For Massapeag, the only Indian fort ever found on western Long Island and a National Historic Landmark since 1993, does not appear on most maps.
Archaeologists are not sure who built it -- whether the Massapeag Indians, the Dutch, the two together or perhaps even the English. It is believed to be the site of a New Netherland trading post built in the mid-17th century to facilitate trade with local Native Americans, and possibly serve as a wampum factory. A shell dump heap along its southern wall yielded Indian and European artifacts, including white clay smoking pipes made in Amsterdam.
Fort Massapeag was surrounded by a protective ditch and perched on the edge of a broad salt marsh. It was near a creek leading to Great South Bay, the Long Island Expressway of its time and an abundant source of food and shells. The marsh was filled beginning in the 1930's and is now covered by streets and houses.
The area came to the attention of archaeologists in the 1930s, when the Harbor Green development began, uncovering graves of Native Americans and the site of a village, which was destroyed in the process.
The site of the fort, in the Harbor Green neighborhood on Fort Neck, is almost entirely unknown to the public and is hard to find. And it is unclear what artifacts may remain buried there. The National Park Service intentionally withholds directions. Because of its archaeological sensitivity, its location is protected.
It was first excavated in the 1930s. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993. The Town of Oyster Bay, which acquired the fort site in 1958, maintains it as a park. A sign posted by Oyster Bay identifies the property as a Massapequa Indian fort, circa 1640, but does not mention that it is a National Historic Landmark.
Sources:
“Fort Massapeag Archeological Site.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Aug. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Massapeag_Archeological_Site.
Rather, John. “A National Landmark Nobody Knows About.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 May 2005, www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/nyregion/a-national-landmark-nobody-knows-about.html.
