William Nicoll: “The Founder of Islip Town”

On November 29, 1683, William Nicoll was awarded the first royal patent to the east end of what is now the Town of Islip. After decades of attempts to defend their land from encroaching European settlement, the Secatogue people sold 51,000 of ancestral homeland acres to Nicoll. Nicoll’s new property reached from Bayport to the east, Islip to the west and Ronkonkoma to the north. He later purchased the surrounding land to build a family residence from Sachem (Chief) Winnequaheagh of Connetquot. He named his plantation “Islip Grange,” in honor of his ancestral home of Islip in Northamptonshire in England. 

The house was built around 1710 and remained in the family for seven generations, along with its land. The final Nicoll to own the property was William Nicoll VII (1820- 1900). Following his death, the house and 40 acres of land were purchased by East Islip neighbor, Harry B. Hollins and given to his son, Harry Jr. whose house, Crick Hollow, was nearby. William Nicoll VII was buried in Emmanuel Church cemetery in Great River. Islip Grange was demolished in 1910. 

Photo: William Nicolls’ Islip Grange. Courtesy of East Islip Historical Society