Coram 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 ...

in the town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County,

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 ...

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. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population was 39,113.

History

Coram is the oldest settlement in the central part of the town of Brookhaven. Its early name was "Wincoram", perhaps the name of a Native American who lived in the area as late as 1703. The first European settler in the area was likely William Satterly, who sought permission to open a tavern to cater to travelers in 1677.History of Coram
, by Osborn Shaw, Brookhaven Town Historian (1947), Longwood's Journey website, Retrieved October 22, 2009 Coram-ny-city-photo

During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

Benjamin Tallmadge Benjamin Tallmadge (February 25, 1754 – March 7, 1835) was an American military officer, spymaster, and politician. He is best known for his service as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He acted as lead ...

with his contingent of Light Dragoons arrived and he with 12

Culper Ring The Culper Ring was a network of Espionage, spies active during the American Revolutionary War, organized by Major Benjamin Tallmadge and General George Washington in 1778 during the British New York and New Jersey campaign, occupation of New Yo ...

men captured and burned 300 tons of hay the British were storing for winter to feed their horses. George Washington, on hearing the news, sent the following letter to Tallmadge: I have received with much pleasure the report of your successful enterprise upon fort St. George, and was pleased with the destruction of the hay at Coram, which must be severely felt by the enemy at this time. I beg you to accept my thanks for your spirited execution of this business. Annually Coram celebrates the event in October. From 1784 to 1885, Coram served as the meeting place for the Town of Brookhaven government, using the Davis Town Meeting House for much of that period.The Lester Davis Home (Longwood Public Library)
, Retrieved October 22, 2009 The Davis House, built in the 1750s, was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2001 and is the oldest existing structure in Coram. A small airport, known as Coram Airport existed in Coram until 1984; the land is now part of a county park.

Geography

The CDP has a total area of , all land. The

73rd meridian west The meridian 73° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to th ...

passes directly through Coram.

Demographics

As of the 2000

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 ...

, 34,923 people, 12,530 households, and 9,121 families resided in the CDP. The population density was . There were 12,880 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.5%

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 ...

, 1.7%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 3.1% Asian, 0.0%

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 ...

, 3.1% from other races, and 2.3% 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 9.5% of the population. There were 12,530 households, out of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% 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, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.2% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.1% 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 3.22. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 25.1% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 33.5% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $61,309, and the median income for a family was $70,769. Males had a median income of $46,905 versus $34,545 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 $24,597. About 4.1% of families and 5.6% 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 5.5% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education

* Longwood Central School District * Middle Country Central School District

Notable people

Bridget Dowling Bridget Elizabeth Hitler, née Dowling (alternative Brigid Elisabeth, or Cissie) (3 July 1891 – 18 November 1969), was Adolf Hitler's half sister-in-law via her marriage to Alois Hitler Jr.. She was the mother of Alois Hitler's son William ...

, sister-in-law of Adolf Hitler and resident of Coram at the end of her life. * George J. Hochbrueckner, former congressman and resident of Coram while he was in office.

References

External links

Coram's page
at the Longwood School District website {{authority control Brookhaven, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York