It all started here, the “Hampton’s Mystique” that is, when in 1870,
Westhampton Beach residents began renting out rooms to travelers who reached the area via the newly constructed Long Island Railroad spur from Manorville. This practice soon spread to other parts of the Hamptons and it was not long before tourism became the most important segment of the area’s economy, replacing whaling, fishing and farming as the inhabitants’ main source of income.
The Greater Westhampton area is made up of several communities; Quogue, Westhampton Beach, Westhampton, Remsenburg and Speonk, all of them beautiful, all of them exclusive, and all of them ideal places to visit for the season or to settle permanently and raise a family. Indeed, Westhampton has become one of the largest growing year round communities on the Eastern Long Island as many of the seasonal visitors fall in love with the Hamptons and decide to make them their home.
A visit to the village of Quogue gives one the feeling of grandeur and opulence rarely experienced in traveling throughout the country today. Its tree lined streets, well maintained lawns and stately Victorian mansions blend together to make Quogue one of the most desirable areas in the Hamptons. By contrast, Dune Road on the ocean in Quogue boasts the most outstanding examples of contemporary home architecture in the world.
Quogue is one of the oldest communities on Long Island, having been founded in 1640 when 40 Puritan Freeholders from Lynn, Massachusetts, paid 10 pounds in “good strong merchantable wampum” for the area which was to become what today is called Quogue.
The land purchased was valuable for its broad meadow, which was called Shennecock Meadow, and for the “bonack” or ground nut which grew wild here. The bonack was an important staple of the early settlers and Indians as well. Quogue was also strategically located at a spot where dead whales were frequently casts up on the beach. The oil and other by-products obtained from the whales played an important role in the early economy of the area.
In 1835, Quogue was the second regular overnight stop on the stagecoach run from Brooklyn to Southampton. Travelers became aware of the beauty of the Quogue Beach during these stopovers and with the establishment of the railroad service in 1844, large numbers of summer boarders were attracted to the area. Around the turn of the century, families which had summered at the hotels and boarding houses began to build one-family homes. This led to more elaborate landscaping which transformed the open meadows into the village today.
One of the quaintest communities is Remsenburg, which is located on the western edge of the Greater Westhampton area, and is perhaps one of the most beautiful communities to be found anywhere in the eastern United States. Tree lined streets wind their way through row after row of country homes and quaint cottages surrounded by well manicured lawns and beautifully cultivated gardens, all of which seem to transplant the visitor into the midst of a quiet New England village.
Westhampton Beach is by far the center of activity for the Greater Westhampton Beach area. Its trendy, sophisticated shops combined with outstanding restaurants, night time entertainment and beautiful ocean beaches serve to attract the attention of the rich and famous who flock to the area every season to enjoy the best that the Hamptons have to offer.
Tourism is still a major source of revenue for area residents, but in recent years, more and more of the seasoned visitors are becoming year round residents. This trend is beginning to give the local economy a year round flavor and the quality of life available in the greater Westhampton area is being enjoyed by more and more people every year.
The Westhampton Beach of today is a far cry from the one first settled in 1666 as part of the Quogue Purchase. Then it was a quiet, sleepy community that experienced its first real estate boom in 1675 when buying land there for investment purposes became very popular. However, development was slow and the hamlet remained very small for nearly a century and a half and it was not till 1870 when the railroad reached Westhampton Beach that development really began. People began spending summers there and character and economic development of the village was altered. As the village began to develop into a flourishing summer resort, real estate kept pace with the changing times and values increased considerably. In the same era, agriculture lost importance as the local people found new occupations.
The once-prosperous farmlands were sold to make way for summer homes and hotels. The first Hotel was the Howell House built in 1868 with the financial backing of P.T. Barnum. The Oneck House and the Ketchaboneck House were soon built and it was not long before crude bathhouses were erected on the oceanfront at the foot of Beach Lane, now the site of Rogers Beach and Pavilion. Today the Greater Westhampton area offers its residents a truly high quality of life, its community activities provides a sense of identity, while its schools and governmental facilities are among the finest available. Yes, the Greater Westhampton area is a fine place to work, play or raise a family and put down roots.