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B Smith Restaurant, Sag Harbor<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n Originally called \u201cLand at the foot of the Hills\u201d by the Native Americans who founded the area, Sag Harbor has been a diverse community on Long Island for several hundred years. A major port on the eastern seaboard as well as one of the first points of entry into the U.S. from Europe in the early 1800s, ships arrived here from all over the world, lending to its international and ethnically diverse make-up. And because these founders were Native Americans, many of the building, street, park and other names reflect those early Indian tribes: Mashashimuet, Manhasset, Massapequa, Shinnecock, and others.<\/p>\n Sag Harbor also sustained a very active and profitable whaling industry–called the Golden Era of Whaling, begun by the Native Americans who hunted the whales for survival, and later joined by the Europeans, African Americans, and others. However, once the Europeans came they made it a commercial enterprise, utilizing the people of color here as their laborers. In fact, nearly a third of all of the Whalers here were people of African descent.<\/p>\n Unbeknownst to most, there were a great many Free Blacks (who were never slaves), residing here. This group, the Black Whalers and their families, European immigrants, Native Americans and other people of color thrived in Sag Harbor, living in Eastville. And it was here, in 1839, that members of the First Presbyterian (Whalers) Church–whose membership was acknowledged on the roster under \u201cColored\u201d–built the St. David AME Zion Church. <\/p>\n