I feel that Mr. Greenspan's reference is somewhat misleading.

First, as I wrote, the province was divided into shires, not counties.

Second. Montauk is part of the Town of East Hampton. It has one zip code for
all of it, which is 11954. The "hamlet" to which he refers is the small
business district of the circle.

Third. Napeague, which stretches from Amagansett to Montauk, is in the
Amagansett Fire District, not that of Montauk.

Four. As for Montauk itself, it was not even part of the town of East
Hampton until the late  1890s. That is a whole other story.

Nancy Hyden Woodward

> From: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Wed, 4 Feb 2004 11:13:26 EST
> To:[log in to unmask]
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Burned Over / 1658 Long Island Death
>
>
> On 2/4/04 (8:35:07 AM MST), as part of an eMail,  Nancy Hyden Woodward
> ([log in to unmask]) wrote,
>
> "Apropos Lion Gardiner, under Governor Thomas Dongan, who succeeded Edmund
> Andros as governor of New York in late 1682, the province was divided into
> shires in 1683 ... "
>
>
> According to "Local Government Handbook", page 3, 4th Ed., 1987, State of New
> York Department of State, "In 1683, the General Assembly of Freeholders
> reorganized the governmental structure in all of the province of New York into
> 12
> counties ... "
>
> These original 12 counties:  Albany, Cornwall, Dukes, Dutchess, Kings,
> Queens, New York, Orange, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster and Westchester.
>
>
> Ms. Woodward also writes, "Gardiner (who learned their language) just
> happened to be visiting Wyandanch on Montauk (the easternmost part of Long
> Island)
> and said that he would remain there as hostage to ensure Wyandanch's safe
> return."
>
> The pertinent current geography:
>
> Montauk is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the extreme eastern part of
> the Town of East Hampton, Suffolk County.  There are currently 2 villages
> (municipal corporations) and 7 hamlets all or partly in the Town of East
> Hampton.
> There are no cities and 10 towns in Suffolk County.  There are 2 Indian
> reservations in Suffolk County.  (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic
> Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and
> postal
> zone.)
>
> Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of
> Montauk is bordered on the north, east and south by Long Island Sound; and, on
> the west by the Hamlet of Napeague.
>
> And, as occurs in every one of Suffolk County's 157 communities (0 cities, 31
> villages and 126 hamlets), the Hamlet of Montauk has a different border than
> does the "Montauk, NY 11954" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Montauk
> mailing address and not be in Montauk).  Those places that have a "Montauk,
> NY"
> mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Montauk are in the Hamlet of
> Napeague.
>
> For those who have their copy of the 2002 or earlier edition of the LI
> Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island
> Power
> Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to
> access
> and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of Montauk in the Town of
> East Hampton, Suffolk County on pages 15 & 32 (map) and 33 (population
> estimate).
>
>
> I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting.
>
> Happy Tu B'Shvat, the Jewish Arbor Day celebrating the New Year for trees
> (begins Friday, February 6 at sunset),
>
> Walter Greenspan
>
> ..   Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State
>
> New York State is divided into counties.
>
> County
> A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to
> perform state functions; a "regional" government.  All counties are divided
> into cities, towns and Indian reservations.
>
> City
> A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter.  Cities
> are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic
> areas.
>
> Town
> A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the
> state except that within cities or Indian reservations.  Towns can be
> sub-divided into villages and hamlets.
>
> Village
> A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by
> the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with
> municipal services.  The pattern of village organization is similar to those
> of a
> city.  A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic
> areas.
>
> Hamlet
> A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed
> at-large by the town(s) it is in.  A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods,
> which
> are informal geographic areas.
>
> Postal Zone "City" and "Town"
> A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by
> the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail.  Postal zone "City" and "Town"
> may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders.
> Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet
> location.
>
>
> Please be aware:  In many areas of New York State, the problem of
> non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places
> have a
> different community name in their mailing address than the community where
> that
> place is actually located.
>