Established around 1656 on Fort Neck in Massapequa (Oyster Bay), Fort Massapeag was a significant Dutch trading post and the only archaeologically documented Native American fort in Nassau County. Strategically located near the bay, it served as both a defensive outpost for the Dutch West India Company and a vital center for trade with the local Massapeag people. Facing British expansion, the Dutch aimed to maintain peaceful relations and foster commerce.
Historical records and archaeological evidence indicate that the fort's construction was at the request of Sachem Tackapausha to Director Peter Stuyvesant during treaty talks in 1656 and 1660, seeking safety for his people. While the exact location of an earlier, short-lived fort is uncertain, Fort Massapeag played a key role in the complex interactions between the Indigenous People and the Dutch, and then English, who later purchased the land in 1693, but farmed there earlier with permission. The Fort was built with European tools and most likely labor, but was under control of the Algonquian Peoples of Long Island during the 17th century, serving both colonial and Indigenous interests.