Stony Brook is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
and
census-designated place
A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...
(CDP) 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 o ...
of
Brookhaven in
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populat ...
, United States, on the
North Shore of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
. Begun in the
colonial era as an agricultural enclave, the hamlet experienced growth first as a
resort town and then to its current state as one of Long Island's major
tourist towns and centers of education. Despite being referred to as 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 ...
by residents and tourists alike, Stony Brook has never been legally incorporated by the state. The population was 13,740 at the
2010 census.
The CDP is adjacent to the main campus of
Stony Brook University, the largest public university in New York by area, and also
The Stony Brook School, a private college preparatory school. It is also home to the
Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages and the
Stony Brook Village Center, a privately maintained commercial center planned in the style of a traditional
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
village.
History
Origins and early history
Stony Brook was first settled in the late 17th century. It was originally known by the native name Wopowog and then as Stony Brook, with both names likely referring to the interconnected bodies of water at the hamlet's western edge. It began as a
satellite community of adjacent
Setauket, New York, the
Town of Brookhaven's first settlement, and its land was included in the initial 1655 purchase from the native
Setalcott tribe.
A
gristmill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
was built in 1699 on the water body now known as the
Mill Pond. The current structure, which replaced the original in 1751, ground grain into the 1940s and has since been repurposed for public
tours
Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the prefecture of the department of Indre-et-Loire. The commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabitants as of 2018 while the population of the whole metro ...
. For religious services and education, the hamlet's original residents had to attend institutions in the neighboring communities of Setauket and
St. James. In the latter half of the
18th century, activity began to shift from the mill area north toward the
harbor as new residences, a number of which still stand, were constructed.
Stony Brook was a remote area through the 18th century aside for a modest amount of commerce near the mill at the intersection of Main Street and Harbor Road. The community's development was stalled by its poorly accessible harbor relative to nearby Setauket and
Port Jefferson. In the 1840s, local painter
William Sidney Mount led a call for the harbor's
dredging. This was completed twice, but after the harbor filled in both times the effort was abandoned. Lacking the resources of its neighboring harbor settlements, Stony Brook based its economy on agriculture and the
cordwood
Cordwood construction (also called cordwood masonry or cordwood building, alternatively stackwall or stovewood) is a term used for a natural building method in which short logs are piled crosswise to build a wall, using mortar or cob to perm ...
industry.
Growth
The
Long Island Rail Road reached Stony Brook in the 1870s, creating an easy link between New York City and the citizens of Stony Brook. Stony Brook quickly became a popular summer resort for city dwellers attempting to escape the hazards and stress of urban life. The establishment of the
Stony Brook Assembly in 1909 also helped to draw more residents to the local area. A number of these newcomers constructed houses and
cottages, many of which were either originally made for year-round use or have since been converted to such.
Nevertheless, the majority of residences were local farmers and businessmen who depended on all necessities being in easy reach. Most businesses were then on the compact plot that would become the contemporary village green. Unlike today, the shops in this area were utilitarian and haphazardly arranged.
The history of the unincorporated "village" is closely linked to that of
Ward Melville
John Ward Melville (January 5, 1887 – June 5, 1977) was an American philanthropist and businessman active in the "Three Villages" in western Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. He donated 400 acres of land and money to establish Stony Brook ...
, a local businessman who owned what would become the
CVS Corporation. At one point owned much of what his family coined as the ''Three Village'' area (consisting of Stony Brook, the hamlet of
Setauket, and the
incorporated village of
Old Field).
Beginning in 1939 with the creation of his Stony Brook Community Fund, Melville used his wealth to begin the transformation of part of the hamlet into his idea of an idyllic
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
village, the
Stony Brook Village Center, with white
clapboard buildings and quaint stores. The focus had been in the previous center of the village's commerce, which now consists of a village green and a crescent of stores embellished with stone walkways and seasonal gardening. To accomplish this, Melville moved many of the existing shops in the plot into the crescent and modified their details for consistency, a design model similar to that of
Colonial Williamsburg
Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location ...
. As a centerpiece to the crescent, Melville built the
Stony Brook Post Office, decorated by a large eagle that flaps its wings to mark each hour.
Modern development
Melville donated the land and funds to New York for establishing a branch of the
State University of New York in the area. This led what was then called the ''State University College on Long Island'', at the time in constrictive
Oyster Bay quarters, to relocate and change its name to
Stony Brook University. Melville also donated land and funds for the local school district. The
Three Village Central School District today serves several communities in the vicinity and has named its flagship
Ward Melville High School
Ward Melville High School is a public high school in the Three Village Central School District of Suffolk County, New York on Long Island, serving grades ten through twelve. It is fed by the two junior high schools in the district: Paul J ...
after the philanthropist.
Tourist attractions include the
Stony Brook Grist Mill
The Stony Brook Grist Mill is a Registered Historic Place property in Stony Brook, Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island ...
and the
Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages, a large complex of buildings originally known as the Stony Brook Carriage House and Suffolk Museum. Other Stony Brook attractions are the 19th-century
William Sidney Mount House
The William Sidney Mount House is a historic house at 1556 Stony Brook Road in Stony Brook, New York. Built in 1725 and enlarged in 1810, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 as the lifelong home of artist William Sidney Mount ...
, the
St. James Episcopal Chapel, and the
West Meadow Beach Historic District
West Meadow Beach Historic District is a peninsula of public parkland approximately 1.5 miles long and a former national historic district located in northwestern Stony Brook in Suffolk County, New York. The district through much of the 20th ...
.
Geography
Stony Brook is on the
North Shore of
Long Island
Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
, approximately east of the New York City borough of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. The census-designated place occupies an irregular shape measuring roughly north to south and east to west.
The historic core of Stony Brook was developed from the 17th century onward at the mouth of Stony Brook Harbor, a narrow inlet of the
Long Island Sound. This section of town includes the
Stony Brook Village Center, a planned commercial center in the style of New England clapboard architecture that opened in 1941. Nearby are the
Long Island Museum, the
Three Village Inn, and
William Sidney Mount House
The William Sidney Mount House is a historic house at 1556 Stony Brook Road in Stony Brook, New York. Built in 1725 and enlarged in 1810, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965 as the lifelong home of artist William Sidney Mount ...
. A
peninsula in this vicinity known as the
West Meadow includes a beach and wetlands reserve.
Stony Brook University is within and adjacent to the census-designated place, with its main campus less than from Stony Brook's historic center. It is primarily on the eastern side of the census-designated place, with a pedestrian entrance on
Route 25a at the
Stony Brook station of the
Long Island Rail Road and a vehicular entrance on
Nicolls Road. The local stretch of Route 25A contains shops and other commercial properties that cater to the university's student body.
The southern (inland) portion of Stony Brook primarily consists of post-war residential development. The
Stony Brook University Research and Development Park (in Stony Brook and adjacent St. James) occupies a buffer between this section and the university's central campus. Forming Stony Brook's official southern boundary is
Route 347, a corridor with commercial development including an
AMC Loews cinema within the CDP boundaries and the
Smith Haven Mall
Smith Haven Mall is a shopping mall located in Lake Grove, New York (with the western half of the mall in St. James), and is the main mall for the "Mid Island" area of Long Island. It is also the easternmost enclosed mall on Long Island, and t ...
nearby.
Education
Stony Brook is well known as the home and namesake of
The Stony Brook School, a prep school, and
Stony Brook University.
The hamlet is primarily located within the boundaries of (and is thus served by) the
Three Village Central School District.
However, a small section of the hamlet's southwestern extreme is located within the boundaries of (and is thus served by) the
Middle Country Central School District.
As such, children who reside within the hamlet and attend public schools go to school in one of these two districts, depending on where they reside within the hamlet.
Transportation
The
Stony Brook station of the
Long Island Rail Road's
Port Jefferson Branch is located within and serves the hamlet.
Commute time to
Penn Station Pennsylvania Station is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad to several of its grand passenger terminals.
Pennsylvania Station or Penn Station may also refer to
Current train stations
* Baltimore Penn Station
* Pennsylvania Station (Cinc ...
is approximately 1 hr 48 mins including a transfer in
Huntington,
Hicksville or
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
.
Demographics
As of the census
of 2010, there were 13,727 people, 4,758 households, and 3,787 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,390.5 per square mile (923.3/km
2). There were 4,970 housing units at an average density of 865.5/sq mi (334.3/km
2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.6%
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 ...
, 14.4% from two or more races, 7.5%
Asian, 4.4%
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 for ...
or
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
of any race, 1.7%
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 ...
, 0.25% from
other races, 0.1%
Native American, and 0.01%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
.
There were 4,758 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.23.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,009, and the median income for a family was $95,567. Males had a median income of $68,400 versus $41,770 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $35,247. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.
Local media
* SBU TV, Stony Brook University Television
* ''
Stony Brook Independent'', publication at Stony Brook University
* ''
Stony Brook Press
Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system ...
'', a newspaper at Stony Brook University.
* ''
The Statesman'', the oldest newspaper at Stony Brook University
*
''The Village Times Herald'', a newspaper in Setauket
*
WUSB (FM), Stony Brook University Radio at 90.1 FM
Notable people
*
Bud Abbott (1897–1974), comedian.
[ "Abbott, now 39, lives in Stony Brook, Long Island"]
*
Cody Arnoux, soccer player
*
Awkwafina, actress, rapper
*
Harold Beverage, inventor
*
George Booth, ''New Yorker'' cartoonist
*
Lars Brownworth, teacher and historian
*
Nathan Bruckenthal
Nathan B. "Nate" Bruckenthal (July 17, 1979April 24, 2004) was a United States Coast Guardsman who was killed in the Iraq War, becoming the first to die in wartime action since the Vietnam War. Bruckenthal and two U.S. Navy sailors were killed wh ...
, U.S. Coast Guardsman and posthumous Bronze Star recipient
*
Sarah Drew, actress
*
Brooke Ellison, first quadriplegic graduate from Harvard University
*
Michael J. Epstein
Michael J. Epstein (born 1976), is an American filmmaker, musician, writer, and auditory scientist. Epstein has also spoken and written about the impact of local media on the arts, music service gatekeeping, effective social networking, and crowd ...
, filmmaker and musician
*
Toni Frissell, fashion photographer
*
Frank E. Gaebelein
Frank Ely Gaebelein (March 31, 1899 – January 19, 1983) was an American evangelical educator, author, and editor who was the founding headmaster of The Stony Brook School in Long Island, New York. He is the author of more than twenty books, an ...
, educator
*
Manon Gage, actress
*
Marci Geller, independent singer-songwriter
*
Kevin James, comedian, actor
*
Karsh Kale
Karsh Kale (pronounced ''Kursh Kah-lay'', ''कर्ष काळे'' in Marathi; born 1 November 1974) is an Indian-American musician born in England. Known primarily for his experimental tabla playing within electronic music contexts, Kale ...
, producer, composer, musician
*
Anthony Kay, pitcher for the
Toronto Blue Jays of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
*
Michael Kimmel, sociologist, scholar
*
Steven Matz
Steven Jakob Matz (born May 29, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays. Matz was born and raised on Long ...
, pitcher for the
St. Louis Cardinals of
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...
*
Evelina Mount
Evelina "Nina" Mount (1837–1920) was a 19th-century American female artist. Born in Stony Brook, New York in 1837, as a daughter of an artist, Evelina was introduced to art at an early age by her father, Henry Mount, and her paternal uncles, Shep ...
, painter
*
R.A. the Rugged Man
R.A. Thorburn, better known by his stage name R.A. the Rugged Man, is an American rapper and producer. He began his music career at age 12, building a reputation locally for his lyrical skills. Thorburn signed with major label Jive Records at a ...
, hip-hop artist
*
Cliff Robertson, actor
*
Jim Simons, mathematician and hedge-fund manager
*
Louis Simpson, Pulitzer Prize poet
*
Gary Valentine, comedian, actor
See also
*
New York State Route 25A
New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at the ...
(North Country Road)
*
Stony Brook University Hospital
Stony Brook University Hospital (SBUH), previously known as Stony Brook University Medical Center, is a nationally ranked, 695-bed non-profit, research, and academic medical center located in Stony Brook, New York, providing tertiary care for the ...
References
External links
*
Stonybrook.com community website
Ward Melville Heritage OrganizationThe Stony Brook SchoolStony Brook University
{{authority control
Brookhaven, New York
Hamlets in New York (state)
Long Island Sound
Census-designated places in New York (state)
Populated coastal places in New York (state)