Captain John Underhill, an Englishman working for the Dutch, was a controversial figure known for his military actions against Indigenous populations in the 1640s. While he later criticized Dutch policies and had a varied career, a local legend persists of him leading a massacre at Fort Massapeag in the 1650s.
Early 19th-century accounts mention such an event, suggesting Underhill, under Dutch contract, aimed to remove Indigenous people from South Oyster Bay. Some historical interpretations place Underhill's documented 1653 attack on a Native village at "Matsepe," with scholars divided on whether this referred to Maspeth (Queens) or Massapequa.
However, archaeologist Ralph Solecki argues against the Fort Massapeag massacre theory. He notes that the primary source attributing it to Underhill is an undocumented 1811 letter, while other records point to a different location for Underhill's battles. While a significant conflict likely occurred near the Fort area in the mid-17th century, Solecki believes it wasn't directed at the Fort's inhabitants, citing the absence of corroborating evidence in treaty minutes.
19th-century folklore and the 20th-century discovery of Indigenous skeletal remains near Fort Neck further fueled the massacre narrative, with sensationalized press accounts. However, original archaeological examination of these remains in the 1930s found no evidence of English weaponry or trauma consistent with a brutal massacre at Fort Massapeag. This lack of physical evidence supports the theory that Underhill's documented attacks likely occurred elsewhere, possibly in Maspeth, leading scholars to question the veracity of the widely circulated Massapequa massacre story.