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For the smaller hamlet and CDP known as "Brookhaven," see Brookhaven (CDP), New York.
The Town of Brookhaven is located in central Suffolk County, New York, USA, and stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long Island. The population was 448,248 at the 2000 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1,376.6 km² (531.5 mi²). 671.6 km² (259.3 mi²) of it is land and 705.1 km² (272.2 mi²) of it (51.22%) is water. It is the largest town in New York in terms of total area.

It has coastline on both the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound. Riverhead and Southampton lie to the east, and Smithtown and Islip lie to the west.

A large part of Fire Island and the Great South Bay are in the town.

It has a large hill, known as "Bald Hill", in the hamlet of Farmingville, which marks where the glacier which formed Long Island stopped. At the top of Bald Hill is a Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The current Town Supervisor is Brian X. Foley, a Democrat who was elected in 2005, putting to end longtime Republican control of the town.

History

The first known inhabitants were Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, of the Setauket and Unkechaug tribes. The first English settlers arrived in 1655 and purchased land from the inhabitants. Early English settlers farmed, fished, and hunted whales.

The letter "D" on the official seal is a cattle branding letter assigned to Brookhaven in the mid-1600s, along with whaling spears.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 448,248 people, 146,828 households, and 112,910 families residing in the town. The population density was 667.5/km² (1,728.8/mi²). There were 155,406 housing units at an average density of 231.4/km² (599.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.43% White, 4.33% Black or African American, 0.23% Native American, 2.90% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.21% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.04% of the population.

There were 146,828 households out of which 38.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.1% were non-families. 17.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.37.

In the town the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $62,475, and the median income for a family was $69,358. Males had a median income of $48,601 versus $32,157 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,191. About 3.9% of families and 5.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.5% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations

Villages (incorporated)

Brookhaven has eight villages:
  1. Belle Terre
  2. Bellport
  3. Lake Grove
  4. Old Field
  5. Patchogue
  6. Poquott
  7. Port Jefferson
  8. Shoreham

Hamlets (unincorporated)

Brookhaven includes all or part of 52 hamlets. One of those hamlets is also named Brookhaven.
  1. Blue Point
  2. Brookhaven
  3. Calverton (part; shared with the Town of Riverhead)
  4. Canaan Lake
  5. Center Moriches
  6. Centereach
  7. Cherry Grove
  8. Coram
  9. Crystal Brook
  10. Cupsogue Beach
  11. Davis Park
  12. East Moriches
  13. East Patchogue
  14. East Setauket
  15. East Shoreham
  16. Eastport (part; shared with the Town of Southampton)
  17. Farmingville
  18. Fire Island Pines
  19. Gordon Heights
  20. Hagerman
  21. Holbrook (part; shared with the Town of Islip)
  22. Holtsville (part; shared with the Town of Islip)
  23. Lake Ronkonkoma (part; shared with the Town of Islip)
  24. Manorville
  25. Mastic
  26. Mastic Beach
  27. Medford
  28. Middle Island
  29. Miller Place
  30. Moriches
  31. Mount Sinai
  32. North Bellport
  33. North Patchogue
  34. Ocean Bay Park
  35. Point of Woods
  36. Port Jefferson Station
  37. Ridge
  38. Rocky Point
  39. Ronkonkoma (part; shared with the Town of Islip)
  40. Selden
  41. Setauket
  42. Shirley
  43. Sound Beach
  44. South Haven
  45. Stony Brook
  46. Strongs Neck
  47. Terryville
  48. Upton
  49. Wading River (part; shared with the Town of Riverhead)
  50. Water Island
  51. West Manor
  52. Yaphank

External links

Suffolk County, New York | Towns in New York

Brookhaven, New York

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Brookhaven, New York".

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