“Hidden in Massapequa: Unearthing Fort Massapeag” details the history of one of Long Island’s only Native American strongholds and the only Native American fort ever found on western Long Island, dating back to the 17th century. It’s a history that even the book’s author said he knew little about before doing his own research.
John DiMarco, a lifelong resident of Massapequa and a professor at St John’s University, said he was driving his son to a friend’s house when he noticed a relatively empty plot of land next to Sunset Park.
Little did he know that the site was previously home to Fort Massapeag, with multiple different fragments of history. DiMarco, who teaches teaching mass communications and digital media design, said he began looking into the hidden history of the area and his curiosity led him down a rabbit hole of time.
“A bunch of different stories kind of emerged and I got caught up in it and decided to start researching it and eventually wrote a book on it,” he said. “I chronicled basically from the 1600s all the way to the 20th century.”
DiMarco said he reached out to several local museums and turned his research into a project, which led him to discover that Fort Massapeag, designated a National Historic Landmark, had previously served as a Native American village and later as a Dutch trading post and potential wampum factory. He said the property ended up being sold in the 1930s when people began developing the land.
DiMarco said that during this period, people found bodies buried under the land, which he said came from a Native American massacre that took place during the 1600s. He said he hopes the book helps give people an understanding of the land’s history as well as the relationship between Native Americans and European settlers in Massapequa.
“It’s important that we kind of get deeper into the history of the town as far as indigenous cultures go because it really wasn’t something that when I was growing up here was covered,” he said.
The 154-page book detailing the history of Fort Massapeag was published in November 2025, with DiMarco saying the book “provides a visual journey.”
“The spot was literally unknown as a National Historic Landmark,” he said. “It was really fascinating to start to unravel this and realize that it’s kind of an unknown place.”
The Town of Oyster Bay had purchased a small piece of land in the 1950s and placed the sign that sits at the site today. DiMarco said a new sign will eventually be erected at the site with a QR code that will give people a little more background on the history of the site.
