The first English settlement in New York, Southampton was settled in 1640 by twelve families from Lynn, Massachusetts on land known as Old Town, with the help of the native Shinnecock Indians, who still exist in the area on a 750-acre reservation housing 375 people. Over the course of the next few years, an additional forty-three families moved to the area. The Southampton Hospital is, in fact, built on the location of Southampton’s original meetinghouse. The Halsey House—the home of one of the original families—is still the oldest remaining house in the area. A place rich in history, Southampton has forty-seven cemeteries. The region was later named Southampton after the English home of many settlers. It remained mostly a quiet farming village until the late 19th century when the Long Island Rail Road was extended to Sag Harbor and affluent New Yorkers began making the East End their summer destination. 

Southampton has many ocean beaches. Coopers Beach, located just off Meadow Lane, is regarded as one of the best beaches in the country. Meanwhile, Southampton beach stretches for 11 miles from Shinneock Inlet to Sagaponack Pond and has beautiful, high dunes, large summer homes, smaller, guarded beaches, and ponds. Southampton hosts some of the most desired oceanfront homes in the world. The heart of the resort area, the Shinnecock Canal which boasts Long Island’s sole operational lock system, connects the Great Peconic Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Without it, boats in the south would have to make a far wider trip around Montauk Point to the east before redirecting north. 

The town of Southampton comprises a number of incorporated villages and unincorporated hamlets, including the aforementioned Village of Southampton, along with North Haven, Quogue, Sag Harbor, Sagaponack, Westhampton Beach, Bridgehampton, Eastport, East Quogue, Flanders, Hampton Bays, Northampton, North Sea, Noyack, Quiogue, Remensburg, Riverside, Shinnecock Hills, Speonk, Tuckahoe, Water Mill, and Westhampton. 

Some of Southampton’s most famous restaurants include Little Red, Tutto il Giorno, 75 Main, Silver's, Sant Ambroeus, BLT Steak, Delmonico's, Red Bar, and the Publick House among others. The Publick House has been making beer since the 1800s and has survived through the years in a number of different incarnations. During Prohibition, the owners of the Publick House ran a restaurant with a speakeasy hidden in the back that attracted such famous people as Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, and Babe Ruth. Southampton also features a number of popular nightclubs, such as Pink Elephant at Cabana, and Tavern. 

Tourists who want to visit the area can stay at such lavish bed and breakfasts as Box Farm in Southampton and The Mainstay Inn in Southampton.

Students in the area attend a number of schools, including Southampton Elementary, Intermediate, and High Schools as well as the Tuckahoe School and Southampton Montessori School.

Restaurants

Little Red: http://www.littleredsouthampton.com

Tutto Il Giorno: https://foursquare.com/v/tutto-il-giorno/4dd86b51c65bee535acc1217

Delmonico's: http://www.delmonicosrestaurantgroup.com/southampton/

75 Main: http://www.75main.com

Silvers: http://www.silversrestaurant.com

Red Bar: http://www.redbarbrasserie.com

San Ambroeus: http://www.santambroeus.com/sa_southampton.html

Publick House: http://www.publick.com

BLT Steak: http://caprisouthampton.com/blt_steak

For more information:

http://www.town.southampton.ny.us/
http://www.hamptons.com/
http://www.eqny.com/
http://www.co.suffolk.ny.us/
http://www.whbcc.org/
http://www.hamptonbayschamber.com/
http://www.SouthamptonChamber.com/