In 1691, Captain John Sands and his family arrived in Cow Neck, where they built their home on 500 acres. The house still stands today on Sands Point Road.

By 1790, the water traffic around Sands Point had increased to such an extent that many lives and ships were being lost. Because of this a bill was passed in 1805 to build a lighthouse on the tip of Cow Neck. The lighthouse still stands and it is used as a private residence.

In 1898, when the railroad came to the Port Washington area, approximately 25 families lived in what was to become Sands Point, and the "Gold Coast" mansions began to appear along Manhasset Bay, Long Island Sound and Hempstead Harbor. By the 1920's, Sands Point was competing with Newport as America's summer social capital.

In order to preserve it's rustic character, Sands Point was the first village in the Port Washington area to incorporate. Since the incorporation on July 23, 1917, Sands Point has grown from approximately 50 large land owners to the 830 families now enjoying all the amenities that country life near New York City has to offer.

Sands Point remains one of the most desirable villages in the New York metropolitan area.