestead, the Genesee Farmer, the Rural New Yorker, and also in the London Times, and Mark Lane Express, two of the most influential papers in England ; and I wrote more than three thousand letters in answer to correspondents in most or nearly all the States of the Union, in Canada and in England. By all these correspondents there was a general expression of a wish or desire to come and settle on Long Island, or near New York. Men came in scores to see and to look for themselves. "Why didn't they buy?" Simply because the living, moving witnesses that bore false testi- mony against the land — the old hereditary prejudices — swore it down,' and insisted on and persisted in its utter worthlessness. "'What! — Come here to buy such stuff as this? We know all about it, — we have lived here long enough to know that it is utterly worthless." That cry is kept up to the present day, although not quite to the extent that it was formerly. The land is no better to-day than it was thirty years ago. It was good enough then, and it is good enough now.. All that it needs is common cultivation. I have reason to believe that some good resulted from all this, and I feel and know that I am not in any way, directly or indirectly, responsible for any evil done to property or persons — that I never received a dollar, nor a farthing in money, from any man or woman, dead or alive, on any land sale or contract that I did not fulfill in every particular ; and it is rather a curious fact that all the settlements along the line of the railroad, from Deer Park to Waverly, are on land that I brought into the market and sold or caused to be sold, and made by men that I introduced and persuaded to pur- chase there. I introduced Mr. McCotter, W. J. Spence, Mr. Bridger, Mr. Richardson whose nursery is at Brentwood, and many others. Mr. Charles Wilson purchased at Deer V11I LETTER FROM DR. RECK. Park on the strength of the report made upon the land by the American Institute. The only Long Island man that I could ever inspire with any faith in the .land was my old neighbor G. K. Hubbs, of Smithtown, and I am glad to say he has shown his faith by his works. At the time the place passed into the hands and possession of Wood, the settlement and culture of the lands there were deemed entirely successful, and after this I had nothing whatever to do with the place, or with the giving of any of his land titles. I advised, and earnestly urged him always to be especially careful of his titles, and under no circumstances whatever to^ allow them to become confused or entangled in any way, and I had every reason to believe, until quite the end of his career, that his business was conducted honestly, and if he failed, it would be an honest failure. But in this 1 was mistaken, and wholly deceived. I had nothing to do with the details of his business affairs or his office, and I had confidence in some of those that were about him, which rendered the deception more complete — more fatal to me and my interests, — for his office proved to be a nest of scoundrels, a den of thieves, worse than the den of "Forty Thieves." and the beautiful buildings and gardens that I had reared in the wilderness with so much care and cost, fell into the hands of a set of parasites, who blighted it and accursed it, and it has not yet recovered from the malign influence of evil doers. The place has never looked as well, and does not now, as it did in 1851 when I unfortunately left and sur- rendered it into unworthy hands. It is a beautiful tract of land, and country, — the land itself is good, better than I ever claimed it to be. I will say now — as in justice to myself I ought to say, that I never have made a mis-statement or a mis-representation in all that I have ever said or done in relation to those lands. I have been most scrupulously careful to state nothing but the truth. The Eev. Mr. Prime says in his book that there were in 1845 about 166,000 acres of cultivated land, and about 447,- 000 acres of uncultivated land in Suffolk County, and if it were there then it must be there now, or nearly, for no thou- sands of acres have since been cleared up and cultivated. It was in this great wilderness that I undertook to sow good seed, but Satan sowed tares. He had the advantage of me — his forces were stronger than mine — and the land was already prepared for his work. LETTER FROM DR. PECK . iX I have said, and I now say, it was not a land speculation with me, but undertaken as an agricultural settlement, and I expected or hoped to be rewarded for my labor in the advance in value of what I intended to hold and occupy, not from what could be made from land sales, but to effect a settlement the land must have been offered for sale, and I undertook the thankless work. One thing more. I have been charged with not knowing what land is — that I have had no experience with it. I have only to say that I am fully acquainted with land and soil, and know well what I affirm — am thoroughly acquainted, prac- tically, with everything that relates to culture and tillage, and particularly with everything and every mode that relates to the clearing of new or forest land, and I assert again that those "vast tracts of land" are in every way — in soil, surface, and position, suitable and fit for cultivation, and that the time is not far distant when they will be changed from forests to fields and gardens. E. F. Peck, M. D. Brooklyn, L. L, Oct. 8, 1873. P. S. I have not attempted to write learnedly, but under* : t mdingly. E. E. P. LOM ISLAM) LEADER, THE LAKGEST, CHEAPEST, EE^T LOCAL NEWSPAPEE PUBLISHED IN SUFFOLK COUNTY. NEUTRAL IN POLITICS, INDEPENDENT IN ^ELIGBON, PH0f¥lPT IN BUSINESS. The Long Island Leader has within the short period of ono year acquired the Largest Local Circulation of any Paper in the Oounty ! It is non-partizan, unbiased, and gives a full report of all happennings worthy of note on Long Island. » It does not interfere with the Religious, Temperance or Political Principles of any person, but aims to be fair and just in all its criticisims, and never shrinks to strike heavily at fraud and deceit wherever it finds it. The Leader is sent out to the public on its merits as a Newspaper, and the publishers offer no premium pictures or chromo humbugs to make it worth the price asked for it. Its unparalleled growth and popularity, its freedom from prejudice, and the respect which v has won for its fearless attitude and independent spirit, makes it the best advertising medium as well as the most acceptable local newspaper pub- lished on the Island. Published at Port Jefferson, every Saturday, by the OVERTON BEOTHERS, — AT — $2 a Year, Strictly In Advance. *-&-* .Axlvei^tisixig Terms, per Ixieli. l'w. I 2w. I 3 w. 1 m. $1.00 $1.50 J $2.00 J $2.50 2 m. I 3 m. $3.25 $4.00 6 in. I 1 year. $6.00 $10.00 $ab Ifrinting in all its Brandues, From a Card to a Book, executed with dispatch at the lowest living prices. THE WAY TO SAVE MONET IS TO BUY YOUE GROCERIES, CANNED FRUITS, <&c, «&c, <&c, at the 111 @4iH il@Sl, (Branch of 89 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn.) D. OLIVER PBTTY", With WHITE & REAST, Jflahi Street,, Port Jefferson. WILLIAM H. BAYLE8, (Successor to G. X. BENNETT,) DEALEE IN WATCHES, CLOCKS & JEWELRY, Silver and Plated W*a-rc 9 Spectacles 9 Cutlery , Stencil Marking Plates, &€•, IVIAIN STREET, PORT JEFFERSON. Xjottozrizxg Done £tt Sliort INTotio©. Ohl Work re-plated in a superior winner. L. M. TOOZER, DEALEE IN MAIN STREET, PORT JEFFERSON, LONG ISLAND. LADIES' FINE WORK A SPECIALTY. i^irCixstoiii work neatly and. promptly done.t)9 FURNITURE — AT— S. S. ACKERLY'S, Jttain Street, Port Jefferson We have the largest, and best selected stock of Parlor, Chamber, and Dining-Boom Furniture, Bureaus, Wash- stands, Tables, Lounges, Bedsteads, &c, &c, at NEW YOEK PRICES. Give us a call. Satisfaction guaranteed, or the money re- funded. THE OLDEST STORE IN THE VILLAGE ! DEALER IN Dry Goods, Groceries, Provisions, Hard- ware, Wooden Ware, Crockery, AGRICULTURAL IiyiPLEPJEIMT§,&c. P-+-4 Cor. Main and Water Sts. 5 PORT JEFFERSON, LONG BSLAND. ► O -4 Goods delivered free of charge to any part of the village, or suburbs. The first store in the village to adopt this plan. SELAH E. RANDALL, Fort Jefferson, Long island. DEALER IN DRUGS AND MEDICINES, CHEMICALS, PERFUMERY, SOAPS, COMBS AND BRUSHES, TRUSSES, SHOULDER BRACES, FANCY AND TOILET ARTICLES, BOOKS AND STATIONERY, FINE artOCERXES, PAINTS AND OILS, PATENT MH3I>ICI^T33S, «&e., «&e. PHYSICIAN'S PRESCRIPTIONS CAREFULLY PREPARED. J^/i&foaUi/i /tic <=£$* ti&/; PORT JEFFERSON, L. I. J. C. LEE & CO., Port Jefferson, Long Island-, DEALERS IN S T O "V IE 13, TIN WARE, SHEET IRON WARE, SAD IRONS, PROVI- DENCE CLOTHES WRINGERS, AGRICULTURAL. IMPLEMENTS, FANCY TOILET WARE, And various other articles pertaining to the trade. E. TUTHILL'S CARRIAGE MANUFACTORY, Port Jefferson, JLong Island At this establishment may always be found a large assort- ment of vehicles, both new and second-hand, consisting of Rockaways, Phaetons, Buggies, Skeletons, Sulkies, One and Two Seat ©pen Wagons, One and Two Horse Farm Wagons, &c. PAINTING, TRIMMING AND REPAIRING BONE WITH NEATNESS ANB BISPATCH. Old Carriages and Wagons taken in Exchange for "New. HARNESS (both Double and Single), ROBES, BLANKETS, WHIPS, COMBS, BRUSHES, &c, &c, &c. ALWAYS ON HAND, AND FOR SALE CHEAP. J. C, LEE & GO, Agents, Port Jefferson, L I The "SILVEB rUJfi >? ORGANS THE BEST OF THE WOELD. The Best for Churches and Lodges. The Best for Sunday Schools. The Best for Parlors and Vestries. The Best for Academies and Colleges. The Best for Public Halls. The Best for Orchestra and Stage. These instruments, which for sweetness of tone and elegance of appointment stand unrivalled, have met with unprecedented success in this country and abroad. MANUFACTURED BY . E. P. NEEDHAM & SON. IEST-A-SILjISIHCIEIID ITsT 1346. l^Sos. 143, 145, and 147 East 23d St., N. Y. Responsible parties applying for agencies in sections still nnsupplied. will re- ceive prompt attention and liberal induce!) id its. Parties residing at a distance from our authorized agents, may order from our factory. Send for illustrated price-list. SAG HABB0S EXPEESS, PUBLISHED AT S.A.G- HARBOR, guOblk County, Long Island, N. Y. —BY — JOHN H. HUNT, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR, — AT — $2.00 Per Year, in Advance- Established July 14th, 1859. ►-♦-« — Advertisements inserted on liberal terms, and all kinds of Book, Job, and Law printing done with neatness and dispatch, and at reasonable prices. Legal forms of nearly every descrip- tion on hand, or printed to order. THE REPUBLICAN WATCHMAN, JM Weekly Newspaper, PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY MORNING, AT Grreenport, E. I., 1ST. Y. ? for $1.50 PER ANNUSV3, BSM ADVANCE. HENET A_. REEVES, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER, DEVOTED TO Local and General News, and the Advocacy of Demo- cratic Principles. lefe Pit atlai Pone Cheaply, Neatly, Expeditiously, and with strict Fidelity. THE LONG ISLAND HEBALD. (Established 1.791.) PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY, BY THE ISLIP PRINTING & PUBLISHING CO., — AT — IsNp, Suffolk County, N. Y. W. L. COOK, HERVBY ROSS, EDITOR. ASSOCIA TE EDITOR. Subscription Price, $200 per Annum. The Herald circulates in every town and hamlet in Suffolk County, and with its large and increasing patronage, offers a first-class field for advertisers of articles of merit. Advertising Rates Reasonable. The Herald is conducted in the interest of Long Islanders and Long Island institutions, and will be found a complete record of Long Island news. 1.064 Columns of Heading- Jfffatter for $2 EVERY NUMBER COMPLETE IN ITSELF. s -A» :vi :e i_i is ooipies ffibe. Address, The HERALD, ISLIP, SUFFOLK COUNTY, L. I. All the News for $2.00 per Year. the m¥$$m mimm, PUBLISHED AT HUNTINGTON, SUFFOLK CO., N. Y. EVERY FRIDAY MORNING BY JTJESSE E,. SMITH, Editor # Publisher. ELKAfiAH SOPEil, Proprietor. OFFICE, Opposite Suffolk Hotel, IVlain St. Terms of Subscription J Invariably in Advance. To single subscribers, one year, in advance, $ 2.00 Clubs of Five, with cash, ... 9.00 Ten, " .... 15.00 " Twenty " ... 25.00 The Bulletin is devote J to Long Islanders, and contains i weekly summary of Island news. Its agricultural columns will be found of interest to farmers, while its household recipes renders it indispensable to every family. .Sample copies sent free to any address. The Long Island Traveler, PUBLISHED WEEKLY, AT SOUTHOLD, L. Ic 9 For ONE DOLLAR A YEAR, L. F. TERRY, Editor and Proprieto: Every Family can afford it. Contains all the News; especially Long Island. A Splendid Story every week, and a great variety of miscellaneous reading, rich, rare, and spicy. Thoroughly alive, and wp with the age. Sent on trial three months for twenty-five cents. JB^ 13 Correspondents wanted in every village. °^BQ A choice advertising medium. ^TDTTZEIFUriSIIrXrG- ZFt^TES. Space in Col. 1 w. 2 w. 3 w. 4 w. 3 m. 6 m. 1 y. 1 inch 75 $ 1.25 $ 1.50 $ 1.75 $ 2.75 $ 4.00 $ 5.00 2 " $1.25 2.00 2.50 3.00 4.00 5.50 7.50 3 " 1.75 2.50 3.25 3.75 5.00 7.00 10.00 4 " 2.00 3.00 3.50 4.25 6.00 8.50 12.50 ? 4 ' cohirun. 2.25 3.50 4.00 4.50 6.50 9.50 15.00 % " 4.25 G.50 7.50 8.00 11.00 17.00 28.00 1 " 8.00 12.00 14.00 15.00 20.00 30.00 50.00 Of all kinds executed with neatness and dispatch at the Traveler office. Pamjmlets, Hand-Bills, Bill-Heads, Business Cards, Wedding Cards, Visiting Cards, Circulars, Programmes, Labels, &c, Are gotten up at short notice, and at prices that defy compe- tition. Orders promptly filled. If you want any printing done send for an estimate. L. F. TERRY, Proprietor, So-u-tliolci, Ij. I. THE mm- &^^Ba^^^«^ CREENPORT, Suffolk Co., L.I. $ W!M. R. DUVALL, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. TERMS ; $1.50, IN ADVANCE, REPUBLICAN IN POLITICS. NEUTRAL IN RELIGION. INDEPENDENT IN ALL THINGS. Devoted to local intelligence and the advancement of Long Island. It aims to keep up fully with the day and be alive on all live subjects. Already it has done much towards the development of the east end of the Island, and the full and graphic descriptions of Shelter Island that have been published in its columns have attracted enterprises which promise to make that place one of the most popular summer resorts. The "TIMES" Desires all parties who are solicitous to develop its advantages and resources to contribute to its columns, as it has an extensive circulation among capitalists interested in Suffolk Co. lands. "SOUTH SIDE SIGNAL," THE PEOPLE'S PAPER. BABYLON, L. I. 9 ► 0-4 HENRY LIVINGSTON, Editor and Proprietor. ^ Independent in Politics, Impartial in Religion, " Square " in Business. Having introduced the first Power Printing Machine ever run in Suffolk County, it has always maintained a prominent position as a live Local and Family Journal. While devoted mainly to local affairs (every point of import- ance on the Island being represented in its columns), other matters of general interest receive a full share of attention. Its tales, sketches, and general literary articles are prepared and selected with great care, each department receiving as much thoughtful attention as the best conducted city journal. In a word, it is THE paper for all classes, intended for people now living, and is not, in any sense, a political machine. > • » - 4 TERMS — Payable in. Advance s ONE COPY, one year $ 2 00 " " six months 1 00 TEN COPIES, one year, ordered at one time, sent to one P. O. 15 00 TWENTY COPIES, one year, do do do 30 00 And one copy extra to the person giving the order. To Teachers and Clergymen, per annum 1 50 >~e-4 Having a larger circulation than any other weekly paper on Long Island, the Signal presents superior advantages as aa advertising medium. THE j^ C^) Published at ^N&b ^ S^LC^ HARBOR, ■> * B. D. SLEIGHT, Editor and Proprietor. Now in its fifty-second volume, is the oldest newspaper on Long Island. It was established in 1822, by Mr. H. W. Hunt, who continued as its publisher until he died, in 1855, at which time he was the oldest editor in the State. His son, A. A. Hunt, continued the paper in the interest of his father's estate until May, 1859, when it was sold to B. D. Sleight and A. A. Hunt who were joint proprietors until 1869, when the sole ownership was transferred to Mr. Sleight. The Corrector was, under Col. Hunt, the Whig organ of the county. After the disbandment of that organization it favored the principles and candidates of the American party, but when it commenced its new volume under the management of Sleight and Hunt it took an independent position politically. Its tenor was, however, Democratic, and it soon became the open advocate of the policy, principles and candidates of the Democracy, which position it has steadfastly held for the past ten years. In the summer of 1860 a daily issue was brought out for campaign purposes. It continued until the close of the elec- tion, but prospective patronage did not warrant its continu- ance. This was the first, and as yet, the only daily paper published in Suffolk County. The Corrector for some years was published semi-weekly, but latterly its publication day is only on Saturdays. It is devoted to literature, politics, and local news, and carries under its head the quaint motto: "Governed by prin- ciple., unwarped by party, oft we may err, yet aim to be just. " J. C. LEE & CO, Agents, Port Jefferson, L. I, The "SILVER TONGUE" ORGANS THE BEST OF THE WORLD. The Best for Churches and Lodges. The Best for Sunday Schools. The Best for Parlors and Vestries. The Best for Academies and Colleges. The Best for Public Halls. The Best for Orchestra and Stage. These instruments, which for sweetness of tone and elegance of appointment stand unrivalled, have met with unprecedented success in this country and abroad. MANUFACTURED BY E. P. NEEDHAM & SON. ESTABLISHED IUST 1846. Nos. 143, 145, and 147 East 23d St., N. Y. Responsible parties applying for agencies in sections still unsupplied. will re- ceive prompt attention and liberal inducements. Parties residing at a distance from our authorized agents, may order from our factory. Send for illustrated price-list. MA_IDSTOISrE team flouring J||ills, FRENCH, COOPER & CO. SAG HAKBOB, N. Y. These Mills having been enlarged and greatly improved during the past season, by adding new Bolts, Stones and Cleaning Machinery, can now offer to the trade additional inducements for its patronage. Our well-known brand of "Maidstone" Flour, made from none but the best Long Island Amber Wheat, is better known than ever before, and is, we believe, cheaper than any other Flour of similar grade in the market. We continue to make "Mount Vernon," from the best selected White Wheat; second to none as pastry flour. As both these brands are of uniform quality they are very desirable for retailing. Particular attention will, as usual, be paid to Gristing. We pay the highest price for all kinds of Grain, and have constantly on hand Feed, Corn Meal, fine and coarse, Buck Wheat Flour, Graham, Samp, &c. Send for price list. H. &z S. FRENCH, SAG HARBOR* JT. I"., WHOLESALE DEALERS IN Groceries, Wood, Coal, Agricultural Implements and Fertilizers. E. F. EIOHAEDSON, ^ IT fl^ W HE A i Fruit, Street, and Ornam?ntal Trees, Flowerin? Shrubs, Roses* Grape Vines, Hedge Plants, &c M FOR SALE AT HIS GROUNDS, NORTH OF THE RAILROAD, AT- JSrentwood Station, Ktong Island, JV. 1*. Personal attention solicited. Orders Prompt:)/ answered. E. A.. EAYNOR, Port Jefferson, Long Island, DEALER IN H00SEH0LD FURNITURE, A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF CHAIRS, BEDSTEADS, LOUNGES, MATTRESSES, EX- TENSION TABLES, BUREAUS, CHAMBER SETS, PARLOR SUITES, PICTURE FRAMES, &c, &c. m THE UNDERTAKER'S DEPARTMENT, A LARGE SUPPLY OF COFFINS, CASKETS, «fce. Km- ONE OF THE FINEST HEAR »ES ON THE ISLAND. =^a Please call and examine stock and compare prices before purchasing elsewhere. BABYLON NURSERY, 3-4 mile tforth of Depot. P. H. PQSTES, Proprietor. Fruit, Ornamental and Evergreen trees, Shrubs, Roses, and Greenhouse Plants. Very large Horse-Chestnut, White Ash, Elm, Weeping Willow, Sugar, Silver-leaved, Negundo, and other Maples, and Catalpa, Apple, Pear, Pe;ich, of extra, size. Dwarf Apples; very low by the 100. Hedge Plants, Grape Vines, Small fruits, everything in the line at lowest rates. A return ticket free to all purchasers, either way, on S. S. R. R. NEW FRUITS— APPLES— Early Congress, Lincoln, Lord Suffield, Grimes' Golden. PEARS — Mt. Vernon, Duch. de Bordeaux, Doyenne Thiers, D. du Co- mice, B. Assomptiou, Chambers, Duchess of March. PEACHES — Clarissa, Fos- ter, Blood- eaved, Ear 'y Beatrice, E. Silver, E. Louise, E. Rivers. Richmond. E. Albert. 30,000 NORWAY SPRUCE— 3 years old, transplanted. MACROPHYLUM or OREGON MAPLE. CALYCANTHUS— 1 year. A large stock of DWARF AP- PLES and PEARS, 2 yearu, at low prices. Babylon, New York, Sept. 2, 1873. J. C. LEE & CO, Agents, Port Jefferson, L I, The "SILVER TONGUE" ORGANS THE BEST OF THE WOULD. The Best for Churches and Lodges. The Best for Sunday- Schools. • The Best for Parlors and Vestries. The Best for Academies and Colleges. The Best for Public Halls. The Best for Orchestra and Stage. These instruments, which for sweetness of tone and elegance of appointment stand unrivalled, have met with unprecedented success in this country and abroad. MANUFACTURED BY E. P. NEEDHAM & SON. ESTABLISHED IN 1346. Nos. 143, 145, and 147 East 23d St., W. Y. Responsible parties applying for agencies in sections still unsupplied. will re- ceive prompt attention and liberal inducements. Parties residing at a distance from our authorized ajeuts, may order from our factory. Send for illustrated price-list. GO OE SiElsTIO TO 59 MAIDEN LANE, NEW YORK, FOK PICTURES, ALL KINDS, FRAMED OR UNFRAMED. ^SizaAMe^ <=^/fe>C'fc tn <~=JVeit£ International Chromo Co. TWO STERLING MAGAZINES PHRENOLOGICAL JOTJBML. 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