William Nicoll, a son of New York City Mayor
Matthias Nicoll, became a patentee in the 1680s of the east end of what is now the Town of Islip. He accumulated over and named his estate Islip, after the Nicolls' ancestral home in
East Northamptonshire, England. His domain included what are now the hamlets of Islip,
East Islip,
Bayport,
Sayville,
West Sayville,
Oakdale,
Great River,
Islip Terrace,
Central Islip,
Hauppauge,
Holbrook,
Bohemia,
Brentwood,
Holtsville, and a portion of
Ronkonkoma. This land was purchased from Winnequaheagh,
Sachem of Connetquot in 1683. The annual fee paid to Governor
Thomas Dongan of New York was five bushels of good winter wheat or 25 shillings. The name "Islip" was chosen by local residents for their local post office when it opened in 1802. Islip was originally a farming community, gradually transforming into a posh enclave for wealthy families in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of the
Colonial Revival,
Greek Revival,
Romanesque Revival,
Federal,
Moorish and
Victorian mansions that once lined the streets of Islip have been razed, though some remain, adjacent to many newer, large homes. Islip has a wealth of extant
Queen Anne Revival homes. Located along the picturesque Great South Bay, Islip has a long history associated with fishing, clamming (the world-famous Doxsee Clam Company started in Islip), swimming and boating. Islip Hamlet has its own public bathing beach, under the jurisdiction of the town. Boating and yachting are as popular today as they were years ago, if not more so, with the development of the communities on the adjacent barrier beach of
Fire Island. ==Geography==