HAWLEY’S POND

Inscription

HAWLEY’S POND
SAW AND GRIST MILLS
HERE CA. 1780-1886, POWERED BY
SAMPAWAMS CREEK. MILL POND
CREATED BY 1816, LATER PART OF
E. HAWLEY’S WEST ISLIP ESTATE.
WILLIAM G. POMEROY FOUNDATION 2023

Around 1780, saw and grist mills were established on Sampawams Creek by David and Richard Willets. At first powered by the creek, by 1816, a mill pond had been created to power the mills by damming Sampawams Creek. The mills were in operation here under a succession of mill operators until 1886, when the mills were closed. The mill buildings were then converted to be used briefly as factories producing toy whips and kindling bundles.

In March 1910, Edwin Hawley, a wealthy businessman, purchased about 50 acres of property that included the former mills and pond on Sampawams Creek. Hawley incorporated the property into his large West Islip estate and the pond became known as Hawley’s Pond. In September of that year, he had the former mill buildings torn down and built an ornamental tumbling dam in their place.

As of 2023, the former mill pond still retains Hawley’s name and is now located in a park owned by the Village of Babylon.