HISTORY OF THE NORTH FORK, LONG ISLAND

Both Riverhead & Southold, were founded as Southold Town, the “oldest English town in New York State,” in 1640, by Puritans from the New Haven Colony. “Yennecott,” as the native Corchuag Indians called it, encompassed all the land from Orient to Wading River. Although the new inhabitants lived peacefully with the natives for a short time, the Corchaug Indians were eventually pushed out or enslaved by Southolders.

Although under the thumb of England, during its early years, Southold was essentially in a world of its own. Just before the Revolutionary War, there were approximately 3,000 free residents, and most news from the outside came from Connecticut or from travelers. Taverns were the center of social life in Southold Town, as well as a place for the exchange of ideas and information. At that time Southold boasted more than 15 different taverns.

When war broke out, many Southold residents fled as the British began to occupy the area. Those who stayed behind were either forced to pledge allegiance to the crown or fight for their freedom. When the British finally fled in 1784, many of Southold’s refugees returned to discover a land that had been raped and plundered by the British occupiers. They struggled to rebuild their homes and replant their crops, and the years to follow would prove to be difficult ones for residents of Southold.

In 1792, a portion of Southold (now known as Riverhead) split from the town, due in part to the distance residents had to travel for town meetings.

Isolated from the rest of Long Island and New York, the rest of the world seemed to progress as the North Fork continued to maintain its early way of life and it wasn’t until the birth of Greenport that Southold finally began to catch up, piggybacking on the success of the village’s booming maritime industry. When the Greenport-Brooklyn rail line was built in 1844, Southold was no longer in isolation.

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