Riverhead Town Place Names

by J. Francis Magee, Riverhead
Originally published in the Long Island Forum , May 1947

     About all villages and towns have some locality names which are taken as a matter of course and a great many other names that people wonder how they came about. There are many such names in Riverhead town.
     About 1665 a couple of enterprising men saw the possibility of using the waters of Peconic River for power to drive a mill, and built a dam across the same. This damwas later enlarged, and became the present Bridge street in Riverhead village. As boats could not go any further up the river, the site became known as the "head of the river" and still later as Riverhead. At that time there was no village there, and as late as 1792, when Riverhead was made the County Seat, there were only about a half dozen houses.
     Prior to Riverhead's becoming a real settlement, Aquebogue was a prosperous farming community the largest in the Town. Aquebogue then was what is now Jamesport while present Aquebogue was Upper Aquebogue, and present Jamesport was lower Aquebogue, or just Aquebogue. In 1830 James Tuthill of Lower Aquebogue acquired from David B. Tuthill some Eighty acres, known as Miamogue Point and on this he laid out streets, constructed a wharf, and soon there were a church, school house and stores. This was called Jamesport, after himself. Many years later the section to the north, on the main road became known as Jamesport. South Jamesport became just Jamesport and Upper Aquebogue was Aquebogue. These names still hold. Aquebogue was the home of the Occabauk Indians and the land to the west including Riverhead village, and the land on the south side of the river, were all known by the general name of Occabauk.
     Cum City, situated about a mile northeast of Jamesport, is about as small a locality as one will find designated by the name of City. It consists of a colored church and not over six houses clustered around it. It takes its name from Comey (or Cum) Boston, a former resident. In Feb. 1900, there was filed in the Suffolk County Clerk's office, a certificate of incorporation of the. "Cum City A. M. E. Zion, Church," (Liber 3 page 172). Filed in the Surrogate's Office in 1899, the will of J. Woodhull Conklin, leaves the said Cum City M. E. Church, the land and building now occupied by them, and another half acre, "For burial ground, for the colored people of Cum City and vicinity." He also left his residuary estate to the trustees of the Church. The church and the houses are still there, but the houses are no longer occupied by colored people.
     Just one mile east of the center of Riverhead village, a small brook tuns under the main road. This brook further down stream once furnished the power for the Howell Mill, no longer there. The section on the main road is still called the brook.
     A little east of the Brook is Sandy Cruise. Over a century and a half ago there was a country store directly across the road from the present site of 'the Country Club. This store handled Santa Cruz rum while the next store to the east sold Jamaica rum, so this section became known a s Santa Cruise.
     About a mile and a half west of Riverhead another dam was put across the river to furnish power. At this point was placed a woolen mill, a chocolate factory and a few smaller places of business, and to distinguish it from the main mill it was called Upper Mills.
     Wading River is the name of an attractive village on a creek at the northwest corner of Riverhead Town. The creek became known as Wading River because it could be waded at low tide.
     About mid-way between Wading River and Riverhead is Baiting Hollow. Oil the south side of the road, at the bottom of the hill just east of the Church, is the pond where it was usual for the travelers to stop and bait (water) their horses; hence the name.
     South of Baiting Hollow, on the main line railroad, is Calverton. More than a hundred years ago I find all Ann Calverton referred to as owner of a tavern near the present station, and I assume that when the railroad was put through they used her name for that of the hamlet.
     Midway between Calverton and Baiting Hollow is a farming section that was settled by people named Riley, Hogan, Farrell, Ford, Twomey, Holland and so on, hence the name Irishtown or Dublin.
     About twenty-five years ago, Everett Sweezy, a former Riverhead boy who had made good in New York as a banker and broker, came back to his home town and bought up many parcels of land on both sides of Roanoke avenue, north of Riverhead village, near Middle road. Here he laid out streets and built many fine homes. His maps called the place Roanoke Height's but to most people it, is Sweezytown. There are now about fifty attractive homes there.
     About 1904, north west of Riverhead, Polish people built a church and in course of time many of them built homes there. It is now a section of at least 1,000 people and is referred to as Polishtown or the Bronx.
     Riverhead village has overflowed to the south side of the Peconic River, so that now there are at least 1,000 people there. I still have one old map that calls the section Brooklyn, but have never seen it designated as Over the River, the common name for it.
     Middle Road and North Road are farming sections north of the village of Riverhead, and were named from their locations.
     Merrits Pond, Little Merrits and Merrits Bay are named for Merit Howell who in 1762 obtained from his brother Richard this large tract of land.
     People from St. George Manor, owned by the Smiths of Mastic, settled in the southwest corner of Riverhead Town so the section became known as "The Manor." Many of the older residents still call it that although it has since been changed to Manorville.