The Village of East Hampton is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in
Suffolk County, New York. It is located in the
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
of
East Hampton on the
South Fork of eastern
Long Island. The population was 1,083 at the time of the
2010 census, 251 less than in the year 2000. It is a center of the summer resort and upscale locality at the East End of Long Island known as
The Hamptons
The Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...
and is generally considered one of the area's two most prestigious communities.
History
17th century
The village of Easthampton was founded in 1648 by
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...
farmers who worshiped as
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
s. The community was based on farming, with some fishing and whaling. Whales that washed up on the beach were butchered, and whales were hunted offshore with rowboats sometimes manned by
Montauk Indians. The lack of a good harbor in East Hampton, however, resulted in
Sag Harbor
Sag Harbor is an incorporated village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on eastern Long Island. The village developed as a working port on Gardiner's Bay. The population was 2,772 at the 2 ...
becoming a whaling center which sent ships to the Pacific.
The land had been purchased in 1648 by the governors of
Connecticut Colony and
New Haven Colony
The New Haven Colony was a small English colony in North America from 1638 to 1664 primarily in parts of what is now the state of Connecticut, but also with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.
The history of ...
from the Montauk Indians, in large part for small drills to make
wampum
Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nor ...
, their traditional industry; hunting and fishing rights were retained. It was then sold for about £30 to settlers, some from
Lynn and
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
, who had not found room for their herds in
Massachusetts Bay Colony. The original name for the village was
Maidstone
Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it wi ...
, from a village in Kent where some of the settlers may have originated. Each original settler was allotted a village lot of several acres and rights in common to surrounding lands which were regulated by the town government. The area was transferred to the jurisdiction of New York in 1664.
[Pages 77–97 of ''Imagining the Past: East Hampton Histories'' by T.H. Breen, Addison-Wesley (1989), hardcover, 306 pages ]
In large part, early settlers in East Hampton were unacquainted with one another. A great deal of jockeying for position resulted, which took the form of legal proceedings conducted by the town government. Summaries of these proceedings were recorded by the town clerk and form the major resource for historians studying East Hampton during the 17th Century; there are few other written records such as diaries.
The witchcraft accusation against
Elizabeth Garlick began in East Hampton.
19th century
![Winslow Homer - East Hampton Beach, Long Island (1874)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Winslow_Homer_-_East_Hampton_Beach%2C_Long_Island_%281874%29.jpg)
In the late 19th century, after extension of the railway to
Bridgehampton in 1870 by predecessors of the
Long Island Rail Road, visitors began to summer, at first in boarding houses
on Main Street, then in "cottages," which sometimes were substantial estates, built on former farms and pastures in the village.
Shingle style architecture was popular from the 1880s. By the early 1890s the prices being commanded for cottage sites, as high as $10 thousand an acre, were the object of comment by the editors of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''.
The
Montauk Branch
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. Howe ...
of the railroad was extended through
East Hampton to
Montauk in 1895.
20th century
It was during the 1910s and 20s
that most luxury estates were built by the very wealthy, mostly in the Eastern Plain, a previously undeveloped agricultural area.
The privately circulated ''Blue Book of the Hamptons'' informed, and continues to inform,
fashionable residents as to who is who.
The Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
resulted in a lull, but full-scale building of cottages resumed in the 1950s and some of the large estates began to be broken up. By 1968 the exclusive character of the "Summer Colony" had become so diluted by the merely rich that the column of that name in ''
The East Hampton Star
''The East Hampton Star'' is a weekly, privately owned newspaper published each Thursday in East Hampton, New York. It is one of the few independent, family-owned newspapers still existing in the United States. The owners live in East Hampton Tow ...
'' was discontinued.
The quaint windmills and other sights were favored by artists and art students from the 1890s.
It became an
artists' colony
An art colony, also known as an artists' colony, can be defined two ways. Its most liberal description refers to the organic congregation of Artist, artists in towns, villages and rural areas, often drawn by areas of natural beauty, the prior exi ...
in the mid-20th century, popularized by the
Abstract Expressionists
Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...
.
21st century
As of the 21st century the Hamptons are a fashionable,
if crowded
and expensive,
weekend destination during the summer season. According to
Sotheby's International Realty
Sotheby’s International Realty is a luxury real estate brand founded in 1976 by Sotheby's fine art dealers. Sotheby's International Realty operates as a franchise focusing on brokering and marketing of residential real estate.
As of 2018, the ...
:
History and surviving historic sites are detailed in "Village of East Hampton Multiple Area", a New York State study.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...
, the village has a total area of , of which are land, while , or 2.82% of the total area, is water.
The village gained some territory and lost some territory between the 1990 census and the 2000 census.
The neighborhood near
Georgica Pond
Georgica Pond is a coastal lagoon on the west border of East Hampton Village and Wainscott, New York, and was the site of a Summer White House of Bill Clinton in 1998 and 1999.
The lagoon is separated by a sandbar and is managed by the East ...
, a tidal pond on the west side of the village is notable for its fashionable residences and high-profile residents.
Demographics
As of the census
of 2000, there were 1,334 people, 635 households, and 337 families residing in the village. The population density was 280.3 people per square mile (108.2/km
2). There were 1,745 housing units at an average density of 366.7 per square mile (141.5/km
2). The racial makeup of the village was 93.10%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...
, 1.42%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
or
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.15%
Native American, 1.87%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, 1.87% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 1.57% from two or more races.
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...
or
Latino
Latino or Latinos most often refers to:
* Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America
* Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States
* The people or cultures of Latin America;
** Latin A ...
of any race were 8.92% of the population.
There were 635 households, out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 14.4% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $56,607, and the median income for a family was $62,500. Males had a median income of $41,181 versus $37,083 for females. The per capita income for the village was $51,316. About 5.5% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or older.
Beaches
Parking access to the Atlantic Ocean beaches within the village of East Hampton is severely restricted from May 1 to September 30. In 2006 there were only 2,600 permits available for non-residents with a charge of $250. Residents can always get parking permits.
East Hampton's beaches are highly regarded because of their clean white sands, the fact they're relatively accessible and because there is minimal development along the beach, which is strictly residential. Parking space at the village beaches is limited, which prevents crowding. Parking is prohibited on neighboring streets. There is no law that restricts people from accessing the beaches via bike, foot or being dropped off.
The beaches of East Hampton Village (from west to east):
*Georgica – This beach adjoining
Georgica Pond
Georgica Pond is a coastal lagoon on the west border of East Hampton Village and Wainscott, New York, and was the site of a Summer White House of Bill Clinton in 1998 and 1999.
The lagoon is separated by a sandbar and is managed by the East ...
is popular with
surfers
Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...
because of currents around its controversial
groyne
A groyne (in the U.S. groin) is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concre ...
s. The beach has bathroom facilities.
*Main Beach – The beach is the only one with a pavilion where one can get food; it also has a limited number of lockers available to residents.
*Wiborg Beach – Has a parking lot, and is right next to Maidstone Club. It does not have a lifeguard.
*Egypt Lane Beach – This beach is sometimes incorrectly called Maidstone Beach because of its close proximity to the headquarters of the
Maidstone Golf Club. The true Maidstone Beach is on the bay outside the village in the town of East Hampton. Main, Wiborg and Egypt Lane are immediately next to the Maidstone Golf Club.
*Two Mile Hollow – This beach has the second-largest parking lot of the village beaches.
Regulations
The size of homes that can be built in East Hampton is regulated. The point is to ensure that new construction is more or less compatible with size of the lot it is constructed on and the neighborhood it is located in.
Law enforcement
Law enforcement in East Hampton is the responsibility of the East Hampton Village Police Department, chosen in 2009 for New York State accredited status. The department is located within the town of
East Hampton, in
Suffolk County. It is headed by
Chief of Police
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the b ...
Mike Tracey, and staffed by 24 full-time officers, three part -time officers, 17 public safety dispatchers, two full time and 17 part – time paramedics.
[NYS Criminal Justice Services](_blank)
The department has both a uniformed and detective division.
The police department building is part of the Municipal Emergency Building, located at One Cedar Street in East Hampton.
Schools
* East Hampton Union Free School District
* East Hampton High School
References
External links
Village of East Hampton official websiteLadies' Village Improvement SocietyEast Hampton Star newspaperEast Hampton LibraryEast Hampton Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:East Hampton (Village), New York
Villages in New York (state)
Populated places established in 1648
Villages in Suffolk County, New York
Populated coastal places in New York (state)
1648 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
Connecticut Colony establishments on Long Island
Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York