Montauk (/ˈmɒntɔːk/ MON-tawk) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York, on the eastern end of the South Shore of Long Island.

Located at the tip of the South Fork peninsula of Long Island, 118 miles (190 km) east of Midtown Manhattan, Montauk has been used as an Army, Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force base.

[4] Located 20 miles (32 km) off the Connecticut coast, it is home to the largest commercial and recreational fishing fleet in New York state.

The Montauketts, ravaged by smallpox and fearing extermination by the Narragansetts, were provided temporary refuge by white settlers in East Hampton.

[9] Further purchase agreements were entered into in 1661, 1672 and 1686 which, among other things, allowed a group of Easthampton townsmen to graze cattle on the Montaukett lands.

[10] In 1660, Wyandanch's widow sold all of Montauk from Napeague to the tip of the island for 100 pounds to be paid in 10 equal installments of "Indian corn or good wampum at six to a penny".

[citation needed] In 1686, Governor of New York Thomas Dongan issued a patent creating the governing system for East Hampton.

[citation needed] During the Siege of Boston in the Revolutionary War, a British ship visited Fort Pond Bay in 1775 in search of provisions—notably cattle.

[15] In 1839, slaves who had seized the schooner La Amistad came ashore in the hamlet looking for provisions after being told by the white crew they had returned to Africa.

The most prominent of the six Montauk Association houses is Tick Hall, which was owned by entertainer Dick Cavett from 1967 to October 2021, when he sold it for $23.6 million.

[25] Several soldiers died during the quarantine, prompting questions about the camp's conditions and a visit from President William McKinley.

Floodwaters from the hurricane inundated the main downtown, and it was moved 3 miles (5 km) to the south, immediately next to the Atlantic Ocean.

During World War II the United States Navy bought most of the east end, including Montauk Manor, to turn it into a military base.

Several concrete bunker observation posts were built along the coast, including one immediately to the east of the Montauk Lighthouse.

On September 1, 1951, the Pelican, captained by Eddie Carroll, capsized in the shoals off Montauk Point, resulting in the deaths of 45 passengers and crew.

The 42-foot (13 m) Pelican was carrying 64 people, most of whom had taken the Fisherman's Special trains to the Montauk LIRR station from New York City.

After fishing in the Atlantic Ocean on the south side of Montauk for several hours, it returned home, encountering engine trouble on the way.

The weather turned stormy, and a northeast wind developed against an outgoing tide, resulting in standing waves of several feet at Endeavor Shoals, just off the Point.

The wreck was secured by fabled sport fisherman Frank Mundus and towed into Lake Montauk by the Coast Guard.

In 1967, the United States Coast Guard announced plans to tear down the Montauk Lighthouse and replace it with a taller steel tower.

Montauk Friends of Olmsted Parks LLC was established in 1994 to protect an extensive system of beaches and waterfront properties and roadways.

The sport involves donning a wetsuit and flippers and swimming into the ocean with rod and reel to catch fish while drifting offshore.

In August 2016 OCEARCH designated the waters off of Montauk and the rest of the South Shore of Long Island as a birthing ground for great white sharks.

The presence of the Atlantic Ocean brings warmer winters than inland areas of the same latitude as well as cooler springs and summers: despite an extensive urban heat island and warmer lows throughout much of the year, Central Park in Manhattan, as compared to Montauk, averages twice as many days with a low reaching 10 °F (−12 °C) or below.

Montauk's warm subtropical climate makes it a popular vacation destination in the winter for New Yorkers and people from upstate New York.

Many Montauk hotels are only open from April to November, some for shorter time periods, and a few year-round, including Gurney's Inn.

[43] Montauk is a favored destination for weekend partiers who, as of 2015, had exceeded the local inhabitants' tolerance for noise and disruption.