Wading River 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 Suffolk County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, 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 ...

. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 7,719. It is adjacent to Shoreham and shares a school district. Most of Wading River lies within 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 Riverhead, but a small portion is in the Town of Brookhaven. The name of the hamlet comes from the original Algonquian name for the area, ''Pauquaconsuk,'' meaning "the place where we wade for thick, round-shelled clams". It was also previously known as “Lonsefekwa”. "Wading in the River" or Wading River was adopted by the first English colonists.

History

1671

The earliest English records show a settlement known as Wading River was founded by eight colonial families. "The spot for the village was chosen with care. There was a stream adequate for water power and abounding in seafood...good water for drinking...soil rich enough to grow essential crops, woodland for fuel, building material and food, topography to offer protection from the elements, meadowland for its grass."

Until 1947

Between 1895 and 1938, the

Port Jefferson Branch The Port Jefferson Branch is a rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The branch splits from the Main Line (Long Island Rail Road), Main Line just east of Hicksville ...

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, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

extended to Wading River. It was once planned to continue eastward to rejoin the Main Line at Riverhead or Calverton. From 1905 to 1928, Wading River was also the site of an

LIRR 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, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average weekd ...

demonstration farm. Another was east of

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

on the Main Line. The Wading River station closed in 1938. During

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

the Benson House was used by the FBI as the site of a secret

counterintelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ...

operation to feed the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

deceptive information. The hamlet of Wading River had a year-round population of less than 500. But during the summer months, hundreds of visitors filled the town to use

Wildwood State Park Wildwood State Park is a state park located in Suffolk County, New York. The park is in the Town of Riverhead on the north shore of Long Island. The park includes a beach on Long Island Sound. The park offers a beach, a playground, picnic tab ...

, the cottages on the cliffs and dunes and, of course, the beaches. It was in Wading River that

Walter Lippmann Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 – December 14, 1974) was an American writer, reporter and political commentator. With a career spanning 60 years, he is famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the te ...

wrote his books ''Public Opinion'' and ''The Phantom Public'' in the summers of 1921 and 1923 respectively

1947

This year was a landmark year of change for the sleepy little hamlet; noteworthy accomplishments include: * Returning service men from

began building homes in Wading River * The formation of Wading River's own volunteer fire department, Wading River Fire Department * The military installation known as

Camp Upton Camp Upton was a port of embarkation of the United States Army during World War I. During World War II it was used to intern enemy aliens. It was located in Yaphank, New York in Suffolk County on Long Island, on the present-day location of Bro ...

was converted for use as

Brookhaven National Laboratory Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base and Japanese internment c ...

* The Wading River Historical Society was formed.Wading River Historical Society (Official Site)
/ref>

Geography

Wading River is located at (40.952599, -72.829907). 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 th ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.40%, is water.

Demographics

Demographics of the CDP

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 6,668 people, 2,370 households, and 1,813 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was 680.5 per square mile (262.7/km²). There were 2,713 housing units at an average density of 276.9/sq mi (106.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.10%

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 ...

, 1.96%

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 ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.97% Asian, 0.13%

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 ...

, 0.81% 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 0.97% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 3.69% of the population. There were 2,370 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.7% were

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

living together, 5.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.5% were non-families. 18.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.16. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 10.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $63,938, and the median income for a family was $73,059. Males had a median income of $58,214 versus $34,594 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $26,322. About 2.0% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the

poverty line 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 0.7% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.

References

{{authority control Brookhaven, New York Riverhead (town), New York Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in New York (state) Long Island Sound Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)