Port Jefferson, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson is located in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 census, the village population was 7,837. The downtown section of the village by the water is always alive every summer weekend with people crowding the sidewalks.
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[edit] Geography
Port Jefferson is located at (40.946103, -73.062224)GR1, on the North Shore of Long Island, about 56 miles east of New York City. A ferry company operates three vessels that make daily runs from Port Jefferson across Long Island Sound to Bridgeport, Connecticut.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 7.9 km² (3.0 mi²). 7.8 km² (3.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.98%) is water.
Port Jefferson is not to be confused with the Hamlet of Port Jefferson Station south of the train tracks.
[edit] History
Port Jefferson at one time was a small ship building community, with the name Drowned Meadow. The community leaders, realizing this was a poor name for the ship building business, eventually changed its name to Port Jefferson after President Thomas Jefferson. The town was once a major whaling port, especially in the 1880's.
The Village was named after Jefferson because he was the major source of funding for a project to prevent the flooding of the lower village from whence the original name originated -- drowned meadow.
P.T. Barnum, the famous circus owner, owned a tract of land which ran through the village. His intention was to make Port Jefferson the home base for his circus. The townspeople put a stop to his plans, and he eventually sold his land. A road named "Barnum Ave." now runs though the area that was once his land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 7,837 people, 2,985 households, and 1,982 families residing in the village. The population density was 998.6/km² (2,587.2/mi²). There were 3,074 housing units at an average density of 391.7/km² (1,014.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 91.97% White, 1.67% African American, 0.04% Native American, 3.33% Asian, 1.70% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.21% of the population.
There were 2,985 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the village the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $65,119, and the median income for a family was $83,981. Males had a median income of $57,125 versus $41,936 for females. The per capita income for the village was $33,852. About 3.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] External links
- Official village site
- Port Jefferson guide
- The original Port Jefferson guide
- The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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