Richard Smith

Richard Smith, born in Yorkshire, England, around 1618, was the founder and first English settler of Smithtown. He arrived in the British American colonies in 1635 and, after living in Massachusetts, Southampton, and Setauket, settled with his wife and nine children in what is now the Village of Nissequogue. He acquired the land comprising Smithtown through deed agreements signed with English settler Lion Gardiner and Montauket Sachem Wyandanch, and his 1665 patent granted royal approval of that acquisition. Smith spent the rest of his life in legal battles to define Smithtown's boundaries. Although the story that he secured his land through a day-long bull ride is mythology, the tale has been passed down through generations and became an integral part of the town's history.

Village of the Branch, New York · United States