The hamlet of Bridgehampton was settled in 1656 and aptly named for the bridge that was built to connect the settlements of Mecox and Sagaponack. Ninety miles from New York City, this rural farming community was transformed by the arrival of the Long Island Rail Road in 1870. With the notion that salt air and sea breezes were the perfect relief from the hot and sweltering isle of Manhattan, wealthy New Yorkers made the sojourn to the pristine shores of the Atlantic Ocean. On a trip down Ocean Road toward the beach, one would pass the grand homes of a toy importer, a pen manufacturer, a coal industrialist, a merchant tailor, and an inventor-the established summer colony. The region quickly gained a reputation as a pleasant summer resort-a reputation that still thrives today.
