Yennecott was name given to the land stretching from Orient Point to Wading River by the Corchaug Indians. Founded in 1640 as Southold, the Puritans who came from the colony of New Haven, settled the area and acquired title to the land. The Reverend John Youngs and his Puritan followers left New Haven in October of that year. Eventually, the Indians who originally owned the land were forced to leave or were enslaved.
By the 1670s, shipping had developed into a major industry as the only way to transport goods was by boat. Through the years, the governor of New York, at the time, required all ships to stop and clear through customs in New York to prevent smuggling. Shipping remained a major industry until the railroad arrived almost two centuries later.
The Revolutionary War left Southold for an empty town as most its people left for Connecticut, leaving the British to occupy Southold from 1776 through 1783 when the war ended.
In 1838, Greenport Village became a major shipping and whaling center, thus attracting most of Southold's shipping and ship building industry. With the advent of the Long Island Rail Road in 1844, the train was now the major transporter of goods and people. Southold had remained an agricultural town and with its history of horse racing, became the home of the breeding farms in the 19th Century.
Schools:
Southold School District