Samuel Ketchum’s Hollow

Written By Dino DiPietro

Sorry for the terrible photo..

📍 Origins: Samuel Ketcham’s Hollow

  • The area was originally inhabited by Native American tribes, including the Matinecocks and other Algonquian groups. They referred to the region as Sunsquams

Here are the details of the 1653 land purchase—known as the “First Purchase” of Huntington—from the Matinecock tribe:

📅 Date and Parties Involved

  • On April 2, 1653, Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams, and Daniel Whitehead, settlers from Oyster Bay, entered into a deed with Raseokan (also spelled Ratiocan), Sachem of the Matinecock, acquiring territory that later became part of present-day Huntington and Melville

📐 Land Boundaries

The deed describes the boundaries of the six-square-mile tract as:

  • West: “a River commonly called by the Indians Nachaquatacke” (present-day stream at the head of Cold Spring Harbor)

  • North: Long Island Sound

  • East: “a River caled Opeatkontycke” (stream at the head of Northport Harbor)

  • South: the furthest extend of Raseokan's territory, which corresponds to present-day Old Country Road

🎁 Consideration (Payment to the Matinecock)

The settlers exchanged the land for:

  • 6 coats

  • 6 kettles

  • 6 hatchets

  • 6 hoes

  • 6 shirts

  • 10 knives

  • 6 fathoms of wampum (36 feet)

  • 30 muxes (awl-like tools)

  • 30 needles

The deed was signed by Raseokan and 23 Matinecock signatories, along with the three English grantees

📜 Deed Conditions

  • Raseokan agreed to demonstrate the boundaries within 20 days; if unsatisfied, the sale could be voided.

  • The document includes the original signatures and marks of Raseokan and the Matinecock signers.

  • A transcription preserved by the Huntington Town Clerk’s Archives shows the formal language and spelling of the period

📚 Historical Significance

  • Known as the First Purchase, this transaction established the legal foundation for the Town of Huntington

  • The southern boundary set by this purchase later came to be marked by Old Country Road, famously memorialized today by a historical marker reading “Samuel Ketcham’s Hollow; Southern Boundary Of The First Purchase…”

🔗 Additional References

  • The deed and related documents are preserved in the Huntington Town Clerk's Archives and highlighted in their collections

  • The story is also included in the Huntington Archives collection on New York Heritag

Dino DiPietro