Rocky Point 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 the town of
Brookhaven, New York
Brookhaven is a large Suburb, suburban town in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York. With a population of 488,497 as of 2022, it is the second most populous town in New York (after Hempstead, New Yo ...
, United States. As of the
2010 United States census, the CDP population was 14,014.
History

Rocky Point is home to the site where American radio company
RCA
RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...
once operated a large transmitting and transmitter research facility, known as Radio Central. RCA began to transmit transatlantic radio messages from Radio Central over
longwave
In radio, longwave (also spelled long wave or long-wave and commonly abbreviated LW) is the part of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave (MW) broadcasting band. The term is historic, dati ...
after its opening on November 5, 1921.
On January 7, 1927,
AT&T
AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
initiated the first transatlantic commercial telephone service, linking London and New York. AT&T's transmitter was at Radio Central, and their receiver was in
Houlton, Maine
Houlton is a town in and the county seat of Aroostook County, Maine, United States, on the Canada–United States border. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 6,055. It is perhaps best known for being at the northern terminus of Int ...
. The radiotelephone signal from Radio Central was received by the British
General Post Office
The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
’s receiver facility in
Cupar
Cupar ( ; ) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fife, and the ...
,
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
.
The Rocky Point site was decommissioned in 1978 and demolished in the 1980s. It now consists of many concrete ruins and downed telephone poles and radio towers, owned by the
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (informally referred to as NYSDEC, DEC, EnCon or NYSENCON) is a department of New York state government. The department guides and regulates the conservation, improvement, and protecti ...
. It is part of the Rocky Point Pine Barrens State Forest, which is in the
Long Island Central Pine Barrens
The Long Island Central Pine Barrens (also known as the Long Island Pine Barrens) is a large area of publicly protected pine barrens in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island, covering more than .
Overview
The Barrens operates similarly to ...
. The site gives an interesting insight into the 1920s, because—being in the middle of the forest—the footprints of the site remain largely untouched since its operational period. The western terminus of the
Paumanok Path hiking trail is in the forest, with the eastern terminus at the
Montauk Point Light.
The hamlet was also served by a
station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
of the
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...
, located just east of Broadway between Prince Road and King Road. The station was opened in 1895, with service heading east to
Wading River and west to
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 ...
and
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The station was abandoned in 1938, with a replica of the station, containing a
Veterans of Foreign Wars
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...
(VFW) museum, standing on the site today.
Geography
The community is 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 ...
. 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 , all land.
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 14,014 people, 4,820 households, and 3,615 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 5,366 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 93.7%
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 ...
, 1.5% 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 ...
, 0.1%
Native American, 1.6%
Asian, 0.04%
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 ...
, 1.6%
some other race, and 1.4% 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 7.0% of the population.
There were 4,820 households, out of which 42.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9% were headed by
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, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.7% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89, and the average family size was 3.34.
In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 27.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 27.2% from 45 to 64, and 8.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.0 males.
For the period 2007–2011, the median annual income for a household in the CDP was $87,752, and the median income for a family was $99,304. Males had a median income of $66,103 versus $48,529 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 $33,183. About 3.6% 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 8.2% of those under age 18 and 1.6% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Danny Burawa (born 1988), major league baseball pitcher for the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...
and
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...
during the
2015 season
References
External links
Rocky Point Historical Society
{{authority control
Brookhaven, New York
Hamlets in New York (state)
Long Island Sound
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)