Port Washington in Nassau County, New York — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Home of Cato Sands Family

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, October 18, 2025

1. Home of Cato Sands Family Marker

Inscription.

Home of Cato Sands Family

Freed from slavery 1782
Built c. 1835

Historic Distinction
Cow Neck Historical Society

Erected 2020 by Cow Neck Historical Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans. A significant historical year for this entry is 1835.

Location. 40° 50.25′ N, 73° 41.948′ W. Marker is in Port Washington, New York, in Nassau County. It is on Mill Pond Road north of Morgan Place. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 35 Mill Pond Road, Port Washington NY 11050, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the New York City Metropolitan Area

and on Long Island.

It is also in the American Northeast,

in the Mid-Atlantic,

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland

and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Shaped by Necessity

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(a few steps from this marker); Mill Pond Restoration (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Mill Pond Model Yacht Club (about 400 feet away); One Home, Seven Generations (about 600 feet away); The Mill Pond Historic District (about 800 feet away); Robert H. Dayton Park (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Dawn of a Destination (approx. 0.2 miles away); Trash Talkin' (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Port Washington.

Also see . . .
1. Plaque to highlight history of slave descendant's Port Washington home.

The life of Cato Sands, believed to be the son of a freed slave, will be celebrated Tuesday [February 25, 2020] as African American community leaders, historians and town officials gather to reveal an oval plaque at his former house in Port Washington.

(Submitted on October 22, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York.)

2. The World of Cato Sands.

Cato was a black slave who was freed by Simon Sands' 1782 will. In the nineteenth century Cato's descendants owned a home in the Mill Pond area. The first written record of him places him on Cow Neck in what is now called
Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, October 18, 2025

2. Home of Cato Sands Family
The home of Cato Sands Sr., a freed slave for whose former owner the nearby Sands Point was named. This house remained in the Sands family for generations.
Sands Point, after the Sands family.

(Submitted on October 22, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York.)

Photographed by Ian Lefkowitz, October 18, 2025

3. Home of Cato Sands Family Marker

The marker is affixed to the front of the private home.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 23, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 22, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. This page has been viewed 74 times since then and 40 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 22, 2025, by Ian Lefkowitz of New York, New York. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.