Springs, New York

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jackson Pollock gets the big stone while his wife Lee Krasner gets the small one in Green River Cemetery in Springs

Springs is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the hamlet population was 4,950. Springs, along with the rest of East Hampton, boasts some of the world's most valuable residential real estate.

Springs is in the Town of East Hampton.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Landmarks
4 Demographics
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Springs is located at 41°1′31″N, 72°9′31″W (41.025238, -72.158499)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the hamlet has a total area of 23.9 km² (9.2 mi²). 21.9 km² (8.5 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (8.24%) is water.

[edit] History

Springs is known in art circles as the cradle of the absract expressionist art movement, including the base of operations for artists such as Jackson Pollock, Willem DeKooning, and Randy Rosenthal. Many important writers live or have lived in or near Springs including Kurt Vonnegut, Joseph Heller, Philip Roth, Nora Ephron, John Steinbeck, and many others.

Artists were attracted to Springs because of its rural nature, despite being within 100 miles of New York City, and because housing prices "north of the Montauk Highway" on the bay side of the East Hampton peninsula have traditionally been lower than those closer to the Atlantic Ocean.

This has created a blue collar atmosphere of support people for the mansions closer to the ocean. Locals are referred to as "Bonackers" which comes from Accabonac Harbor in Springs. East Hampton High School has adopted the Bonacker name for its sports teams. No other school uses the nickname.

The main roads connecting Springs to East Hampton are Springs-Fireplace Road which is sometimes just referred to as Fireplace Road, and Three Mile Harbor Road. Jackson Pollock died in a car crash on Springs-Fireplace Road in 1956.

Pollock and his wife Lee Krasner are buried in Green River Cemetery. Pollock's grave is marked by a large glacial erratic stone on top of a hill, Krasner's by a small stone lower on the hill. Since Pollock's burial numerous other writers and artists have been buried in the cemetery joining the locals.

The Pollock-Krasner House on Fireplace Road is owned by State University of New York at Stony Brook and is open for tours by appointment. It includes an external studio shed where dried paint from Pollock's projects is splattered on the floor and evokes Pollock's most famous works. The neighborhood around it is a historic district in the National Register of Historic Places.

Fireplace Road gets its name from fireplaces at its terminus that were used to signal the residents of Gardiners Island that supplies were ready to be picked up.

Springs derives its name from a spring that fed a small creek going into the harbor.

[edit] Landmarks

Green River Cemetery
Pollock-Krasner House
Ashawagh Hall
Charles Parsons Blacksmith Building
Springs General Store
Pussy's Pond Park
Barnes's Country Store

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 4,950 people, 1,924 households, and 1,252 families residing in the hamlet, although the actual population may be closer to 10,000. The population density was 225.9/km² (584.8/mi²). There were 3,878 housing units at an average density of 177.0/km² (458.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the hamlet was 89.82% White, 1.47% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.86% from other races, and 3.17% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 16.24% of the population.

There were 1,924 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.9% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the hamlet the population was spread out with 22.3% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 26.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males.

The median income for a household in the hamlet was $57,038, and the median income for a family was $66,607. Males had a median income of $42,500 versus $32,107 for females. The per capita income for the hamlet was $29,910. About 6.7% of families and 8.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.