Southold, New York
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Town of Southold is in Suffolk County, New York, USA. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 20,599 at the 2000 census. The town also contains a hamlet named Southold, which was settled in 1640.
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[edit] History
Southold is believed to be a phonetic spelling of Southwold, a coastal town in Suffolk, England. The town was founded in 1640 and is the oldest English-speaking town in New York State. In 1650 the population was about 180, growing to 880 by 1698. The harbor at Greenport was important in trade, fishing, and whaling because it rarely froze over. The history of the village of Southold is the history of its church, which still exists today. Remarkable stories surround the institution, which is said to have held midnight black masses for years, in which locals who were considered impure were sacrificed to feed the great and mighty spirits that they felt aided their harbor's prosperity. Local Iroquois tribes routinely raided these masses, for they understand the grave consequences of tampering with the spirit world in such a bold manner. During an attack on Walpurgis Night in 1726, town mayor Jonathan Tasslebottom was slain, prompting a violent retaliation by the town's inhabitants, an event rarely spoken of today.
In November 1994, the village of Greenport voted to abolish its police department and turn responsibility for law and order over to the Southold Town Police.
[edit] Geography
The town is at the northeastern end of Long Island, New York on a peninsula called the North Fork. The Long Island Sound separates the town from Connecticut. The eastern end of the town, near Orient Point, is north of the Town of Shelter Island, but the town is separated from the South Fork of Long Island by the Great Peconic Bay and the Little Peconic Bay. The western end of the town is the border of the Town of Riverhead. Officially, Robins Island, Plum Island, and Fishers Island are part of Southold township.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1,047.6 km² (404.5 mi²). 139.1 km² (53.7 mi²) of it is land and 908.5 km² (350.8 mi²) of it (86.72%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 20,599 people, 8,461 households, and 5,804 families residing in the town. The population density was 148.1/km² (383.5/mi²). There were 13,769 housing units at an average density of 99.0/km² (256.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.53% White, 2.91% Black or African American, 0.07% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.51% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.77% of the population.
There were 8,461 households out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.90.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $49,898, and the median income for a family was $61,108. Males had a median income of $46,334 versus $31,440 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,619. About 4.1% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Communities and locations
[edit] Villages (incorporated)
- Greenport, near the easternmost tip of the mainland.
[edit] Hamlets (unincorporated)
- Cutchogue, in the western part of the town, originally a farming village
- East Marion, in the eastern part of the town
- Fishers Island, a hamlet located on Fishers Island
- Laurel, by the western town line
- Mattituck, in the western part of the town, settled in 1680
- New Suffolk, in the southwest part of the town
- Orient, near the eastern tip of the mainland
- Peconic, in the central part of the town, southwest of Southold village
- Southold, the hamlet of Southold, settled in 1661.
[edit] Other census designated places (CDPs)
[edit] Other communities
- Arshamonaque, between Greenport and Southold village
- Bay View, on Great Hog Neck
- Beixedon Estates
- Cove, The
- Cutchogue Station, north of Cutchogue
- East Cutchogue, located east of Cutchogue
- Eastwind Shores
- Laughing Waters, near Great Hog Neck
- Nassau Farms
- Nassau Point, on Little Hog Neck
- Orient Point, at the eastern tip of the mainland
- Reydon Shores, on Great Hog Neck
- Stirling, north of Greenport
- Waterville, north of Matttituck
[edit] Islands
- Fishers Island, in the eastern end of the Long Island Sound
- Great Gull Island, (uninhabited) located east of Plum Island and west of Fisher's Island
- Little Gull Island, (uninhabited) located east of Great Gull Island
- Plum Island, a restricted research facility east of Orient Point
- Robins Island, in the Great Peconic Bay
[edit] Geographic features
- Great Hog Neck, a peninsula into Little Peconic Bay
- Little Hog Neck, a peninsula into Peconic Bay
- Long Beach Bay, a bay near Orient
- Orient Harbor, a bay in the eastern part of the town
- Orient Point, the easternmost tip of the mainland of the north fork of Long Island
[edit] State Parks
- Orient Beach State Park, a state park on Orient Point
[edit] Transportation
- Cross Sound Ferry Orient to New London, CT
- North Ferry, Greenport to Shelter Island
- South Ferry, Shelter Island to North Haven
- Long Island Rail Road, to New York City
- Mattituck Airport, general aviation
- Hampton Jitney coach bus
- Suffolk County Transit public buses
[edit] External links
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Municipalities of Suffolk County, New York |
|---|---|
| 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 · Nissequogue · North Haven · Northport · Ocean Beach · Old Field · Patchogue · Poquott · Port Jefferson · Quogue · Sagaponack · Sag Harbor · Saltaire · Shoreham · Southampton · Village of the Branch · Westhampton · West Hampton Dunes |
| Town of Southold, New York | |||||||||
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