In 1643, English colonists began to call this area Hick's Neck, after two of Hempstead's early settlers, John Spragg from England and John Hicks from Flushing. They extended Hempstead village south to the salt meadows. The grist mill built by John Pine in 1686 on Milburn Creek attracted more English settlers. They engaged in fishing, farming, marshing, raising longwood, and breeding and raising sheep. Between the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, Hick's Neck continued to grow, becoming a prosperous agricultural area.