Eastport 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 ...

(CDP) in Suffolk County,

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 * ...

, on the South 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 ...

. The population was 1,831 at the 2010 census.

History

Eastport town is built on Shinnecock land. The present hamlet dates to 1772, when two men built the dam that formed what has come to be called the West Pond, which created a dividing line between Brookaven and

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

. They built two mills below the dam, a saw mill and a

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

. By 1845, the area to the east of the West Pond had come to be known as Waterville. The land to the west was called Seatuck, after a nearby creek. When, in 1860, the United States Postal Department needed to define the town to deliver mail, it combined the two areas. The name Seatuck was dropped for being too similar to

Setauket, New York Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2010 United States census, the CDP population, which at the time included ...

and the combined area was named Eastport. Eastport was long and best known as the center of Long Island's duck industry. The first duck farms were established in the area in the 1880s. In the first half of the 20th century it was the capital of the production of

Long Island ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

, producing 6.5 million ducks a year from 29 farms going to market. By 1915, the Long Island Duck Growers' Association was located in Eastport; and, in 1949,

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

established the Duck Disease Research Laboratory there. Routine

surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing, or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as ...

carried out by the Duck Disease Research Laboratory identified the first case of Duck hepatitis virus (DHV-1) in the United States 1949 and, in 1967, the first case of

Duck plague Duck plague (also known as duck viral enteritis) is a worldwide disease caused by Duck enteritis virus (DEV) of the family ''Herpesviridae'' that causes acute disease with high mortality rates in flocks of ducks, geese, and swans. It is spread b ...

on the American Continent. Practically all duck farms have been phased out and the descendants of the original farmers sold the valuable waterfront property for residential development projects.

Geography

Eastport straddles the border of the towns of Brookhaven and

. 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 CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 2.41%, is water.

Demographics

According to the 2020

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 ...

, there were 2,219 people, 656 households and 544 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 637 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 89.48%

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 ...

, 1.75% Black or

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 ...

, 0.48% American Indian, 1.11% Asian, 7.08% from other races, and 7.56% from two or more races. There were 656 households and 767 housing units, with 83.23% as

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. 12% of residents live alone, within which, 10.4% are 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.00 and the average family size was 3.24. According to the 2021 American Community Survey, the population decreased slightly from the 2020 census, down to 2,095 people. The age distribution was: 19.9% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.3 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males.

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 12.6% of the population. The

median income The median income is the income amount that divides a population into two groups, half having an income above that amount, and half having an income below that amount. It may differ from the mean (or average) income. Both of these are ways of unde ...

was $121,250 and the median family income was $138,333. 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 $45,891. 6.01% 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 ...

, with 3.34% of those aged 60 or over.

Education

Eastport is located within the

Eastport-South Manor Central School District Eastport-South Manor is a school district that serves parts of both Brookhaven and Southampton towns in eastern Suffolk County, New York. Commonly known as "ESM", the district serves the hamlets of Manorville and Eastport, as well as porti ...

Notable people

Scott Disick Scott Michael Disick (born May 26, 1983) is an American media personality and socialite widely known for his role as a main cast member on ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' and its spinoffs. Disick's popularity on ''Keeping Up with the Kardas ...

, American media personality and socialite

References

External links

Eastport, New York: World War I Monument: Globe Strutting Doughboy (Roadside America.com)
{{authority control Brookhaven, New York Southampton (town), 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 Populated coastal places in New York (state)