Shortly after the founding of Southampton in 1640, settlers began to move east to the area known by the Shinnecock Indians as Sagaponack and Mecox. At the head of Sagg Pond the hardy Pilgrims established a settlement called Bullhead, later renamed Bridgehampton — after the bridge built across the pond. Sagg Bridge was built in 1686 by Ezekiel Sandford. The Bridge was the link between Mecox and Sagaponack and gave this locality its name of Bridgehampton
Bridgehampton records its start in 1656 when Josiah Stanborough, an original settler of Southampton, built a house in Sagg, today known as Sagaponack. Soon after the first settlers moved in, a bridge was erected over Sagg Pond,
joining Sagg and Mecox to its west. They named the lane that crossed the small land bridge Bridge Street, which likely inspired the hamlet’s future name: Bridge Hampton (later bridged itself to form one word). Most of the founding families were in some way connected to the whaling industry, the East End’s most profitable pursuit in colonial times. Once Sag Harbor was settled about 1730, most of the whaling industry moved there. But the soil in Bridgehampton was rich enough for farming to take over.