Old Purchase Properties - History

From earliest times the waters off Bellport have influenced and charmed the lives of those who live nearby. Offshore whaling and the digging of clams for food and wampum were pursuits of the Indians.

Bellport Bay is landlocked on three sides and until the middle of the seventeenth century this was the home of the Unkechaug Indians, with headquarters in Mastic. They called the section now Bellport, Occumbomock, meaning "opposite the fishing place," which was the inlet through the great south barrier beach from the Atlantic.

Tobaccus, Sachem of the Unkechaugs, sold the land that is now Bellport, Brookhaven Hamlet and the lands to the north of these two villages to a group of men who settled in Setauket in 1655. They wanted the abundant grasslands on the south side of the island to furnish salt, hay and grass as bedding for their livestock. They also had their eyes on the whaling industry and fishing in the bay, especially the shell fishing. On June 10, 1664 an agreement was signed between Tobaccus and a group of men represented by Richard Howell and John Cooper. For fifty fadum of wampum, which was actually paid by four fur coats and $16.25 in cash, the men bought a substantial tract of south shore land and the fishing rights off its shore. In March 1667 Tobaccus deeded all whales to the Brookhaven settlers and the Indians continued to be employed by the settlers as whalemen. This land bought from Tobaccus was called The Old Purchase South.

Today the ocean offers fishing, swimming, surf boarding and sunning on incomparable beaches, while Bellport Bay provides skating, ice boating and scootering over the frozen ice in winter and sailing and crabbing in summer.

Captain Thomas Bell first came to Occumbomock with his brother as an employee of the American Coast Wrecking Company to wreck the Vessel Irene that had foundered off Great South Beach opposite present day Bellport. He was so attracted by the region that in a short time he returned to make this his home.

Today the heritage and amenities of the Bellport-Brookhaven area continued to attract old and new residents. Welcome!

Nestled on Long Island's Great South Bay just 65 miles from midtown Manhattan, is the picturesque Village of Bellport. Enjoy the bayfront marine, Fire Island beach, golf club, parks, a summer stock theater and eclectic downtown shopping area.

The quaint bayside community of Bellport Village offers a variety of recreational and cultural venues. But perhaps the villlage's most prized assets are the historic 19th Century houses and Ho-Hum ocean beach on Fire Island. This can be accessed by the Village-owned ferry. The alternative is Mother's Beach on the Great South Bay. The village also offers golf available to villagers either through membership or pay-as-you-play basis.