Belle Terre is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of

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

, United States. The population was 808 at the time of the 2020 census.

History

The peninsula on which the community of Belle Terre is situated has been known as Mt. Misery since the 17th century. Before Belle Terre's modern existence, the area was referred to as Mt. Misery Point. By comparison, the lower portion of the peninsula, which is currently a section of the neighboring village of

Port Jefferson Port Jefferson, also known as Port Jeff, is an Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Village, incorporated village in the Administrative divisions of New York (state)#Town, town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New Y ...

, was referred to as Mt. Misery Neck. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s, the bulk of the peninsula was owned by the Strong family, who had their Oakwood estate in its Mt. Misery Neck section. The first known dwelling in contemporary Belle Terre was a shack constructed by an African-American affectionately known as Uncle Mott in the 1800s. This house was the subject of a painting by local artist William Moore Davis. In 1902, the Port Jefferson Company purchased the Oakwood estate with the purpose of creating an exclusive waterfront development of fifty houses to rival the communities of Long Island's traditional Gold Coast. The well-connected real-estate developer, Dean Alvord, was chosen as president of Belle Terre's estates, which was incorporated in 1906. The construction of the Belle Terre Club, a grandiose private members club at the center of the community, also occurred in 1906. A pair of stately pergolas were constructed as well, which overlook the waterfront. In 1931, Belle Terre incorporated as a village, with its residents voting in favor of municipal incorporation. The Belle Terre Club was destroyed in a fire in 1934, the same year as the pergolas were deconstructed due to the financial burden of their upkeep. Due to a lapse in insurance coverage, the clubhouse was never rebuilt – although a new country club opened in the Port Jefferson section of the Mt. Misery peninsula in 1956. During the 1920s and 1930s, the community's residents staged a successful campaign against sand and gravel companies who began dredging operations in the area. Prior to these companies being ordered to cease operations in 1931, the Seaboard Sand & Gravel Company dredged a large cove near the tip of the peninsula. This is today known as Pirates Cove and is a popular feature of Port Jefferson Harbor among boaters. For several decades prior to her death in 2014, Belle Terre was the principal home of Nadia de Navarro Farber, a Bulgarian-born countess (by her second of four marriages) who donated considerably to the John T. Mather Memorial Hospital in neighboring

. Farber alternated her residence between a landmark pink mansion near the tip of Belle Terre and her castle on the Caribbean island of

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

. The pink mansion was featured prominently in the 1989 film '' She-Devil''.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Location

The village occupies the northeastern half of the Mt. Misery Peninsula and overlooks both Port Jefferson Harbor and the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. All access to the village by way of land is from the neighboring village of Port Jefferson, which additionally serves as Belle Terre's nearest commercial center and transportation hub.

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 2010, there were 792 people, 286 households, and 224 families residing in the village. The racial makeup of the village was 92.6%

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 ...

, 1.3%

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 ...

, 3.3% Asian, 1.3% from other races, and 1.5% 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 3.9% of the population. There were 286 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 72.0% 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, 2.1% had a male householder with no wife present, 4.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.7% were non-families. 15.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 persons and the average family size was 3.10 persons. As of the

of 2000, the population density was . There were 297 housing units at an average density of . In the village, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 21.9% from 25 to 44, 36.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older, and the median age for the village was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.5 males and for every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males. The median income for a household in the village was $132,155, and the median income for a family was $144,708. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $50,156 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 village was $56,191. None of the families and 1.4% of the population were living 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 none under the age of 18 and 3.2% of those over the age of 64.

Government

As of April 2025, the Mayor of Belle Terre is Bob Sandak, the Deputy Mayor is Jacquelyn Gernaey, and the Village Trustees are Leza Di Bella, Michael Solo, and Jim von Oiste.

''Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas''

Belle Terre is known for a law that evicted students from a nearby university campus, the

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

, who were leasing shared housing in the village. In 1974, in the case '' Village of Belle Terre v. Boraas'', the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

upheld the local ordinance. In the Court's opinion, written by Justice

William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 to 1975. Douglas was known for his strong progressive and civil libertari ...

held that it was constitutional to forbid more than two people unrelated by blood, adoption, or marriage — not counting household servants — from living and cooking together as a single housekeeping unit in the village for the purpose of maintaining a quiet residential sector.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Brookhaven, New York Villages in New York (state) Villages in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state) Long Island Sound 1931 establishments in New York (state)