The Swan River is in Suffolk County on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, New York. It flows into Swan Lake from the north, and then south out of the lake into the mouth of

Patchogue Bay Patchogue Bay is a lagoon on the south-central shores of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. Part of the Great South Bay, Patchogue Bay is a cove between the points of land known as Blue Point and Howells Point, and across which ferrie ...

, which then becomes the

Great South Bay The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Is ...

. Originally, the headwaters reached as far north as

Medford, New York Medford is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 24,142 at the 2010 census. History The Long Island Rail Road established the Me ...

, near the vicinity of the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system 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 Co ...

Medford station Medford is a train station, station in the hamlet of Medford, New York on the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line (Greenport Branch) of the Long Island Rail Road. Medford is located on New York State Route 112 between Peconic Avenue and L ...

.Western Suffolk County; 1941 Map (Cities Services)
/ref> Swan River is a relatively clean, cold, free flowing, freshwater stream, generally less than 15 feet wide, with a sandy substrate. This segment of the river flows through much undeveloped forested wetland, but has also been encroached upon by residential development, road construction, and a commercial sand mining operation. Below

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 Nassau County line in Amityville, where it connects to Merrick Road, to Montauk ...

, the river is tidal, and is bordered by undeveloped

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and limited development of boat docking facilities. The fish and wildlife habitat encompasses the entire river, including an approximate one and one-half mile tidal segment, and an approximate two and one-half mile freshwater segment, which extends from Swan Lake, above Montauk Highway, to the headwaters of the stream, above Swan Lake, flowing southward into Patchogue Bay. Swan River is one of only a few free-flowing, spring-fed streams on Long Island that have remained in a relatively natural state. Above Swan Lake, this creek provides habitat conditions suitable for natural reproduction by brook trout, and supports one of approximately 6 known wild populations of this species on Long Island. In addition to native fish populations in Swan River, concentrations of sea-run brown trout occur in the tidal segment below Montauk Highway, during their fall spawning period (September–November). The concentrations of salmonids in Swan River support a recreational

fishery Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life; or more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a. fishing ground). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farms, both ...

of county-level significance. However, no formal public access to the area has been developed. No unusual concentrations of any

wildlife Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...

species are known to occur in the area. A few local marinas and untouched wild life are spread throughout its almost 2 mile run There are residential homes spread throughout the river's edge.

History

From the 17th century onward, Patchogue was a major maritime center on the south shore. Settled initially by Native Americans, this center was favored by

English colonists The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of North America from the early 17th century until the incorporation of the Thirteen Colonies into the United States after the American Revolutionary War, ...

who traveled from New England to Long Island in the late 17th century, working the bay to harvest shellfish and

finfish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of liv ...

. Notable bay families included the Duffys, Flints, Weeks and other families, who purchased property near the creeks in order to dock their boats. They built shacks that were used as shucking houses, one of which remains on Avery Avenue. Their homes still remain as reminders of this rich tradition, primarily in East Patchogue along Swan River Creek on Conklin Avenue. In the 21st century, not as many

baymen The Baymen were the earliest European settlers along the Bay of Honduras in what eventually became the colony of British Honduras (modern-day Belize). Settlement The first Baymen settled in the Belize City area in the 1630s. They were buccane ...

still work the waters of Swan River, Patchogue and the Great South Bay.

References

Swan River Site Information

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071110224446/http://www.exploreli.com/entertainment/localguide/south-shore-suffolk/50489,0,5459395.venue Explore Long Island: Morgan's Swan River Marina (Newsday.com) {{coord missing, New York (state) Rivers of Suffolk County, New York Brookhaven, New York

History

See also

References

External links