Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Hassock (Rockaway Beach)

Hassock is recorded by Tooker as a creek in the meadow near Rockaway Beach. The exact creek has not been identified, but the name is associated broadly with the Rockaway Beach marsh landscape. This Hassock entry belongs to a small group of marsh and meadow names near Rockaway and East Rockaway Inlet. The specific creek and Coast Survey sheet still need review before the location can be narrowed. Hassock is connected with Algonquian words for marshy ground. The same source compares Narragansett hassucki, meaning marsh land, and Delaware assisku, meaning miry or marshy. The spelling also appears in early records in forms such as Hassokie and Hassokey for similar meadow or swamp places. Why Place Names Matter “When the direct record, in later days, is of the meagrest, place names may be found to offer definite evidence on important points.” — James B. Johnston, The...