LongIsland.com
Legend has it that in the 1600s Richard Smith rode a bull around the area to claim land that eventually became Smithtown.
Officials celebrate the 80th anniversary of Whisper the Bull statue. Photo: Town of Smithtown. First unveiled on May 10, 1941, Whisper the Bull, the iconic statue that sits at the fork in the road where Route 25 splits off from Route 25a. Legend has it that Richard Smith had been given the land now encompassing Smithtown after he helped rescue the kidnapped daughter of a Montauk Chief. The limit of this land gift was said to be determined by the distance he could ride Smith bull over the course of one day. Historians say that this makes for a nice local myth but is not the actual truth of the matter. According to the Town of Smithtown, Lion Gardiner received a primary portion of the land now known as Smithtown from Grand Sachem Wyandanch, for helping to arrange the safe return of the chief s daughter, who was kidnapp