Water Mill was founded in 1644 when Edward Howell received 40 acres of land near the new settlement of Southampton to build a mill for settlers to grind their grain into meal. It soon became a landmark, and people began referring to other settlements that popped up as "east or west of water mill."
By the 1800s the area was named Water Mills, and was later changed to Water Mill. Today the town is famous for being the only settlement on the South Fork of Long Island with both a functioning watermill and windmill.
North of the highway, its farm fields abound in luxurious rolling hills. South of the Highway, the historic shingled homes line the tree-lined streets on the way to the magnificent ocean beaches. Its year-round population is 1,724. Water Mill covers an area of 12.5 miles of which 12% is water.
