Huntington, New York

Huntington, New York
Town
Town of Huntington
Oheka Castle, Heckscher Park, Walt Whitman's Birthplace, sunset at Centerport Harbor, the historic former Huntington Sewing & Trade School, the Heckscher Museum of Art.
Location of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York
Coordinates: 40°51′36″N 73°21′8″W / 40.86000°N 73.35222°W / 40.86000; -73.35222Coordinates: 40°51′36″N 73°21′8″W / 40.86000°N 73.35222°W / 40.86000; -73.35222
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Government
• Town Supervisor	Frank P. Petrone (D)[1]
Area
• Total	137.1 sq mi (355 km2)
• Land	94.0 sq mi (243 km2)
• Water	43.1 sq mi (112 km2)
Elevation	135 ft (41 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	203,264
• Density	2,162/sq mi (835/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
ZIP codes	11721, 11724, 11731, 11740, 11743, 11746, 11747, 11750, 11768
Area code(s)	631
FIPS code	36-68000
GNIS feature ID	0979498
Website	huntingtonny.gov

The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Founded in 1653,^[2] it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 203,264.

History

In 1653, three men from Oyster Bay, Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams and Daniel Whitehead, purchased a parcel of land from the Matinecock tribe. This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered by Cold Spring Harbor on the west, Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known as Old Country Road to the south and Long Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the white settlers who had already been living there.^[3]

George Bradford Brainerd. Street, Huntington, Long Island, May 1907. Collodion silver glass wet plate negative. Brooklyn Museum.

George Bradford Brainerd. Street, Huntington, Long Island, ca. 1872–1887. Collodion silver glass wet plate negative. Brooklyn Museum.

From that initial settlement, Huntington grew over subsequent years to include all of the land presently comprising the modern Towns of Huntington and Babylon. The southern part of the town was formally separated to create Babylon in 1872.^[3]

Because Huntington was populated largely by English settlers, unlike the rest of the New Amsterdam colony, the town voted in 1660 to become part of the Connecticut colony rather than remain under the authority of New Amsterdam. It was not until the British gained control of New Amsterdam in 1664 (renaming it New York) that Huntington was formally restored to the jurisdiction of New York.^[3]

Following the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, British troops used Huntington as their headquarters, and remained encamped there until the end of the war.^[3]

The arrival of the Long Island Rail Road in 1867 transformed the economy of Huntington from primarily agriculture and shipping (based on its well protected harbor) to tourism and commuting. Cold Spring Harbor became a popular summer resort.^[3]

The end of World War II brought about an explosive growth of population in Huntington, as in the rest of the region. Farms and resorts gave way to homes, and Huntington has transformed into a major bedroom community for nearby New York City.^[3]

Demographics

As of the census^[6] of 2000, there were 195,289 people, 65,917 households, and 52,338 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,078.4 people per square mile (802.5/km²). There were 67,708 housing units at an average density of 720.6 per square mile (278.2/km²). The racial makeup of the town in 2000 was 88.31% White, 4.22% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.27% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.58% of the population. As of the census of 2010, the racial makeup of the town was 84.15% White, 4.68% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 4.96% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.89% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.00% of the population.

There were 65,917 households out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the town the population was spread out with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.

According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $102,865, and the median income for a family was $113,119.^[7] Males had a median income of $61,748 versus $40,825 for females. The per capita income for the town was $36,390. About 2.9% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.1% of those under age 18 and 4.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

The town government consists of a town council with four members, all of whom are elected at large. The town supervisor is elected by the entire town. Other elected positions are the Town Clerk, Highway Superintendent, and Receiver of Taxes.^[8] A referendum to move to a ward district system on December 22, 2009 failed 81% to 18%.

Economy

Sbarro's headquarters were located in Melville in the Town of Huntington until 2015.^[9]

Around 2002, Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville to Uniondale, Town of Hempstead. The facility, the former Swissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architect Richard Meier to design the Melville facility.^[10][11]

In 1997, Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Manhattan to Melville; James Lyndon, a spokesperson for the airline, said that the company moved to Long Island in an effort to reduce costs, as leasing costs are lower in Long Island than in Manhattan. The move would transfer 75 employees, including administrative personnel, marketing personnel, sales personnel, and telephone reservation agents. The airline planned to move on June 15, 1997. The airline had also considered sites in Boston and in Westchester, New York.^[12]

Top employers

According to Huntington's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,^[13] the top employers in the town are:

Education

Colleges and universities

Huntington is home to two colleges and universities, including:

• Five Towns College in Dix Hills
• Seminary of the Immaculate Conception

Elementary and high schools

There are a number of notable schools in Huntington.

Local media

Several weekly newspapers cover local news exclusively, including The Long-Islander, since 1838 as well as The Times of Huntington by TBR News Media. The Village Connection Magazine, published by Jim Savalli, is a lifestyle and entertainment magazine dedicated to the town of Huntington. Additionally, Patch, an online-only news website owned by AOL, and the Huntington Buzz, an online-only news website that is independently owned, covers hyper-local news on issues, people and events in Huntington.

In popular culture

• Huntington is the town in which the American sitcom Growing Pains supposedly takes place.^[14] However, Robin Hood Lane, the street address of the Seaver family's home, is fictional.^[15] The show's creator, Neal Marlens, grew up in Huntington.^[16]
• The Village of Northport was mentioned in episode 6 of the 2012 NBC drama series Smash.^[17]
• Oheka Castle in Huntington was featured in the music video for Taylor Swift's 2014 single "Blank Space".
• The Jon Megaris hair salon in Huntington was used as a filming location for the 2015 film Sisters starring Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Notable people

Communities and locations

Villages (incorporated)

• Asharoken
• Huntington Bay
• Lloyd Harbor
• Northport

Hamlets (unincorporated)

Transportation

Railroad lines

The Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch serves the town's vicinity, and uses stations between Cold Spring Harbor through Northport. Huntington is the eastern terminus of electrification along the Port Jefferson Branch.

Bus service

The Town of Huntington is served primarily by Huntington Area Rapid Transit bus routes, though some routes from Suffolk County Transit also serve the town.

Major roads

• Interstate 495 is the Long Island Expressway, and the sole interstate highway in the Town of Huntington, with interchanges from part of Exit 48 in West Hills on the Nassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 52 in Commack.
• Northern State Parkway
• New York State Route 25A
• New York State Route 25
• Old Country Road
• New York State Route 108
• New York State Route 110
• New York State Route 231
• County Route 2 (Suffolk County, New York)
• County Route 3 (Suffolk County, New York)
• County Route 35 (Suffolk County, New York)
• County Route 67 (Suffolk County, New York), includes the remaining drivable portion of the Long Island Motor Parkway.

See also

• 1946 Town of Huntington planning map from Wikimedia Commons
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Huntington, New York
• Heckscher Museum of Art

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Town of Huntington, New York.

• Official website
• Huntington Historical Society
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Huntington (New York)". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Municipalities and communities of Suffolk County, New York, United States
County seat: Riverhead
Towns	Babylon Brookhaven East Hampton Huntington Islip Riverhead Shelter Island Smithtown Southampton Southold
Villages	Amityville Asharoken Babylon Belle Terre Bellport Brightwaters Dering Harbor East Hampton Greenport Head of the Harbor Huntington Bay Islandia Lake Grove Lindenhurst Lloyd Harbor Mastic Beach Nissequogue North Haven Northport Ocean Beach Old Field Patchogue Poquott Port Jefferson Quogue Sag Harbor Sagaponack Saltaire Shoreham Southampton Village of the Branch Westhampton Beach West Hampton Dunes
CDPs	Amagansett Aquebogue Baiting Hollow Bay Shore Bayport Baywood Blue Point Bohemia Brentwood Bridgehampton Brookhaven Calverton Center Moriches Centereach Centerport Central Islip Cold Spring Harbor Commack Copiague Coram Cutchogue Deer Park Dix Hills East Farmingdale East Hampton North East Islip East Marion East Moriches East Northport East Patchogue East Quogue East Shoreham Eastport Eatons Neck Elwood Farmingville Fire Island Fishers Island Flanders Fort Salonga Gilgo Gordon Heights Great River Greenlawn Greenport West Halesite Hampton Bays Hauppauge Holbrook Holtsville Huntington Huntington Station Islip Islip Terrace Jamesport Kings Park Lake Ronkonkoma Laurel Manorville Mastic Mattituck Medford Melville Middle Island Miller Place Montauk Moriches Mount Sinai Napeague Nesconset New Suffolk North Amityville North Babylon North Bay Shore North Bellport North Great River North Lindenhurst North Patchogue North Sea Northampton Northville Northwest Harbor Noyack Oak Beach–Captree Oakdale Orient Peconic Port Jefferson Station Quiogue Remsenburg-Speonk Ridge Riverhead Riverside Rocky Point Ronkonkoma Sayville Selden Setauket-East Setauket Shelter Island Shelter Island Heights Shinnecock Hills Shirley Smithtown Sound Beach South Huntington Southold Springs St. James Stony Brook Stony Brook University Terryville Tuckahoe Wading River Wainscott Water Mill West Babylon West Bay Shore West Hills West Islip West Sayville Westhampton Wheatley Heights Wyandanch Yaphank
Hamlets	Canaan Lake Cherry Grove Crystal Brook Cupsogue Beach Davis Park Fire Island Pines Hagerman Ocean Bay Park Point O' Woods Remsenburg South Haven Speonk Strongs Neck Upton Water Island West Manor
Reservations	Poospatuck Shinnecock

New York metropolitan area
Counties	Bergen Bronx Carbon Dutchess Essex Fairfield Hudson Hunterdon Kings Lehigh Litchfield Mercer Middlesex Monmouth Monroe Morris Nassau New Haven Northampton New York Ocean Orange Passaic Pike Putnam Queens Richmond Rockland Somerset Suffolk Sussex Sullivan Ulster Union Warren Westchester
Major cities and towns	New York City The Bronx Brooklyn Manhattan Queens Staten Island Hempstead
Cities over 100,000	Allentown Bridgeport Edison Elizabeth Huntington Jersey City New Haven Newark Paterson Stamford Waterbury Woodbridge Yonkers
Cities and towns over 25,000	Bayonne Bergenfield Bethlehem Branford Cheshire Clifton Danbury East Haven East Orange Easton Englewood Ewing Township Fairfield Fair Lawn Fort Lee Freehold Township Garfield Greenwich Hackensack Hamden Hamilton Township, Mercer County Hoboken Howell Kearny Long Beach Long Branch Lower Macungie Township Mahwah Manalapan Marlboro Meriden Middletown, NJ Middletown, NY Milford Mount Vernon Naugatuck New Brunswick New Milford New Rochelle Newburgh Newtown Norwalk Old Bridge Paramus Passaic Perth Amboy Plainfield Poughkeepsie Rahway Shelton Stratford Teaneck Torrington Trenton Trumbull Union City Wallingford West Haven Westfield Westport White Plains Whitehall Township, PA
Cities and towns over 10,000	Ansonia Asbury Park Beacon Bethel Bethlehem Township, PA Brookfield Coolbaugh Township Darien Derby Dover Dumont East Stroudsburg Edgewater Elmwood Park Emmaus, PA Fairview Franklin Lakes Freehold Borough Glen Rock Guildford Guttenberg Harrison, NJ Harrison, NY Hasbrouck Heights Hazlet Hillsdale Holmdel Kingston Linden Little Ferry Lodi Lyndhurst Madison Monroe Morristown New Canaan New Fairfield New Milford North Arlington North Branford North Haven Northampton, PA Oakland Orange Palisades Park Phillipsburg Plymouth Peekskill Ramsey Red Bank Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield, NJ Ridgefield Park Ridgewood Rutherford Rye Saddle Brook Scarsdale Secaucus Seymour Somerville Southbury Stroud Township Summit Tenafly Upper Macungie Township Wallington Watertown, CT West Milford West New York Weston Westwood Wilton Winchester Wolcott Wyckoff
Regions	Catskills Central Jersey Greater Danbury Greater New Haven Greater Waterbury Hudson Valley Lehigh Valley Litchfield Hills Long Island North Jersey Poconos Skylands Region Southwestern Connecticut