Copiague, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Copiague (pronounced /KOH payg/) is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 21,922 at the 2000 census. Once predominantly Italian-American, today Copiague is home to a large Polish-American population. In addition there is a large number of Hispanic residents. In recent years, the Danish population of Copiague has risen greatly as well.
Copiague is a community in the Town of Babylon.
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[edit] History and Facts
- Original settlers Zebulon Ketcham, Nehemiah Heartte and Abraham Wanzer, were first attracted to Copiague and the surrounding areas by its proximity to the Great South Bay, and easy access to the Atlantic Ocean, As well as for its natural harbors. Like many early towns on Long Island, much of the land was used for farming and they built mills for processing grain.
- George Washington once dined at Zebulon Ketcham's Inn during his 1790 tour of Long Island. The inn was located where Deauville Boulevard meets Montauk Highway (27A). A plaque sits there now comemorating the event.
- Despite common misconceptions, Zebulon Ketcham is in fact not a fictitious being who bears a name that mixes the frontier explorer Zebulon Pike with the popular cartoon character Ash Ketcham, but is truly a Long Islander seeped in local heritage and history.
- Nehemiah Heartte and Abraham Wanzer's participation in the founding of Copiague has never been validated as true. There is debate over the fact that some local sources cite Heartte as a drunkard soldier while others as a respected frontiersman and colleague of Ketcham, and neither source can be proved or disapproved by authentification. Abraham Wanzer likewise has also been up in the air because he could be in fact Ketcham's two hounds, mistranslated from Abrams and Wanzer, and not an actual person.
- The hamlet was known by several names throughout its history; Huntington South, East Amityville, and Great Neck (unrelated to present day Great Neck) until 1895 when it was officially named Copiague.
- The name "Copiague" comes from the Merrick Indian word meaning "Sheltered Harbor"
- In 1900 the first railroad was run through Copiague and its neighboring areas, followed by a Post Office in 1903.
- In 1906, John Campagnoli, of whom there is a street in town named after him, purchased a large area of land north of where the railroad tracks presently lie. Campagnoli, a good friend of Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi, dubbed his partition "Marconiville" and built a hotel in his name as well. However, Marconi never became a permanent resident of the area, and the hotel burned to the ground in 1925, of which the original gate still remains on Great Neck Road.
- Copiague is most famous for its championship marching band the Copiague High School Marching Band, uniquely comprised of but not limited to euphoniums, glockenspiels, bagpipes, a full string quartet, and a tambourine maraca drumline.
[edit] Geography
Copiague is located at (40.674700, -73.393235).GR1 It is approximately 70 miles west of Montauk Point, 35 miles east of New York City. Copiague is bordered by Lindenhurst, Amityville, Copiague Harbor (not a separate entity, however), and the Great South Bay.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.5 km² (3.7 mi²). 8.3 km² (3.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (13.32%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 21,922 people, 7,210 households, and 5,342 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,653.3/km² (6,871.4/mi²). There were 7,415 housing units at an average density of 897.5/km² (2,324.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 82.00% White, 4.38% African American, 0.19% Native American, 1.74% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 8.48% from other races, and 3.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 20.48% of the population.
There were 7,210 households out of which 32.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.6% were married couples living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 19.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.03 and the average family size was 3.42.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 99.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,906, and the median income for a family was $65,369. Males had a median income of $40,563 versus $30,833 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $22,557. About 4.8% of families and 8.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
South of Merrick Road (or Montauk Highway), off of South Great Neck Road lies affluent neighborhood Copiague Harbor, a private community. Works have been done to make this neighborhood as originally intended, a gated upper-scale community. Copiague Harbor, is also known as Great South Bay Estates and the "Harbor" to other Copiague residents.
[edit] External links
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