The community was initially settled in 1653, well within the lifetime of the earliest New England colonist. In the beginning, water-borne transportation gave life to the community. The natural harbors offered ready access to the farmlands of the Long Island interior. The harbor was the setting for the new Huntington community, which became the focal point for the movement of agricultural products into the commerce of the colonies. Although agriculture was its mainstay and water-borne transportation its lifeline for two centuries, in later years, the whaling industry and expanded manufacturing activity broadened the local economy and gave impetus to the expansion of the harbor communities of Cold Spring Harbor, Huntington, and Northport.