Patchogue Bay, a lagoon cove within New York's Great South Bay on Long Island's south-central shore, formed between Blue Point and Howells Point amid the barrier island system protecting it from the Atlantic. Inhabited by Algonquin tribes for centuries, the area was deeded to Connecticut Governor John Winthrop Jr. in 1664. European settlement grew in the 1700s, with the bay fueling maritime industries like oystering, shipbuilding, and fishing in Patchogue village. Ferries to Fire Island began in