Downhook

Someone recently asked why my license plate said "DOWNHOOK". I'm not sure if I ever talked about this on my blog so I think I'll do that now.

I never used to be able to remember my license plate numbers, the randomly assigned ones we always received from the DMV. So I decided I'd like to get vanity plates. But what would they say? I didn't want anything that would too easily identify me, like a name, nor would I want something that strangers might remember easily in case I did something embarrassing that could come back to haunt me. Being a local history buff I thought about the term "downhook" which had the exact number of letters and would not be something an average person would understand.

The term refers to the place my family has lived for over 200 years here in East Hampton. "The Hook" was the area around Hook Pond, the western edges of the village on the way toward Amagansett. When a windmill was erected in that area in the early nineteenth century it was referred to as "The Hook Mill". When residents wanted to describe a place they would say it was "downhook". My family lived and worked "downhook". So - it seemed like a good term to use because I would remember it easily. And that is why my license plate says "downhook"...