Conscience
Bay and Setauket harbor, opening westward from Port Jefferson
harbor, approach these villages at different points.
Shipbuilding was an important industry on the shores of
these waters for many years and it is impossible to say just
when the business was begun. As early as 1662 the records tell
us that a man by the name of Richard Bullock purchased timber
and planks of John Ketcham and built a boat here. During the
colonial times the business was carried on by Benjamin Floyd, a
representative of the prominent family of that name.
The
scale upon which it was conducted was in later years enlarged.
During the early 1800's the building of sloops was extensively
carried on. David Cleaves was engaged in it in 1820 and
continued until about 1835. From 1832 to 1873 Nehemiah Hand
built many ships. He and his son George, who took over after his
father retired in 1873 built 44 vessels many of them of
considerable size.
The
largest ship ever built here was the Adorna, of 1,700 tons,
which was constructed under the supervision of David Bayles in
1870.
The
villages contained two schools one on the "Green" built about
1872 and a larger one in the eastern part of the village built
in 1866.
The
first settlers of the town found great difficulty in getting
their grain ground into flour as there were no mills here and
they had to send their grain to Connecticut by boat to be
ground.
In
order to get relief from this undesirable condition of affairs
they were ready to offer every inducement or the erection of
mills at home. The towns people accordingly granted to Daniel
Lane in 1664 the right to establish a mill on the stream, which
then ran into the head of Setauket Harbor. The townspeople built
the dam and the mill was established prior to 1667. It was
probably the same mill that was owned by Henry Perring in 1671,
who in a will dated December 17 of that year gave it to his
son-in-laws Joseph and Jacob Longbottom. For over 150 years the
site has been abandoned and where once the mill pond was is now
the highway and business section of East Setauket.
Another
mill was built by John Wade on a stream in the western part of
the village, under a grant of the town dated March 31 of that
year. Under this grant the town was to keep the dam in repair.
About
100 years later this mill was supposed to have been in the
possession of Richard Woodhull, to whom the town in 1784 granted
he privilege of moving the dam downstream on certain conditions.
In 1824 the mill was owned by Isaac Satterly who then released
the town from its obligations to keep the dam in repair.