Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Sagaponack / Sagg Pond

Sagaponack is an eastern Southampton place-name also preserved in Sagg, Sagg Pond, and Sag Harbor. The name is connected with ground-nuts or Indian potatoes. Sagaponack, also recorded as Sagabonock, is a tract in eastern Southampton. The shorter form Sagg survived in Sagg Pond, Sagg Harbor, and the modern village name Sagaponack. The locality appears in Southampton records by 1651 and in many later spellings, including Sackaponock, Saggaponack, Sagabunnuck, Sagabonock, and Sagabonnac. Sachaponock is also treated as a mistaken form for Sagg Pond at Sagaponack. The name is interpreted as a place where large ground-nuts or Indian potatoes grow, discussing the plant now often identified with Apios tuberosa. Why Place Names Matter “Place- and river-names have a remarkable longevity, often being used long after the local language has been forgotten or suppressed, and so they can provide...