Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Roanoke Point

Roanoke is recorded as a point of land on the north shore of Long Island in Riverhead town. The source cautions that it was probably adopted from Roanoke in Virginia rather than being an original Long Island Indigenous name. Roanoke Point is included as a documented place-name and as an example of a name whose Indigenous-language association needs care. No local deed or dated Long Island event is given here. The term is connected with shell-bead material used in making sewan or bead-money. The Riverhead point name is likely borrowed rather than locally original. Why Place Names Matter “Place names are a special part of cultural heritage in that they tell us something about the place to which they refer and about the name-givers.” — Eeva S. Leinonen, Placenames Workshop 2012: Management and Dissemination of Toponymic Data Online (2012), Workshop paper, page 63 Roanoke is...