Patchogue ( ) 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 ...

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County ( ) is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York, constituting the eastern two-thirds of Long Island. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the open Atlantic Ocean, to its no ...

. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Patchogue is an incorporated community in the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Brookhaven, on the south shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay.

History

Patchogue, which is approximately east of Manhattan, became incorporated in 1893. The name "Patchogue" is believed to originate from the Algonquian word "Pochaug," which is interpreted as meaning "a turning place" or "where two streams separate." In 1812, there were 75 inhabitants in Patchogue according to ''The Brooklyn Eagle'', published in 1930. The Patchogue Former Manufactured Gas Plant (MGP) was operated from 1904 to 1926. The company was a small operation, converting coal and/or petroleum products to a flammable gas for use in lighting and industry. The company was sold to Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO). The Patchogue Theatre opened in 1923. It was later renovated into a triplex, after which it was converted to a single movie theater. It closed in the late 1980s. In the mid-1990s the village acquired the theater, and completely refurbished the building; it now seats 1,166 people. Three churches in Patchogue are listed 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 ...

: the

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

on East Main Street,

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

on South Ocean Avenue between Church Street and Terry Street, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Rider Avenue across from Terry Street. In 2019, the local downtown area was recognized by the American Planning Association as one of America's four "Great Neighborhoods". Since 2007, the association has recognized over 300 neighborhoods, streets, and public spaces that make communities stronger and bring people together through good planning.

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 , of which is land and – or 10.71% – is water. A natural riverfront and harbor are resources that the village has utilized since its founding, to become a modern and largely self-contained community.

Government

The Mayor of Patchogue is Paul V. Pontieri.

Public Safety

The Patchogue Department of Public Safety is a

Public security Public security or public safety is the prevention of and protection from events that could endanger the safety and security of the public from significant danger, injury, or property damage. It is often conducted by a state government to ensu ...

department to insure well being of all Patchogue Residents, similar to a

Police Department The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citize ...

. The Patchogue Police Department stopped operating in the 1940s.

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 ...

, there were 11,919 people, 4,636 households, and 2,749 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 4,902 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 81.27%

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 ...

, 3.89%

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 ...

, 0.34% Native American, 1.39% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 9.23% from other races, and 3.85% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 23.84% of the population. There were 4,636 households, out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.3% 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, 13.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.20. 22.5% of Patchogue's inhabitants were under the age of 18, 9.2% ranged from 18 and 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $47,027, and the median income for a family was $60,126. Males had a median income of $38,561 versus $30,599 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 $22,962. 8.1% of families and 10.7% 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 13.5% of those under age 18 and 10.4% of those age 65 or over. In 2010, the demographics were 61.8% White, 29.6% Hispanic, 5.3% Black, 0.3% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1% Some Other Race, and 1.4% Two or More Races.

Economy

The Blue Point Brewing Company is based in Patchogue. The Patchogue Central Business District or "Downtown" is the 2nd Largest Financial district in Eastern

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 ...

. Downtown is major transport and exchange hub throughout Eastern New York and Southern

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. There is a museum located within the village called MoCA Long Island. The Median family income is $110,576.

Education

Patchogue is served by the Patchogue-Medford Public Schools, Patchogue-Medford Library an
Carnegie Library
Extreme Western parts of Patchogue are served by the Bayport-Blue Point School District. There are primary, middle and high schools, plus continuing education programs for adults. The school district, library, and St. Joseph's University provide a variety of educational opportunities. In 2010, the Patchogue-Medford Library was awarded the 2010 National Medal for Museum and Library Science for the library's work in bilingual programming. Secondary education * Patchogue High School South (non-operating) * South Ocean Middle School Primary education * Bay Elementary School * River Elementary School * Medford Elementary School *Barton Elementary School Private * Seton Hall High School * Holy Angels Regional School * Emanuel Lutheran Preschool Adult education * Briarcliff College-Patchogue (former) * St. Joseph's University * Bramstein School of Applied Studies

Media

The Patchogue newspaper ''The Long Island Advance'' dates back to 1871, when Timothy J. Dyson a former newspaper correspondent from Brooklyn, printed the first edition out of a small office on West Main Street. The news website GreaterPatchogue.com began publication in 2015. It is owned by Greater Long Island Media Group, Inc., an independent company based in Patchogue. Radio stations Big 98.1, WALK-FM, WBLI,

WLID WLID (1370 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station licensed to Patchogue, New York. Established in 1952 as WALK, the station broadcasts a Spanish language in the United States, Spanish language Christian radio format. WLID broadcasts at 500 watts ...

and WNYG are licensed to serve Patchogue.

Transportation

* Patchogue operates a small fleet of buses that transport in and out of Downtown called Patchogue-Village Transit with routes R1S, R2S, R3N, R4N * Patchogue is served by the LIRR Montauk Branch. The station is a hub for several Suffolk County Transit bus lines (the 2, 6, 51, 53, 55, 66, 77 and 77Y), as well as the Village of Patchogue Bus. * Within walking distance of the LIRR station are the Watch Hill Ferry Terminal, which serves the Watch Hill Visitor Center in the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness, and the Davis Park Ferry Terminal which serves Davis Park, New York, both ferries taking passengers to and from

Fire Island Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy once again divided Fire Island into two islands. Together, these two isl ...

. * The main roads through Patchogue is Montauk Highway and Sunrise Highway. Other important roads are (from west to east) County Route 19, South and North Ocean Avenues, the latter of which leads to County Route 83, County Route 101 and New York State Route 112.

Notable people

* Emily Newton Barto, painter, was born in Patchogue * Edwin Bailey (1836–1908), businessman and politician * Walta Borawski, American poet * George F. Carman, politician * Frank Castellano, captain of USS ''Bainbridge'' * Peter David, comics writer, novelist, and screenwriter, known as the co-creator of ''

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

'' 2099, and for his influential 12-year run on '' The Incredible Hulk''. David lived in Patchogue from the early 1990s until his death in 2025. * Mike Fagan, professional bowler * Charles S. Havens, politician *

Billy Idol William Michael Albert Broad (born 30 November 1955), known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Idol achieved fame in the 1970s on the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of Generation X ...

, English musician – lived in a house in Patchogue when his family emigrated to the United States in 1958. * Leila Kenzle, actress – was born in Patchogue (1960) * Jeffrey R. MacDonald, convicted of killing his wife and daughters, lived in Patchogue and attended Patchogue High School. This story was the focus of the book and television mini-series '' Fatal Vision'' *

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer who gained prominence during hip hop's golden age. He was particularly recognized for ...

, rapper – lived in Patchogue * Chrisette Michele, Patchogue-raised Grammy winner who won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2009 for her song " Be OK". * Michael P. Murphy, Navy SEAL officer awarded the Medal of Honor, grew up in Patchogue * Robert Pelletreau, diplomat and ambassador, born in Patchogue, lawyer from family of prominent judges and lawyers in Patchogue, Pelletreau & Pelletreau. * Sylvia Porter, journalist – born in Patchogue (1913) * William T. Sanders, anthropologist specialising in Mesoamerican archaeology, born and grew up in Patchogue. * Jeff Schaefer, baseball player for

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

(1989), born in Patchogue. * Edgar A. Sharp,

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

to the Seventy-ninth Congress (1945–1947): born in Patchogue (1876). * Renée Felice Smith, actress on NCIS: Los Angeles. Attended Patchogue-Medford High School. * William Stuart-Houston (born William Patrick Hitler),

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

's nephew lived on Silver Street, along with his mother Bridget, his wife Phyllis, and his four sons, Alexander, Louis, Howard, and Brian.

References

Bibliography

* ''Images of America: Patchogue,'' by Hans Henke, Patchogue village historian, Arcadia Publishing. * ''The Patchogue Story,'' by historian Anne Swezey, (February 6, 1924 – April 20, 2009)

External links

Village of Patchogue
* https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-school-districts/t/patchogue-suffolk-ny/ * https://www.patchoguevillage.org/165/Public-Safety
''Patchogue—Still Banking on the River''
article by Rhoda Amon, Newsday staff writer {{authority control Brookhaven, New York Villages in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)