VISIT

Cold Spring Harbor Village

THINGS TO DO
HISTORIC WALKING TOURS
COLD SPRING HARBOR HISTORY

Things to Do

Village Events and Shopping:

Information about Cold Spring Harbor Village.

Indoor Things To Do:

Cold Spring Harbor Hatchery. (Outdoor - with indoor exhibit) Historic trout hatchery & freshwater aquarium.
Firehouse Museum. Exhibit about the local fire department.
DNA Learning Center. Exhibit and programs for students and the public.
Preservation Long Island. Established in 1948 and located in the former Methodist Episcopal Church. Offers exhibits celebrating Long Island's cultural heritage.
A rich offering of neighboring museums in Huntington, which Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet of.

Outdoor Things To Do:

Hike the new Wawapek Preserve, opened in 2015. Perched above the historic hamlet of Cold Spring Harbor, this stunning 32-acre preserve at one time was being considered for development into thirteen house lots. Mature hardwood forest, which comprises over 60 percent of the preserve, protects air quality and provides erosion control throughout its steep ravines.
Picnic or Hike in Cold Spring Harbor State Park. Picnic near the shoreline, or hike hilly terrain in a hardwood forest that offers scenic vistas of the Cold Spring Harbor. Excellent birdwatching. The park serves as the northern trailhead of the Nassau Suffolk Greenbelt Trail that extends to Bethpage State Park. Pets are permitted on leash only. Free parking. Use restrooms in the Cold Spring Harbor Library (check library for hours).
Visit Caumsett State Park in Lloyd Harbor. Situated on a scenic peninsula extending into Long Island Sound with miles of bridle paths, walking, jogging, hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and nature trails over acres of woodland, meadows, rock shoreline and salt marsh. Vehicle fee.

Walking Tours

The museum offers walking tours of Cold Spring Harbor's Main Street for the public, particularly in the Spring and Fall - check calendar for dates.

Events

Tours for Groups

We also offer privately booked tours for groups. See our offerings.

Baptist Church. Private home today.

First ice cream shop

COLD SPRING HARBOR HISTORY

Geology & Landscape

Glaciers carved out Cold Spring Harbor 18,000-20,000 years ago, leaving behind large boulders, hills, springs, and a five-mile harbor.

First Purchase

In 1653, the Matinecock sachem Asharoken agreed to sell land from Oyster Bay to Northport to a group of English settlers in an arrangement called the First Purchase. The document today resides in the Huntington Town archives.

European settlers named the area after the abundance of freshwater springs.

Hewlett & Jones 1792 Grist Mill on the town's southeastern shore. Parts of foundation are visible today.

The Jones Family

Two notable entrepreneurs were Water R. Jones and John H. Jones, great grandsons of Major Jones, who oversaw many business operations in town. One of their biggest notable ventures was launching the Cold Spring Whaling Company.

Whaling Town

Cold Spring Harbor offers a view as a quintessential 19th century microcosmic whaling village. The whaling era lasted 1836-1862 with a fleet of nine vessels. The museum's exhibits and collections document this development.

Resort Town

Steamers visiting from New York City in the 1880's brought day-trippers looking for a bucolic picnic setting, a Victorian-age custom. Three fashionable hotels arose: the Glenada, Forest Lawn, and Laurelton Hall.

The Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery was founded in 1883 and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in 1890.

Forest Lawn Hotel

Indigenous people

The area was originally known as "Wawapex," or "at the good little water place." Cold Spring River was first known as nachaquetack, or Oyster River. The spring-fed stream located near current-day Spring Street just behind Main Street was once the site of a flourishing Matinecock village.
Unfortunately, little evidence of pre-European settlement survives today. Bone tools, arrowheads, and pottery shards have been found, some of which are in the museum's collection.

West Side School, Built 1790

Mill Town & Early Trades

Mills have an early history in Cold Spring Harbor, which were pivotal in helping the town grow economically. A gristmill and sawmill were built by a 1682 across the Cold Spring River. A woolen mill followed in 1700, with additional woolen mills later on, and a paper mill in 1782. The first school was built in 1790.

Local shipyards, brickyards, and blacksmith shops were born. Farms grew wheat, hay, corn, and other crops, and sheep pastured on fields. 500 residents lived in "downtown" Cold Spring Harbor by 1850.

Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor

More Resources

The museum's store sells the following publications, among others, which explore local history:

Cold Spring Harbor by Terry Walton
Cold Spring Harbor, A Book of Images by Robert Hughes
Whaling on Long Island, by Nomi Dayan
Mark Well the Whale, by Fred Schmitt
Huntington, Postcard History Series, by Patricia Novak