Tattoo Shop in Port Washington, NY

Much of the Port Washington area was initially settled by colonists in 1644, after they purchased land from the people of the Matinecock Nation.

In the 1870s, Port Washington became an important sand-mining town; it had the largest sandbank east of the Mississippi and easy barge access to Manhattan. Some 140 million cubic yards of local sand were used for concrete for skyscrapers in New York City (including the Empire State and Chrysler buildings), in addition to the New York City Subway. In 1998, the sand mines were redeveloped as Harbor Links – a golf course for North Hempstead residents.

In 1930, Port Washington tried to incorporate itself as a city, which would have had the same boundaries as the Port Washington Union Free School District – excluding Sands Point, which had already incorporated itself as a village several years prior. This plan ultimately failed when the bill was killed after Baxter Estates, Flower Hill, and Manorhaven incorporated themselves as villages in order to retain home rule over their respective areas.