Quogue Historic District

New York

The widest street in Quogue was laid out that way because cattle were driven down it every spring.

historicalculture

Quogue Street is the widest street in the hamlet, and the reason has nothing to do with traffic. It was the path cattle were driven down each spring on their way to graze. The land came into English hands in 1659, when John Ogden bought Quawcanantucke from Sachem Wyandanch of the Montauk tribe for four hundred pounds, promising his friend continued access for hunting, fishing and gathering berries. The stretch from Westhampton to Southampton was meant to secure grazing for the town's sheep, hogs and cattle. The first building put up there was a shelter for the shepherd who tended John Foster's flock. Almost a century later, the grandsons of Southampton's first settlers began building houses along that same cattle path. The Cook, Foster, Herrick, Jessup, Howell and Post families put down the frames that the district still protects.

This is the first of 3 parts. The rest runs about 3 minutes and is read to you as you drive past. Hear the whole piece.

What this was written from
Quogue Street, the widest in the hamlet, had been the grazing path that cattle were driven down each spring.

Written from Wikipedia, used under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Nearby, on the same roads

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