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Hampton Bays

Giving Good Ground for Hamptons Cachet

Beginnings: Some oldtimers still refer to Hampton Bays as Good Ground, as it was called until 1922. Among the first buildings in the area was the Canoe Place Inn, built as a home in the early 1700s and named for the spot where the Indians used to leave their canoes when fishing or hunting.

The Revolution: Before the British took Long Island, colonists built a fort on the high ground along what is today the west bank of the Shinnecock Canal. From there, they had a good view of approaches from the Peconic and Shinnecock Bays. They called it Fort Lookout. After the Battle of Long Island in 1776, the British took control of the strategic outpost and garrisoned 200 troops there.

Turning Point: The rumblings began in the late 19th Century. A faction of the community just didn't think Good Ground a good enough name. The battle culminated in 1922 when the revisionists finally won out over tradition and changed the name to Hampton Bays. Apparently, they hoped to capitalize on the popularity and emerging cachet of the Hamptons in order to beef up summer tourism.

Claim to Fame: By the turn of the century, the Canoe Place Inn had graduated from modest coach inn to luxury getaway for celebrities, politicians and wealthy industrialists. Coined ``The Tammany Hall of the East,'' it was particularly popular among such New York pols as New York Gov. Alfred E. Smith, who spent 30 summers fishing along the Shinnecock Canal. Other notables included Cary Grant, Helen Hayes and boxing champ John L. Sullivan, who trained there.

Kooky Landmark: For nearly 70 years, a larger-than-life wooden statue of Hercules - once the figurehead of the USS Ohio - stood across the road from the Canoe Place Inn, drawing attention from visitors and residents alike and sparking the piece of folklore that held that girls who kissed the statue's brow would be married within the year. Eventually the property - and Hercules - were sold. Today, he watches over Stony Brook from a small pavilion near the harbor.

Where to Find More: ``Good Ground Remembered,'' by Helen M. Wetterau, available at Riverhead Free Library.