Legendary Smithtown

How a man named Smith settled in for the long ride after a short ride

The Town of Smithtown was founded in 1665. This is its history via WikiPedia:

Local legend

An oft-repeated but apocryphal story has it that, after rescuing a Native American chief's abducted daughter, Richard Smith was told that the chief would grant title to all of the land Smith could encircle in one day while riding a bull. Smith chose to ride the bull on the longest day of the year (summer solstice) 1665, to enable him to ride longer "in one day." The land he acquired in this way is said to approximate the current town's borders. A large statue of Smith's bull, known as Whisper, pays homage to the legend at the fork of Jericho Turnpike (New York State Route 25) and St. Johnland Road (New York State Route 25A).

According to local historians, the bull story is a myth. It was actually English settler Lion Gardiner who had helped rescue the daughter of Nissequogue Grand Sachem Wyandanch, after she was kidnapped by rival Narragansetts. Smith, who lived in nearby Setauket, was a friend of Gardiner; it was at Smith's house where the Nissequogue princess was returned to Wyandanch. The Grand Sachem awarded a large tract of land to Gardiner as a gesture of gratitude. In 1663 Gardiner sold the Nissequogue lands to Smith. Two years later, colonial Governor Richard Nicolls recognized the sale by awarding Smith “The Nicolls Patent of 1665,” which formally ratified Smith's claim to the land. Thus, 1665 is considered the founding date of the town.

Smithtown was originally known as "Smithfield".

The border between Smithtown and the town of Huntington is partially defined by Bread and Cheese Hollow Road (Suffolk County Road 4), so named after Bread and Cheese hollow, which according to legend is where Smith stopped on his ride to have a lunch of bread and cheese. The road is reputed to follow part of his original ride. The border between Smithtown and Huntington was also the site of Fort Salonga, a British fort that was the site of a battle of the American Revolution during 1781. The Smithtown hamlet of Nesconset was the home of Spaceplex, an indoor amusement park and arcade that was falsely accused of being the abduction site in the Katie Beers kidnapping case in 1992

Coming soon - In the meantime, please check out our other documentary films

I have conceived of, and written a lot of documentary films, sometimes as many as three a week.  This is in addition to the many other commercial, narrative and TV series work I do.

I've also written several narrative films and a few TV series, but they can't be discussed here.

Interested in picking up one or more of these properties? Mark

The Documentary Factory which is a division of AVS Production Company has many films which are either in production or pre-production. They are:

Life Is EL - Living and working under and around the elevated train tracks in New York City (In Production)

Step Streets - Where did the Street go? (In Production)

Education In Smithtown - Lots of pencils, lots of books, and we loved our teacher's dirty looks (In Production)

Sake in America - The love for and growth of what used to be a Japanese exclusive drink in America (In Production)

Scams Are Us - You have it, we'll take it (In Production)

In Search of Whale Vomit - It'll help you smell better (Pre-Production)

Oh Deer - How we live with our forested friends (In Production)

Life Before Twitter - The history of the digital era (In Production)

Volunteers Of America - Without Volunteers, we would all be in trouble (In Production)

Legendary Smithtown - How a man named Smith settled in for the long ride after a short ride (In Production)

Tea For Two Billion - Our love for the second most consumed beverage in the World (In Production)

The Life Of Death - Who's there at the end (Pre-Production)

Smart Phone, Stupid People - Your phone is getting smarter, but you are getting stupider (Pre-Production)

1 Dollar For You - Yes, you can still get things in NYC for only $1 including great Pizza! (In Production)

The Deadliest Sport - Is Gymnastics the deadliest sport? (Pre-Production)

50 Years of Planting Trees - The history of Earth Day and the related movements (In Production)

The Trees of NYC - Did you know there are over 881,502 trees in NYC? (In Production)

Can It - What's with all that metal around my stuff? (Pre-Production)

Sprout Poop  -  The care, feeding and love for Sprouts and the World's greatest Virtual Air Band (Pre-Production)

That's a Tat - The history and love of Tattoos (Pre-Production)

Whatever It Takes To Get The Shot - Ken Regan did whatever it took to get the shot (In Production)

It Takes a Second - It can take a second to change your life (Pre-Production)

Drummers - The history of drumming from 5500 B.C. to today (Pre-Production)

Gridded City - Why cities around the World are laid out in grids (Pre-Production)

Blocks of Glass - Why glass blocks are all the rage in construction (In Production)

 New York City Subway Art - There are over 342 permanent works of art in the system (In Production)

Roller Derby Kids - Growing up as a child of Roller Derby parents (Pre-Production)

Bill Graham's Gift - He provided us with decades of great music (Pre-Production)

 Sous Vide - Is this the best cooking technique? (In Production)

Too Old to Rock and Report, Too Young to Retire - Ageism and discrimination in the news media (In Production)

Garden Bay Manor - One of the most serene neighborhoods in NYC with a rich history (In Production)

It's Still a Long Strange Trip - The Psychedelic Culture still exists (Pre-Production)

Are you hiring? - The second most asked question of a record store owner or manager (In Production)

Are You A Turtle? - The history of Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles (Pre-Production)

I Seem To Be A Verb - The history and legacy of R Buckminster Fuller (In Production)

You're a Rock N Roll Suicide - The sad history of suicide and accidental death in music (Pre-Production)

Props - The story of Props used for Stage, Cinema and TV productions (Pre-Production)

Saved - The story of a brilliant and humble man who invented Naloxone (Narcan) and saved millions of lives (Pre-Production)

The Bridges of Madison Avenue - And beyond.  There are 2,027 bridges in NYC (In Production)

Pollinators - It ain't just bees (In Production)

They Just Don't Give a Fuck! - Women over the age of 85, don't care what other people think of them (In Production)

Only Child - Only children are a unique breed (Pre-Production)

Uh Oh Casio - The history and resurgence in popularity of Casio Watches (In Production)

Time Capsule - 100s of Time Capsules are buried yearly (In Production)

What's Your Number? - No, not that number (In Production)

Garbage Geeks - They love our planet, and want you to as well (In Production)

Love Math - How I will find the love of my life using Math (In Production)

Worker Towns - The history of Towns and Neighborhoods created by companies for their employees - (Pre-Production)

Rats - From pets to pests,  and from labs to food,  these invasive rodents are everywhere in the World except Antarctica - (In Production)

Lather Rinse Repeat - The exploration of people who engage in short term relationships with People,  Places,  and Things,  and then repeat those relationships again and again - (Pre-Production)

Non Alcoholic - The quickly growing industry of Non-Alcoholic drinks - (Pre-Production)

Moving and Storage - Moving is the second most stressful thing in a person's life - (Pre-Production)

You Forgot - Did you forget something? - (Pre-Production)