Welcome to Fishers Island, New York

Town of Southold, Part of Suffolk County

 From  the masthead of the old whaling barque "Nile", slowly rotting at New London's docks, we saw one day, a long, blue outlined island, eight or ten miles out to sea and acting as the natural breakwater of the harbor. It corollary on the Long Island coast is Plum Island, and between the two currents of Long Island Sound rush with the velocity of a mill race. Much of the island is unfenced and uninhabited; and although it has all the elements of a summer resort--pleasant prospects, cool breezes, picturesque walks and drives---it is rarely visited by the tourist. Its History is a notable one, and it derives additional interest from the fact that is have been for more that two centuries the occasion of much wrangling and contention as to jurisdiction between neighboring States.

Captain Adrian Block first discovered it, sailing up the sound from Manhattan in his square-bowed high-pooped, native-built yacht the "Restless", poking his inquisitive nose into every creek and bay along the coast as far east as Cape Cod, and claiming for his Dutch masters territory that rightfully belonged to the English king, and this in 1614, six years before the "Mayflower" landed. Block named the island Fisher's Island after one of his companions, it is said. It was pretty correctly mapped by Delait, an early Dutch geographer, who thus speaks of it in his journal:

"A small island lies to the southwest by south from the river (Thames) as the coast runs. Near the west end of it a northwest by west moon causes very low water".

For twenty-five years after its discovery, the island remained a wilderness, known only to the Dutch traders, who resorted thither to purchase peltries and wampum of the Indians. But in 1640 John Winthrop, JR, son of the famous Governor Winthrop, the founder of Boston, obtained from the Massachusetts plantation a grant of Fisher's Island so far as it was theirs to grant, "reserving the right of Connecticut if it should be decided to be theirs". Nearly at the same time, in order that there might be no flaw in his title, he applied to the Connecticut General Court for a similar grant, which was given him in the following words, which are copied from the records of a General Court, held at Hartford, April 9, 1641:

"Upon Mr. Winthrop's motion to the court for Fisher's Island, it is the mind of the court that so far as it hinders not the public good of the country, either for fortifying for defence, or setting up a trade for fishing or salt and such like, he shall have liberty to proceed therein."

But the patent granted to the Duke of York in 1664 contained an insignificant clause that was not only a source of disquiet to Governor Whinthrop, but has continued to be a distruberance of the peace to the present day. This clause gave to NY all the islands laying in Long Island Sound, and shortly after the patent was granted, Winthrop applied to and received from Governor Nicholls of NY a third patent, declaring his island to be an "entire, enfranchised township, manor, and place of itself, in nowise subordinate or belonging unto or dependent upon any riding, township, place or jurisdiction whatever". Connecticut, however, did not by Winthrop's act relinquish her claim to jurisdiction.     

Location- The largest, Fishers Island, extends approximately 7 miles in length and averages three quarters of a mile in width, for a total of approximately 5 square miles (3,200 acres). It is located about 12 miles to the northeast of Orient Point and 4 miles south of Connecticut. It is accessible only by plane or boat. The other islands, all uninhabited except for the first, include: North Dumpling, South Dumpling, Pine Islands (also known as Hungry Point Islands), Wicopesset, Latimer Reef, Flat Hummock, Race Rock.     

Fishers Island Local Information              Town Clerk, Southold    Fishers Island Ferry District  

                                                              Fishers Island Library      Fishers Island School

Help for your Family Research

Chruches: St.John's Episcplal  631-788-7497    Our Lady of Grace  631-788-7353 Union Chapel  631-788-7898

Cemeteries:       St. John's Cemetery       Union Chapel Cemetery

Obituaries from the Fishers Island Gazette

Comming Soon Census Pages !!

Links to other sites

This postcard is of the Old Club House

This is the Library

Our Lady of Grace, Catholic Church

St. John's Episcplal Church

The White building was the original Fire House, now a gift shop

This is the New Fire House

Watch for more to come!

 This page is under my Copyright, and can not be reproduced in anyway. This is a free site, if you got here from a paying site, you are being taken advantage of. This site was last updated on August 28, 2002.

Page and pictures by Terasa Ahlgren

Copyright March 19, 1999

Copyright Notice: All links on this site are copyrighted by their creator and/or contributor. They may be linked to but may not be reproduced on another site  Although public information is not in and of itself copyrightable, the format in which they are presented, the notes and comments, etc., are. It is however, quite permissable to print or save the files to a personal computer for personal use ONLY.

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