Manhasset is a hamlet and census-designated place on the North Shore of Long Island in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York. The community is served by the Manhasset School District. The area was originally inhabited by the Matinecock, who had a village on Manhasset Bay. The bay had had several names in past four centuries, including, Schout’s Bay (schout roughly translates to sheriff), Martin Garretson’s Bay, named after a schout and later Cow Bay and Cow Harbor. Due to the abundance of cow farmers on the land, by 1659 it was being called Little Cow Neck. During the American Revolution, Little Cow Neck sided with the patriots. In 1840 the name of the area was changed to Manhasset, from the Algonquin language meaning “neighbor island.” The Long Island Railroad was expanded to Manhasset in 1898, which encouraged wealthy New Yorkers to build luxury homes in the area.