Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Fresh Pond Site

Fresh Pond on Shelter Island is associated with archaeological evidence of shellfish processing, tools, pottery, fire-cracked rock, and repeated seasonal or year-round occupation. Its specific archaeological deposits are not publicly identified. The extensive archaeological discovery of fire-cracked rocks, domestic pottery, and dense shellfish refuse pits at the Fresh Pond Site indicates that this location served as a permanent, year-round residential base camp. Recognizing such complex, long-term settlements challenges the misconception that early Indigenous communities were purely nomadic, revealing instead how they established deeply rooted, sustainable villages on Shelter Island. Fresh Pond on Shelter Island is associated with archaeological evidence of shellfish processing, tools, pottery, fire-cracked rock, and repeated seasonal or year-round occupation....