Thousands of years before European contact, the Algonquian-speaking Lenape people flourished in the Massapequa region, their lives intricately woven with the abundant natural environment. As skilled hunters, they pursued waterfowl, deer, elk, and small game using tools crafted from stone (arrowheads) and bone (awls, antler tools, beaver teeth). The Great South Bay provided a vital food source, with shellfish and various fish forming a staple of their diet, evidenced by archaeological findings of fish bones, scales, and specialized fishing gear like net sinkers, fishhooks, and harpoons. The presence of numerous pottery pipes also indicates the use of tobacco.
While detailed accounts of Lenape settlements on Long Island are scarce, historical records suggest they resided in wigwams and, in some western areas, larger longhouses. Archaeological evidence points to two types of settlements: smaller outposts for resource processing and larger, thriving community centers with burial places, storage, and planting grounds. These Lenape communities, including those in Massapequa, Merrick, and Rockaway, strategically established villages along the coast and rivers, ensuring access to essential resources and trade routes. Massapeag Indigenous people were also skilled artisans, crafting pottery, tools, wampum, and ornaments from natural materials. Their cultivation of corn, beans, and squash ("The Three Sisters") highlights their sophisticated understanding of agriculture. They were governed by sachems who held authority over important decisions including land deals and commerce activities with European leaders and townspeople.
The Lenape people of the 17th century were stewards of Massapequa. They helped both Dutch and English leaders, manufactured wampum for the local economy, and managed a fort for trade and protection of both their people and colonial Dutch settlers on Western Long Island.
This is the story of Fort Massapeag and how the Lenape and Europeans came to building a Fort in the 1650s. It is also a rescue story of how archaeologists, preservationists, and Town of Oyster Bay Officials worked to protect and preserve the Fort site in the 20th century – Hidden in Massapequa.