Selden, New York
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Selden (historically known as Westfield) 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 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 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 * ...
, United States. The population was 21,262 at the time of the 2020 census.


History


Early settlement

The farmers who first moved to what is now Selden in the mid-18th century referred to the area as "Westfield" (or sometimes as Westfields). One of the better known early residents was Captain Daniel Roe (1740–1820), who fought in the
French and Indian War The French and Indian War, 1754 to 1763, was a colonial conflict in North America between Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of France, France, along with their respective Native Americans in the United States, Native American ...
and served as a captain in the Revolutionary War, and for whom Captain Daniel Roe Highway is named. Roe built a house in Selden along Middle Country Road before the Revolutionary War. Roe is buried in a small family cemetery south of Middle Country Road behind the Old Westfield shopping center. Roe sided with the Patriots in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1776, Roe was assigned to lead a raid against the
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
and Hessian detachment near Selden led by his cousin Richard Miller. Miller was a wanted man, and Roe himself had pledged 10 pounds of the bounty offered for Miller's capture. When Miller rode right by Roe's house in uniform, he was confronted by Roe's men and ordered to dismount. Instead, Miller fired his pistol and turned to flee, whereupon he was shot by the militiamen. Miller was then carried into Roe's house, where he died.''The Diary of Captain Daniel Roe, 1806–08'' (1904)


19th-century farm community

A school district for the Westfield area was first created in 1815, carved out of the districts for New Village (now Centereach) and Coram. Originally named District 25, it was renumbered as District 12 in 1842,Records of the Town of Brookhaven (1796–1856), Port Jefferson, Times Steam Job Print, 1888 which it remained until the formation of the Middle Country Central School District in 1957. When a post office was opened in 1852, Westfield had already been taken as a name by a community upstate. Upstate attorney (and later judge) Henry Selden promised to do "something handsome" if the community named itself after him. The name was adopted, though it is usually said to be unknown whether he ever followed through on his promise, and probably did not.Bayles, Richard Mather. ''Historical and Descriptive Sketches of Suffolk County'' (Port Jefferson, New York, 1874) While some sources report that the attorney had no known connection to the community, one newspaper reported in 1858 that Selden and attorney Edward Boyle (the namesake for Boyle Road) acquired a large tract of land in the hamlet shortly before the post office opened, and started to develop it. As of 1885, Selden was home to 88 residents and a Presbyterian church (built in 1857), and noted for producing melons and early garden vegetables from its farms.Bayles, Richard Mather. ''Bayles' Long Island Handbook'' (Budget Steam Print: Babylon, New York, 1885) Around 1897, the popular cross-island
Bicycle Path A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...
was completed and ran through Selden. A popular stop along the path, "Wheelmen's Rest", was in Selden and run by Albert Norton.


Twentieth century and growth

In 1916, the Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium opened on land then considered to be part of Holtsville. The location, including some of its original buildings, became in 1961 the main (Ammerman) campus of Suffolk County Community College, which today has an enrollment of over 11,000 students. From 1919 to 1959, Telescope Hill on the south side of Selden was the location of a fire lookout tower. During World War II, a German
U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
spotted from Telescope Hill was later capturedPaul Laskey, ''The Fire Observation Towers of New York State'', p.12 (2003) () ("This proved true when on Long Island a tower observer on Telescope Hill spotted an enemy sub which was apprehended.") but not identified. In 1935, a new public school building was built near the same location as the prior school building, near the intersection of
Bicycle Path A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...
and Middle Country Road. That building was renovated in the 1980s and became a branch of the Middle Country Public Library. The main thoroughfare, Middle Country Road, was paved from Smithtown and through Selden to Coram around 1927–1928. The rural nature of Selden soon began to change, when in 1931 (when it had around 131 residents ), real estate agents began marketing small lots to New York City residents as retreats from urban living, in a development called "Nature's Gardens". This was located on the south side of Middle Country Road and Evergreen Drive. Suburban development increased in earnest in the early 1950s, and by the early 1970s Selden had become a primarily suburban community.


Commercial development

The primary road in the hamlet, and the location of most of the commercial development, is
New York State Route 25 New York State Route 25 (NY 25) is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends along the central parts and North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island for just over from east ...
(Middle Country Road), which runs east to west. Similar to surrounding communities, Selden has a number of shopping centers along Middle Country Road, ("A mixture of eateries, services and stores line Middle Country Road, many housed in shopping centers such as College Plaza, Independence Plaza and Selden Plaza.") which developed as suburban growth spread eastward. In 1972, the first Westfield Shopping Center opened at the intersection of Middle Country and Blue Point roads, with a Hills Supermarkets location. In 1975, College Plaza opened at the northeast corner of the Middle Country Road and Boyle Road intersection. Its original anchor tenants included King Kullen, Builders Emporium, and Genovese Drug Stores.Shopping Centers and Downtowns Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County Department of Planning (May 2006)
("About 145,000 square feet of space in the College Point Shopping Center in Selden, L.I., which is to be completed next month, has been leased. Three major tenants will be Builders Emporium Department Store, with 65,000 square feet; King Kullen Supermarket, with 30,000 square feet, and Genovese Drugs, 20,000 square feet.... The shopping center, which has space for 1,300 cars is a joint venture of Paul Slayton Company and S&H Shopping Centers, Inc.") Selden Plaza, at the intersection of Middle Country and County Route 83 (in Coram but within the Selden ZIP Code), opened in 1978. In 1992, a new major shopping center, Independence Plaza, opened at the northwest corner of Middle Country and Boyle Roads, adjacent to College Plaza.("In 1992 he opened Caffé Amici in the then-newly constructed Independence Plaza") As of 2009, plans had been made to develop a town center in and around Independence Plaza. This has significantly increased the popularity of "Downtown Selden" in the past few years attracting more local and national chain businesses.


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 CDP has a total area of , all land. Selden is bordered by Coram to the east, Farmingville to the south, Centereach to the west, and Terryville to the north.


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 2000, there were 21,861 people, 6,809 households, and 5,522 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 7,083 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.96%
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 ...
, 1.88%
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 ...
, 0.19% Native American, 2.46% Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander Americans Pacific Islander Americans (also colloquially referred to as Islander Americans) are Americans who are of Pacific Islander ancestry (or are descendants of the Indigenous peoples of Oceania). For its purposes, the United States census also coun ...
, 1.78% from other races, and 1.72% 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 8.23% of the population. There were 6,809 households, out of which 43.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% 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, 11.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.9% were non-families. 15.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.21 and the average family size was 3.54. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 33.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.1 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $58,103, and the median income for a family was $62,708. Males had a median income of $44,665 versus $29,973 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 $20,577. About 3.1% of families and 5.2% 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 4.0% of those under age 18 and 10.1% of those age 65 or over.


Schools

*Bicycle Path *Hawkins Path Elementary *New Lane Elementary * Newfield High School *Selden Middle School *Stagecoach Elementary * Suffolk County Community College Ammerman Campus


Notable people

* Eric Booker * Brian Kelleher * Terrance Hobbs


References

{{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