Please note that this historical account was copied from the December 1999 Planning and Zoning Study by JAC Planning Corp (Great Neck, NY)

The Village of Port Washington North has incorporated only two-thirds of a century ago. However, the Village, part of the Cow Neck peninsula, dates back to the mid-1600′s and is one of the early settlements on Long Island. The creation of the Village of Port Washington North and its land-use relationship to the peninsula is directly related to its natural resources. Examples of this include the grist mills, which were built where there was water to power them, and sand mining which occurred where there was sand and a means to transport it away. The process of land use evolving from natural resources must be reflected upon. In the process, history and the progression of land uses must be examined along with the current conditions in order to plan for the future. Simply put, it is necessary to know who we were, so we can decide what we want to become.