West Woods

Table of Contents
Introduction
History

Introduction

West Woods is a forty acre beach and woodland area owned by the Shinnecock Tribe. The woodland and beach area is used for contemporary social gatherings, weddings, celebrations, camping, and sweat lodge ceremonies.

In recent times, West Woods has been encroached upon with it’s blurred boundaries. At the start of the 1747 100-year timber lease to the Shinnecock by Southampton Town, the land encompassed one hundred acres.

History

1807-1808

According to an April 1808 vote by the town of Southampton, an authorization for the leasing of timber land from the town proprietors was made to the Shinnecock. 1

1885

During a Shinnecock Tribal Meeting, the tribe voted that the tribe defend any one who might be sued for cutting wood in the west woods. 2

 

Hyde-Belcher-1916-map-1-with-Box West Woods Jeremy Dennis On This Site
Good Ground Northern Region, Published by E. Belcher Hyde Map Co in 1916

The earliest record of West Woods appears in Belcher Hyde’s 1916 map.

1929-Dolph-Stewart-Map-e1489036781253 West Woods Jeremy Dennis On This Site
1929 Dolph Stewart Map

Again in the later 1929 Dolph Stewart map.

 

  1. our ancient & loving ffriends – The Town of Southampton, New York’s Relationship with the Shinnecock, pp 125[↩]
  2. Gaynell Stone, The Shinnecock Indians – A Culture History Vol VI, pp. 164[↩]