Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Merrick Neck in Historical Records

Merrack Neck appears in a 1658 record, preserving an early form of the Merrick name in the South Shore landscape. Names such as Merrack Neck carry traces of an older coastal geography into the present. They connect familiar South Shore places with the Native history behind the Merrick name. William M. Beauchamp’s Aboriginal Place Names of New York records the name Merrack Neck in 1658. The spelling belongs to the many historical forms of Merrick found in Long Island records. Along the South Shore, necks of land extend toward the bays between tidal creeks. These waterways shaped travel, fishing, and the names people used for the coast.