Opening from On This Site - Native Long Island

Sumpawams Creek and Neck

Sumpawams is a Babylon-area name now applied to the creek between Babylon and Islip, originally belonging to the neck where much of Babylon village stands. The name appears repeatedly in Huntington records between the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It is connected with Sumpawam, the Native owner whose name appears in a 1692 deed to William Massey. Recorded forms include Sampawams, Sampawame, Sumpwams, Sowampams, Sampawmes, pwamas, Sampaumes, and Sampowams. The personal name is interpreted as the straight walker, or one who goes straight. Why Place Names Matter “Place names can also preserve ancient aspects of language and place-based knowledge, including traditional knowledge.” — Alestine Andre, Ingrid Kritsch, Kristi Benson, and Sharon Snowshoe, An Indigenous Place Names Handbook: Sharing the Gwich’in Experience in Canada (2023), PDF page 19