North Haven

From Hog Farmers to Actors' Colony

Beginnings: The earliest recorded reference to Hog Neck, as the area was first called by white settlers, was in 1641 when it shows up in Southampton town records. That reference records an order to residents on the east side of Hog Neck to fence in their property to guard against the danger of ``cattle and hogs astray.'' The peninsula was inhabited by Manhasset Indians for hundreds of years before whites arrived. On Oct. 3, 1665, the Indians sold Hog Neck to Southampton officials known as freeholders, ``forever reserving liberty of hunting and fishing and fowling.'' By 1680 Hog Neck had been laid out into 47 lots, which were distributed by a lottery. The next year roads were laid out and permanent English settlement began. In earlier years, Hog Neck had been used primarily as pasture. While the first two and a half centuries of habitation by whites was marked mostly by agricultural uses, there were also several industries, including fishing and production of salt through evaporation, a process that continued to the Civil War.

Turning Point: Hog Neck was renamed North Haven in 1842 because its residents thought the old name sounded derogatory. By the end of the 19th Century, North Haven had become a vacation destination, and by the turn of the century many actors and actresses had built homes on the former Lewis Corwin farm, which eventually became known as Actors' Colony. Among those residents was the owner of the Algonquin Hotel in New York, Frank Case, who regularly entertained prominent actors such as John Drew, Ethel Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Mary Pickford. Composer Irving Berlin was also a summer resident. Current celebrity residents include singer Jimmy Buffett and ``60 Minutes'' correspondent Steve Kroft.

Where to Find More: North Haven Village Historian Joseph Zaykowski Jr., P.O. Box 643, Sag Harbor, N.Y. 11963.