Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Mashashimuet

Mashashimuet names the springs on the south side of Otter Pond in Sag Harbor. The place is associated with today's Mashashimuet Park and Otter Pond landscape, and the name was remembered through Montaukett and local Native knowledge shared with William Wallace Tooker. The history preserves Mashashimuet as a traditional name for Otter Pond and its springs. Stephen Pharaoh of Montauk and a Native woman remembered as Aunt Ollie were named as informants for the place-name tradition. Archaeological writing also connects the Otter Pond area with shell-heap and artifact evidence. No separate linguistic translation is given in the available references. The name is described as belonging to Otter Pond and its springs rather than analyzed into a translated phrase. Why Place Names Matter “In every culture and language, people use place names to refer to locations and to communicate...