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History · Fishers Island

Fishers Island’s post office opened in 1881, and 34% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1944 on, and the census since 2000.

1881first post office
0on the National Register
34%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Fishers Island’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Fishers Island began

When was Fishers Island founded?

1881

The Fishers Island post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 289 in 20002020 census: 424145 years
Founding year: the first Fishers Island post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Fishers Island’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Fishers Island’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Fishers Island’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewNaval militia at Fisher's Island, Capt.…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Fishers Island came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Fishers Island.

Read it all →

The island was called Munnawtawkit by the Pequot Indians. Adriaen Block was the first recorded European visitor, who named it Vischer's Island in 1614 after one of his companions. It remained a wilderness for the next 25 years, visited occasionally by Dutch traders.

John Winthrop the Younger obtained a grant of Fisher's Island in 1640 from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, "reserving the right of Connecticut if it should be decided to be theirs." He simultaneously applied to the Connecticut General Court for a similar grant in order that there might be no flaw in his title. The title was given to him by a General Court held at Hartford, Connecticut, April 9, 1641:

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Fishers Island, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1890s2 items
Naval militia at Fisher's Island, Capt. Miller in command1890Naval militia at Fisher's Island, Capt. Miller in com…Admiral Walker and staff at Fishers Island1899Admiral Walker and staff at Fishers Island
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Munnatawket hotel, Fishers' Island, New YorkDate?Munnatawket hotel, Fishers' Island, New YorkBook
Today6 recent
Fishers Island HD 4-20242024Fishers Island HD 4-2024Fishers Island NY from airplane 2022 082022Fishers Island NY from airplane 2022 08Isabella Beach2021Isabella BeachHay Harbor2021Hay HarborFishers Island NY June 20212021Fishers Island NY June 2021Beach on2009Beach on
On the map

Fishers Island on the map, 1944 to 1984

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Fishers Island. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Fishers Island on the 1944 USGS mapFishers Island on the 1958 USGS mapFishers Island on the 1970 USGS mapFishers Island on the 1984 USGS map1944Mystic sheet · 1:31,680

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Fishers Island.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Naval militia at Fisher's Island, Capt. Miller in command
Retake this viewNaval militia at Fisher's Island, Capt. Miller in command, 1890

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Fishers Island’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Fishers Island, census by census

010020030040020002020Peak: 424

Between 236 and 424 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Fishers Island’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Fishers Island

Nobody well known was born in Fishers Island itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Gaten MatarazzoAmerican actor · b. 2002
Ruth BuzziAmerican actress, comedian, and singer · b. 1936
Amy BrennemanAmerican actress · b. 1964
C
Cassie VenturaAmerican singer, dancer, actress, and model · b. 1986
Howard DeanAmerican politician · b. 1948
Glenne HeadlyAmerican actress · b. 1955

Questions about Fishers Island’s history

What year was Fishers Island founded?

The Fishers Island post office opened in 1881, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (7), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.