HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistory of Fishers Island
History of Fishers Island
The Pequot Indians called Fishers Island "Munnawtawkit" but in 1614, Dutch explorer Adrian
Block discovered the island and named it Visher’s Island. It has been part of Southold Town
since 1879 when a joint commission from Connecticut and New York decided the latter had
legal title. The island lies about six miles northeast of Great and Little Gull Islands in Long Island
Sound. About seven miles long and one and a half miles wide, it contains about 4,000 acres.
The General Court of Massachusetts granted Fishers Island to John Winthrop, Jr. on October 7,
1640. Winthrop lived only one winter on the island. After being named Governor of Connecticut
he used the island as a place to raise horses and goats.
Fitz John and Wait Still Winthrop inherited the Island from their father and it stayed in private
hands until the twentieth century. The Winthrop family farmed the island for 218 years until
Robert R. Fox bought it in 1863. In 1889 the island was sold to Edmund and Walton Ferguson.
Although Fishers Island has gradually been developed it remains a very private place.