Native Americans settled in the area surrounding Hempstead Harbor as early as 3500 B.C. Europeans first settled in the area when, in the fall of 1643, the Reverend Robert Fordham and John Carman left Connecticut and crossed Long Island Sound by rowboat to negotiate with local tribes for a tract of land where they would establish a new community.
Representatives of the Massapequak, Mericoke, Matinecock, and Rockaway tribes met the two men and sold approximately 64,000 acres – the present day Towns of Hempstead and North Hempstead – for items worth less than $100 today. John Carman had sailed in 1631 on the ship Lyon, from the parish of Hemel-Hempstead in England in 1631. It is believed that this new settlement was named after his place of birth.
Because water transport was essential for hauling goods, a harbor for this new community was a necessity. The protected harbor that became known as Hempstead Harbor was chosen over more treacherous waters on the south shore. Since Hempstead was the first European settlement on Long Island, Hempstead Harbor can be viewed as its first colonial harbor.