This haunting photograph shows the gravestone of Mercy Edwards Van Scoy (1732-1782) in the Van Scoy-Edwards Cemetery in Northwest Woods. Based on photo technology and other images in its group in the Long Island Collection, the photo is estimated to have been taken in the 1980s.
Northwest Woods, an area between the business districts of East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages, was once home to an early settlement that boasted numerous farms, homes, and a schoolhouse. The first mention of Northwest in the East Hampton Town records is a 1652 order for a cartway to be built into several areas of "Norwest Meddow." Settlers of East Hampton had been venturing into Northwest in search of salt hay and seaweed, used for cattle grazing and insulation.
Northwest Harbor was an active trading and whaling port before the development of Sag Harbor's Long Wharf in 1770. Items such as whale oil and furs were shipped from Northwest Harbor, while materials from the West Indies, such as rum and molasses, came into the port.
The settlement grew in size, and in 1792 Henry Dominy built a schoolhouse there that operated until 1885. The schoolhouse site is near the Van Scoy homestead and cemetery.
Isaac Van Scoy (1732-1816) and his bride, Mercy Edwards, moved to Northwest after their marriage in 1757. The couple had 15 children, eight of whom survived to adulthood. Mercy died in 1782 and was buried on land that was part of the Van Scoy farm. Her tombstone is the oldest in the cemetery.
The cemetery and the sites of the schoolhouse and Van Scoy homestead were rediscovered in 2011 by the East Hampton Trails Preservation Society. Members cleaned up debris and were able to identify the location of the schoolhouse and homestead on the property.
If you're up for a spooky adventure, visit the Van Scoy-Edwards Cemetery and the Old Northwest settlement on the society's Northwest Settlement Ghost Town self-guided hike. A downloadable trail map and guide are available at easthamptontrailspreservationsociety.org.
Megan Bardis is a librarian and archivist in the East Hampton Library's Long Island Collection.
