Editing Northport, New York (section)

===European settlement===
The original inhabitants of the area now known as Northport were the [[Metoac|Matinecocks]], one of 13 [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribes of Long Island.  The Matinecocks called this land ''Opcathontyche'', which meant "wading place creek".<ref name="Newsday">{{cite web | last = Bleyer | first = Bill | title = Northport: A Harbor of Transformations | work = Long Island, Our History | publisher = Newsday | url = http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-historytown-hist005c,0,6458687.story?coll=ny-lihistory-navigation | access-date = February 8, 2007 }}</ref>  After [[Netherlands|Dutch]] interest a few years earlier, the land was sold by Chief Asharoken, head of the Matinecocks, to three [[English people|Englishmen]] in 1656.<ref>{{cite web | title = About Northport | publisher = Northport Chamber of Commerce | url = http://www.northportny.com/about.php | access-date = February 8, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080509163337/http://www.northportny.com/about.php | archive-date = May 9, 2008 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

With land that was well suited for farming, the early settlers grazed cattle on pastures around the harbor. The area soon became known as Great Cow Harbour.<ref name="names">{{cite web | last = Little | first = Bob | title = The Many Names of Northport | work = Northport History | publisher = Northport Historical Society | url = http://www.theliconnection.com/editorials/760 | access-date = February 8, 2007 | archive-date = July 17, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717010205/http://www.theliconnection.com/editorials/760 | url-status = usurped }}</ref>  (The nearby hamlet of [[Centerport, New York|Centerport]] was known as Little Cow Harbour.) The oldest house still standing in Northport, the Skidmore House on Main Street, was built in 1761. In 2009 the house was put up for sale, sparking the village to pass a historical preservation law.<ref>{{Cite news | last = Fischler | first = Marchelle | title = On Long Island, Protecting These Old Houses | newspaper = New York Times | date = March 10, 2010 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/realestate/14Lizo.html?emc=eta1 | access-date = March 13, 2010}}</ref>