Hampton Bays is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

(CDP) in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, in New York. It is considered as part of the region of Long Island known as

The Hamptons The Hamptons, part of the East End (Long Island), East End of Long Island, consist of the town (New York), towns of Southampton (town), New York, Southampton and East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, which together compose the South Fork ...

. The population was 13,603 at the 2010 census.

History

The hamlet was settled in 1740 as "Good Ground", which became the main hamlet of eleven in the immediate area. The area where Main Street, also known as

Montauk Highway Montauk Highway is an east–west road extending for across the southern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It extends from the Amityville, New York, Amityville–Copiague, New York, Copiague line, where ...

, is located today, was the approximate area of the original hamlet. There were ten other hamlets in the area. They were called Canoe Place, East Tiana, Newtown, Ponquogue, Rampasture, Red Creek, Squiretown, Southport, Springville, and West Tiana. Most of these hamlets were settled by one or two families and had their own school house. Many of the names from the former hamlets are still featured as local street names today. As a result of the growth of the surrounding hamlets and villages in the Hamptons and increased tourism from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, the eleven hamlets, although generally called "Good Ground" collectively by the early part of the 20th century, amalgamated under the name "Hampton Bays" in 1922. The motive behind the name change was for the hamlet to benefit from the "Hamptons" trade that the community's neighbors were experiencing. In the early 1970s and the 2010s, portions of Hampton Bays unsuccessfully attempted to incorporate itself as the Incorporated Village of Hampton Bays.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 28.54%, is water. The hamlet is surrounded by three bays, the

Peconic Bay The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays (Great Peconic Bay and Little Peconic Bay) between the North Fork, Suffolk County, New York, North Fork and South Fork, Suffolk County, New York, South Fork of Long Island in Suffolk County, New Yor ...

to the north, and Shinnecock and Tiana bays to the south. The two southern bays are a part of a greater bay system, called the Great South Bay system, which stretches from approximately Southampton Village to

Jamaica Bay Jamaica Bay (also known as Grassy Bay) is an estuary on the southern portion of the western tip of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The estuary is partially man-made, and partially natural. The bay connects with Lo ...

. The Shinnecock Canal, a man-made canal located in the eastern part of the hamlet, connects the Great Peconic Bay with the Shinnecock Bay. Shinnecock Inlet, which leads from the Shinnecock Bay to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

, is the easternmost inlet, making it very popular for commercial fishing. The inlet itself, which separates the barrier beaches of Hampton Bays from those of neighboring Southampton, was created in the

1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great Long Island - New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike the United States. The storm formed near th ...

when the forces of the hurricane washed over that area of barrier beach, connecting the waters of the Atlantic with the bay. The Hampton Bays CDP is bounded by the

to the south; by the Shinnecock Inlet and the eastern portion of Shinnecock Bay to the east, beyond which lie the village of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and the CDP of Shinnecock Hills; by

to the north, beyond which lie the towns of Southold and Riverhead; and by the CDPs of

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

and East Quogue (still within the town of Southampton) to the west. Hampton Bays is located approximately east of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 12,236 people, 4,877 households, and 3,092 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 6,875 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.87%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 3.69% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2% of the population. There were 4,877 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,161, and the median income for a family was $58,773. Males had a median income of $47,633 versus $30,426 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $27,027. About 6.7% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the

poverty threshold The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Like most of the other communities in The Hamptons,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is a critical component of the local economy. Commercial fishing remains a vital part of the Hampton Bays economy, centered on the fishing station at Shinnecock Inlet. After Montauk, Hampton Bays is the second-busiest commercial fishing port in the state of New York. According to 2014 statistics by the National Marine Fisheries Service, 4.7 million pounds of finfish and shellfish, worth $5.5 million, were landed in the Hampton Bays/Shinnecock port. Hampton Bays was used as the set of the 2007 movie '' Margot at the Wedding'' starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

and

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

Education

Hampton Bays is served by Hampton Bays Public Schools. The district operates three schools. Hampton Bays Elementary School serves grades Pre-K-4, and Hampton Bays Middle School, which fully opened in Fall 2008, serves grades 5-8. It is the first "green" school in New York state. Hampton Bays High School serves grades 9-12. HB Schools' athletic teams are called the "Baymen", in honor of local commercial fishermen who work the hamlet's inland waters. Team colors are purple, black and white.

Media

WLIR-FM is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

licensed to serve Hampton Bays.

Transportation

Hampton Bays is served by Sunrise Highway (NY 27), which is a major artery to the western parts of

and

. The hamlet is also served by

( NY 27A), which runs from

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

to Montauk. Montauk Highway serves as the "Main Street" of many hamlets and villages along the south shore of Long Island. The

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

(LIRR) provides limited rail service seven days per week via 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 line runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City to Montauk. However, in LIRR maps and sche ...

connecting Hampton Bays to Montauk and

. Hampton Jitney and Hampton Luxury Liner coach bus services provide slightly more frequent passenger travel between New York City and Hampton Bays, especially during summer months. Local Suffolk County buses also provide service to neighboring areas. The waterways in the area, including the Shinnecock Canal, provide invaluable routes for boats.

References

External links

Hampton Bays Public Library

Hampton Bays Public Schools
{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)