Oyster Bay (hamlet), New York
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- This article refers to the hamlet. For the town in Nassau County, New York, see Town of Oyster Bay, New York.
| Oyster Bay, New York | |
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  Oyster Bay, New York
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Nassau |
| Area | |
| - Total | 1.6 sq mi (4.2 km²) |
| - Land | 1.2 sq mi (3.2 km²) |
| - Water | 0.4 sq mi (1.0 km²) |
| Elevation | 180 ft (55 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Total | 6,826 |
| - Density | 5,554.1/sq mi (2,142.7/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 11771 |
| Area code(s) | 516 |
| FIPS code | |
| GNIS feature ID | |
Oyster Bay is the name of a hamlet and census-designated place on the North Shore of Long Island in Nassau County in the state of New York, USA. The hamlet is also the site of a station on the Long Island Rail Road and the eastern termination point of that branch of the railroad.
The community is within the Town of Oyster Bay, New York, a town which contains 18 villages and 18 hamlets.
The hamlet's area was considerably larger before several of its parts incorporated as villages. At least six of the 36 villages and hamlets of the Town of Oyster Bay have shores on Oyster Bay Harbor and its inlets, and many of these were previously considered part of the hamlet of Oyster Bay.
The Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District was created on July 1, 1960 by the action of the voters in the former Oyster Bay and East Norwich School Districts. The district's 13.1 square mile (34 km²) boundaries include the hamlets of Oyster Bay and East Norwich and the incorporated villages of Centre Island, Oyster Bay Cove, Cove Neck, and portions of Mill Neck, Muttontown, Laurel Hollow, and Upper Brookville. There are three schools currently in the district Roosevelt Elementary School (Grades K-2), James H. Vernon Middle School (Grades 3-6), and Oyster Bay High School (Grades 7-12).
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[edit] History
Oyster Bay was discovered by the Dutch, and was the boundary between the Dutch New Amsterdam colony and the English New England Colonies. The English, under Peter Wright, first settled in the area in 1653. The boundary between the Dutch and English was somewhat fluid which led each group having their own Main Street.
During the Revolutionary War, Raynham Hall was owned by the patriot Townsend family. For a six-month period from 1778 to 1779, the Townsend home served as British headquarters for the Queen's Rangers led by Lt. Col. John Graves Simcoe. Simcoe was often visited by British officer Major John Andre. According to legend, on one of these visits Samuel's daughter Sally overheard the two officers discussing Benedict Arnold's traitorous plot to surrender the fort at West Point to the British.
In the 1880s, the LIRR extended rail service from Locust Valley as a means to establish a connection to Boston. On June 21, 1889, the first LIRR train arrived in Oyster Bay. In the following year, service commenced with the train coaches being loaded onto a ferry for a connection to the New Haven Railroad at Norwalk, CT. Service lasted less than a year. Pictures
The oysters that give the bay its name are now the only source of traditionally farmed oysters from Long Island, providing up to 90% of all the oysters harvested in New York State.
[edit] Geography
Oyster Bay is located at (40.867105, -73.532038)[1].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.2 km²), of which, 1.2 square miles (3.2 km²) of it is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km²) of it (23.60%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 6,826 people, 2,815 households, and 1,731 families residing in the area. The population density was 5,554.1 per square mile (2,142.7/km²). There were 2,898 housing units at an average density of 2,358.0/sq mi (909.7/km²). The racial makeup of the community was 90.51% White, 3.16% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.76% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.17% from other races, and 2.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 12.25% of the population.
There were 2,815 households out of which 26.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 9.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.5% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the area the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 23.8% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the area was $57,993, and the median income for a family was $73,500. Males had a median income of $51,968 versus $41,926 for females. The per capita income for the area was $34,730. About 3.3% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.5% of those under age 18 and 12.1% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Notable past residents
Oyster Bay is known for the residence and summer White House of Theodore Roosevelt, Sagamore Hill (though that residence is in a nearby area known since 1927 as the Village of Cove Neck).
Many well known United States entertainers spent their youth in this area; among its best known former residents are musician Billy Joel, tennis player John McEnroe, actress Heather Matarazzo, authors Thomas Pynchon and Tracy Kidder, basketball coach Rick Pitino, and Sonic Youth guitarist Lee Ranaldo (Matarazzo, Pynchon and Ranaldo attended Oyster Bay High School). A less distinguished figure from the hamlet's past is Typhoid Mary, whose contagiousness was discovered following an investigation into her employment at a summer home in Oyster Bay in 1906. A famous current resident is composer John Barry.
[edit] Points of interest
- Theodore Roosevelt the 26th President of the United States is buried in Oyster Bay at Youngs Hill Cemetery
- Planting Fields Arboretum, a 400 acre (1.6 km²) arboretum and botanical garden including Coe Hall near Oyster Bay.
- Sagamore Hill, the historic home of Theodore Roosevelt, who was the President of the United States.
- Raynham Hall Museum, home of the Samuel Townsend family and a British headquarters during the American Revolution. Townshend was a member of the Culper Spy Ring.
- Waterfront Center a non profit center for Marine Education and Recreation offering sailing lessongs and environmental education programs. It also owns the Sloop Christeen which it uses for sails around the harbor.
- Matinecock Lodge Temple and Matinecock Historical Society Building on West Main Street. Theodore Roosevelt and Quentin Roosevelt Jr. were both members of Matinecock Lodge, No. 806. The original Lodge building burned down in October of 2003 and has since been re-built through the efforts of the members of the Lodge and the citizens of Oyster Bay and the surrounding community.
- Beekman Beach
- Sagamore Rowing Association
[edit] Education
Oyster Bay-East Norwich Central School District serves the hamlet.
Oyster Bay High School, within the hamlet, is the sole public high school.
St Dominic Highschool
[edit] References
- ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Oyster Bay Historical Society
- Newsday article on Oyster Bay hamlet
- Newsday article on Town of Oyster Bay
- Oyster Bay roots
- Oyster Bay - East Norwich Central School District
- Enterprise Pilot - Local Oyster Bay Newspaper
- Oyster Bay (hamlet), New York is at coordinates Coordinates:
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