On 3/31/03 (6:09:35 AM MST), the Suffolk County List Administrator relayed a posting from Nate Carter ([email protected]), asking, "Can some one tell me where is Cow Bay on Long Island Sound. I have a reference to a lawyer Arthur Bassett being named "Governor of Cow Bay, LI" in 1877. It apparently was an honorary title. It was in the Brooklyn Eagle 11 Nov. 1877. It may be in Nassau County but I know there are many very knowledgeable people on the list that may have the answer." You're correct: it would seem to be in Nassau County. Cow's Bay, as the name suggests, should be on the north shore of Cow's Neck, and today's Cow's Neck is called Port Washington. Port Washington is one of those communities on Long Island where the majority of the places with a Port Washington mailing address are not in Port Washington. The pertinent geography: Port Washington is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeastern part of the Town of North Hempstead. There are 30 villages (incorporated municipalities and 18 hamlets all or partly in the Town of North Hempstead. There are 2 cities and 3 towns in Nassau County. (I'm including after my name a NYS Geographic Glossary with the NYS definitions of county, city, town, village, hamlet and postal zone.) Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Port Washington in the Town of North Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Villages of Baxter Estates, Port Washington North and Sands Point; on the east by the Port Washington Harbor on the south by the Village of Flower Hill; and, on the west by the Village of Plandome Manor and Hempstead Harbor. And, like almost every community in either Nassau or Suffolk Counties, the hamlet and the postal zone that use the same name, have much different borders: .....................................................acres .........Hamlet of Port Washington.....2,570 .........Port Washington, NY 11050....6,652 Thus, about 3 out of every 5 places with a "Port Washington, NY" mailing address are NOT in the Hamlet of Port Washington. Quickly eyeballing the map overlay of the "11050" postal ZIP code versus village and hamlet borders, the following 7 communities (5 villages and 2 hamlets) seem to be at least partially within the borders of the "Port Washington, NY" postal zone and hence places in these communities can have a "Port Washington, NY" mailing address (if the community is a village, its year of incorporation is shown inside the parenthesis): .........................................................acres Village of Sands Point (1932)..............2,743 Hamlet of Northern Port Washington........162 Village of Port Washington North (1932)...315 Village of Manorhaven (1930)...................326 Village of Baxter Estates (1931)..............109 Hamlet of Port Washington..................2,570 Village of Flower Hill (1931).....................427* * The Village of Flower Hill has a total area of 1,095 acres, and this is the area serviced by the "Port Washington, NY 11050" postal zone. The Village of Flower Hill's other 668 acres are in the service areas of either the "Manhasset, NY 11030" or the "Roslyn, NY 11576" postal zones. For those who have their copy of the 2002 or earlier edition of the LI Population Survey or have already downloaded the report from the Long Island Power Authority web site (eMail me directly if you need instructions on how to access and download the report), you'll find the Hamlet of Port Washington in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County on pages 5 & 6 (map) and 7 (population estimate). I hope this information is useful or, at least, interesting. Regards, Walter Greenspan . Cities, Towns, Villages, Hamlets and Postal Zones in New York State New York State is divided into counties. County A county is a municipal corporation, a subdivision of the state, created to perform state functions; a "regional" government. All counties are divided into cities, towns and Indian reservations. City A city is a unique governmental entity with its own special charter. Cities are not sub-divided, except into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Town A town is a municipal corporation and encompasses all territory within the state except that within cities or Indian reservations. Towns can be sub-divided into villages and hamlets. Village A village is a general purpose municipal corporation formed voluntarily by the residents of an area in one or more towns to provide themselves with municipal services. The pattern of village organization is similar to those of a city. A village is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Hamlet A hamlet is an unincorporated area in one or more towns that is governed at-large by the town(s) it is in. A hamlet is divided into neighborhoods, which are informal geographic areas. Postal Zone "City" and "Town" A postal zone "City" and "Town" is an administrative district established by the U.S. Postal Service to deliver the mail. Postal zone "City" and "Town" may not (but are encouraged to) conform to municipal or community borders. Thus, postal zone location does not always determine city, village or hamlet location. Please be aware: In many areas of New York State, the problem of non-conforming postal zones leads to a situation where the majority of places have a different community name in their mailing address than the community where that place is actually located.