Nissequogue Marks 100 Years With Monument Unveiling

NISSEQUOGUE, NY — The Town of Smithtown and the Village of Nissequogue commemorated the village’s 100th anniversary Friday with the unveiling of a stone monument at the village border.

The monument honors the village’s centennial and its long connection to the greater Smithtown community, officials said.

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“Friday night was a proud and historic evening as we marked the centennial celebration of the Village of Nissequogue,” Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim said. “This beautiful stone monument commemorating 100 years since the Village’s founding recognizes a once-in-a-lifetime milestone: 100 years of Nissequogue, celebrated in the very same year we prepare to commemorate the 250th anniversary of our nation.”

Wehrheim joined Nissequogue Mayor Richard Smith, Suffolk County Legislator Sal Formica, Town Council members, the Village Board of Trustees, Smithtown Parks Department members, Public Safety officials and the Village of Nissequogue Police Department for the dedication ceremony.

Nissequogue was incorporated in 1926. The 3.6-square-mile village is located on the North Shore of Long Island and is bordered by the Nissequogue River to the west, Long Island Sound to the north, Stony Brook Harbor to the east, and the Village of Head of the Harbor and Town of Smithtown to the south.

Officials said the village remains one of Suffolk County’s most historically significant and naturally preserved communities.

Smith, who officials said is a direct descendant of Smithtown founder Richard Smith, spoke during the ceremony about Nissequogue’s historical roots. The village is recognized as the site of the original 1665 colonial settlement of Smithtown, founded by Richard Smith, the Patentee.

Long before its incorporation, Nissequogue held a central place in Smithtown’s origin story. In 1665, Richard Smith founded the Town of Smithtown on land deeded to him by Lion Gardiner and Wyandanch, Sachem of the Montauks, officials said.

Today, village officials said, that legacy lives on through Nissequogue’s preserved landscapes, historic character and commitment to protecting the qualities that have defined the community for generations.

The village is known for natural areas including Delafield Woods and the Butler Huntington Woods Conservancy, where walking trails feature native trees, indigenous plants and woodland settings.

Along the Nissequogue River Basin, Short Beach and Stony Brook Harbor, marshlands provide habitat for native grasses, seabirds and wildlife, including herons, egrets, ducks, ospreys, owls, red-tailed hawks, foxes and deer.

Nissequogue remains entirely residential, with no industrial or commercial uses permitted outside of agricultural, horticultural and specially regulated uses, officials said. That stewardship has helped preserve the village’s open space, historic character and natural environment over the past century.

Officials said the monument unveiling served as both a tribute to Nissequogue’s first 100 years and a celebration of the shared history between the village and the Town of Smithtown.