Fort Salonga

While Redcoats Slept It Off, an Attack

Beginnings: In 1695 Sarah Smith, wife of Smithtown founder Richard (Bull) Smith, deeded to her son Daniel 100 acres at Bread and Cheese Hollow, also known as Fresh Pond. There were clay deposits in the area which are believed to have been used by the Indians for making pottery. In 1684, the Long Island Brick Co. was established and for more than 200 years bricks from the area were shipped all over Long Island and to New England. Pirate captain William Kidd's ship, the Adventure Galley, was anchored off Treadwells Neck in the 1690s, according to reports at the time. Some old maps indicate a point marked as Kidd's Money Hole. But rumors that some of Kidd's treasure remains buried on the beach at Fort Salonga have never been substantiated.

The Revolution: The British built Fort Slongo, a minor redoubt on a hilltop near Long Island Sound, as part of their coastal defenses after taking control of the Island in 1776. The fort was named after the British engineer who designed it and served as the Redcoats' easternmost fortification on the North Shore. In October, 1781, the British were preparing a fleet in New York City to relieve the trapped command of Gen. Charles Cornwallis at Yorktown, Va. Gen. George Washington wanted to keep the British troops in New York and arranged an attack on Fort Slongo as a diversion. On Saturday night, Oct. 2, 1781, 100 American raiders set out in whaleboats from Connecticut. Landing at what is now called Crab Meadow Beach, they were in position by early Sunday morning while most British officers were still celebrating the weekend at a local inn and their soldiers were sleeping off their extra Saturday night rum rations. The Americans achieved complete surprise and chased the British off into the woods. The raiders burned the fort, and the British fleet never left New York in time to save Cornwallis. All that remains of the original fort is a fenced-in mound of earth in the backyard of a private home on Brookfield Road.

Turning Point: Fort Slongo became Fort Salonga when a post office was established after the turn of the century. ``How the name was changed from Fort Slongo to Salonga is known only to the U.S. Postal Service,'' Noel Gish writes in his recent history of the Town of Smithtown.

Brush With Fame: In 1911, black educator and author Booker T. Washington bought a house in the community and spent several summers there. White neighbors organized to try to buy him out when rumors spread he wanted to buy additional land to create a school for black students.