The Town of Southold is one of ten

towns 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 ...

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 ...

, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork 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 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town contains 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 ...

, also named Southold, which was settled in 1640.

History

Algonquian-speaking tribes, related to those in New England across Long Island Sound, lived in eastern Long Island before European colonization. The western portion of the island was inhabited by bands of

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

, whose language was also one of the

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( ; also Algonkian) are a family of Indigenous languages of the Americas and most of the languages in the Algic language family are included in the group. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from ...

. In surrounding areas, the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

colonists had established early settlements to the northwest: on the upper Hudson River was

Fort Orange Fort Orange () was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland; the present-day city and state capital Albany, New York developed near this site. It was built in 1624 as a replacement for Fort Nassau, which had been built on n ...

, founded in 1615 (later renamed Albany by the English); and New Amsterdam (later renamed

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

) in 1625.

Lion Gardiner Lion Gardiner (1599–1663) was an English engineer and colonist who founded the first English settlement in New York, acquiring land on eastern Long Island. He had been working in the Netherlands and was hired to construct fortifications on t ...

established a manor on

Gardiners Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton (town), New York, East Hampton, New York (state), New York, in Eastern Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiners Bay, Gardiner's Bay between the two penins ...

in East Hampton in 1639. Just across from Long Island, the

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

, or Connecticut River Colony, was established in 1636. The

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

s established New Haven Colony separately in 1638, even though it was largely surrounded by Connecticut Colony.

New Haven Colony New Haven Colony was an English colony from 1638 to 1664 that included settlements on the north shore of Long Island Sound, with outposts in modern-day New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. The colony joined Connecticut Colony in 16 ...

was a theocracy, governed only by church members. English

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

from

settled in Southold on October 21, 1640. They had purchased the land in the summer of 1640 from the group of Indians related to the

Pequot The Pequot ( ) are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of Connecticut. The modern Pequot are members of the federally recognized Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, four other state-recognized groups in Connecticut includin ...

of New England, who lived in the territory they called ''Corchaug'' (now

Cutchogue Cutchogue ( ) is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, on the North Fork (Long Island), North Fork of Long Island's East End (Long Isl ...

). Settlers spelled the Indian name of what became Southold as ''Yennicott''. In most histories Southold is reported as the first English settlement on

in the future

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. Under the leadership of the Reverend John Youngs, with Peter Hallock, the settlement consisted of the families of Barnabas Horton, John Budd, John Conklin, John Swazy, William Wells, John Tuthill, and Matthias Corwin. In 1650, the Treaty of Hartford established a boundary between Dutch and English claims roughly through Oyster Bay on the North Shore. The Dutch colony was the western part of Long Island, and the English dominated the east. The population of Southold at that point was about 180. The harbor at Greenport, on the North Fork, became important in trade, fishing, and

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

, because it rarely froze over. Settlers developed the interior land for agricultural purposes. Both New Haven Colony and Connecticut Colony had sought to establish Southold as a

theocracy Theocracy is a form of autocracy or oligarchy in which one or more deity, deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries, with executive and legislative power, who manage the government's ...

. The New Haven Colony did not permit other churches to operate at all, while the Connecticut Colony allowed freedom of religion. New Haven supervised Southold until 1662, when New Haven towns began shifting their allegiance to the surrounding Connecticut Colony. By 1664, New Haven colonists all had decided to join Connecticut, and the New Haven colony ceased to exist. Southold was supervised by the

until 1674. When the Dutch took control of the

colony of New York The Province of New York was a British proprietary colony and later a royal colony on the northeast coast of North America from 1664 to 1783. It extended from Long Island on the Atlantic, up the Hudson River and Mohawk River valleys to the G ...

in 1673, the English-settled eastern towns, including Southold, East Hampton, and Southampton, refused to submit; the Dutch attempted to force the matter by arms, and the colonists of the towns repelled them, with assistance from Connecticut. When New York was retaken by the English in 1674, these eastern towns preferred to stay part of Connecticut. Although Connecticut agreed, the government of

James, Duke of York James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

forced the matter for them to be part of the Province of New York. Governor Sir

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714; also spelled ''Edmond'') was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other ...

threatened to eliminate the residents' rights to land if they did not yield, which they did by 1676. The Duke of York had a grudge against Connecticut. New Haven had hidden three of the judges who sentenced his father King Charles I to death in 1649. The town called as its second minister Rev. Joshua Hobart, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

graduate from

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in northern Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Part of the Greater Boston region, it is located on the South Shore (Massachusetts), South Shore of Massachusetts. At the 2020 ...

, and son of Rev. Peter Hobart. The latter was the founding minister of

Old Ship Church The Old Ship Church (also known as the Old Ship Meetinghouse) is a Puritan Church (building), church built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts. It is the only surviving 17th-century Puritan Meeting house, meetinghouse in the United States. Its c ...

, the nation's oldest church in continuous use. Rev. Joshua Hobart was installed in 1674 and served until his death in 1717, when he was 88 years old. Rev. Hobart's brother Josiah was one of the earliest settlers and initial trustees of East Hampton, Long Island, as well as High Sheriff of Suffolk County. The name Southold is believed to be an

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run to ...

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the North Sea, in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth, Suffolk, River Blyth in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths ...

, a coastal town in the corresponding English county of

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. John Youngs, the minister who was one of the founders of the Town, was born and brought up in Southwold, England. Youngs was a member of St. Margaret's Church in nearby Reydon. Within the Town's limits is an area known as Reydon Shores, perhaps a reference to the Reydon, England known by Youngs. The Town's name also may refer to a "holding" to the south f New Haven, from whence the original settlers hailed. In the meantime, the population of Southold grew from 180 in 1650 to 880 by 1698. In the late 19th century, 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 ...

extended its line on the North Shore to Greenport. This enabled summer vacationers to travel to the destination by train. Due to the light on the North Fork from water on both sides, the area attracted many artists, including

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later became the Parsons School of Design. ...

. The area was agricultural, and long dominated by for potato farming. In the late 20th century, large areas of the North Fork were redeveloped as vineyards. This area of Long Island has developed a respectable wine industry. In November 1994, the village of Greenport voted to abolish its police department and contract with the Southold Town Police for law enforcement.

Geography

The town is at the northeastern end of

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 a

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

called the North Fork and its extensions Plum Island, and

Fishers Island Fishers Island is an island within the town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York. It lies at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut, across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it is about ...

. The

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

separates the town from

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. ...

. The eastern end of the peninsula, near Orient Point, is north of the Town of Shelter Island, but the town is separated from the South Fork of Long Island by the Great Peconic Bay and the Little Peconic Bay. The western end of the town is the border of the Town of Riverhead. It is twenty-one miles from Orient Point to the border with Riverhead. Robins Island, a protected open space in Great Peconic Bay, is also part of the Town of Southold. 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 town has a total area of , of which is land and (86.69%) is water. The town has approximately 163 linear miles of coastline. Significant coastal fish and wildlife habitats within the Town of Southold, include: the Mattituck Inlet Wetlands and Beaches, Fishers Island Beaches, Pine Islands and Shallows, the Goldsmith Inlet and Beach, Pipes Cove Creek and Moores Drain, the Dumpling Islands and Flat Hammock.

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 20,599 people, 8,461 households, and 5,804 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 13,769 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 93.53%

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 ...

, 2.91%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 1.51% from other races, and 1.47% 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 4.77% of the population. There were 8,461 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% 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, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.90. In Southold town the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,898, and the median income for a family was $61,108. Males had a median income of $46,334 versus $31,440 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 town was $27,619. About 4.1% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the

poverty line 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 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations

Villages (incorporated)

* Greenport, near the easternmost tip of the mainland.

Hamlets (unincorporated)

, in the western part of the town, originally a farming village * East Marion, in the eastern part of the town *

, a hamlet located on

Laurel Laurel may refer to: Plants * Lauraceae, the laurel family * Laurel (plant), including a list of trees and plants known as laurel People * Laurel (given name), people with the given name * Laurel (surname), people with the surname * Laurel (mus ...

, by the western town line *

Mattituck Mattituck is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 4,584 in 2023 according to the World Population Review. Located ...

, in the western part of the town, settled in 1680 *

New Suffolk New Suffolk is a census-designated place (CDP) that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Southold in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 403 as of the 2020 census. History The submari ...

, in the southwest part of the town *

Orient The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...

, the eastern tip of the mainland * Peconic, in the central part of the town, southwest of Southold village * Southold, the hamlet of Southold, settled in 1640.

Other census designated places (CDPs)

* Greenport West

Other communities

* ''Arshamomaque'', between Greenport and Southold village * ''Bay Haven'', on Little Peconic Bay * ''Bay View'', on Great Hog Neck * ''Beixedon Estates'', a private community east of Southold village * ''Cedar Beach'' on Great Hog Neck, southeast of Bay View * Corey Creek, a private community on Great Hog Neck * ''Cove, The'' * ''Cutchogue Station'', north of Cutchogue * ''Fleet's Neck'', South of Cutchogue * ''Founder's Landing'', the historic center of Southold Village * ''East Cutchogue'', located east of Cutchogue * ''Eastwind Shores'' * ''Laughing Water'', near Great Hog Neck * ''Nassau Farms'' * ''Nassau Point'', on Little Hog Neck * ''Oregon'', along the vicinity of Oregon Road between Mattituck and Peconic * ''Orient Point'', at the eastern tip of the mainland * ''Reydon Shores'', on Great Hog Neck (named after Reydon in

, England the birthplace of the wife of the Rev. John Youngs). * ''Stirling'', north of Greenport * ''Terry Waters'' on Little Peconic Bay * ''Waterville'', north of Mattituck

Government and politics

Islands

, in the eastern end of Long Island Sound * Great Gull Island, (uninhabited) located east of Plum Island and west of Fisher's Island * Little Gull Island, (uninhabited) located east of Great Gull Island * Plum Island, a restricted research facility east of Orient Point * Robins Island, in the Great Peconic Bay

Geographic features

* ''Great Hog Neck'', a peninsula into Little Peconic Bay * ''Little Hog Neck'', a peninsula into Peconic Bay * ''Long Beach Bay'', a bay near Orient * ''Orient Harbor'', a bay in the eastern part of the town * ''Orient Point'', the easternmost tip of the mainland of the north fork of Long Island

State parks

* Hallock State Park Preserve * Orient Beach State Park, a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

on Orient Point

Culture

Southold Town, along with the rest of the East End, has a very rich cultural history. A handful of world-renowned artists have lived in the town including;

Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...

Robert Berks Robert Berks (April 26, 1922 – May 16, 2011) was an American sculptor, industrial designer and planner. He created hundreds of bronze sculptures and monuments including the Mary McLeod Bethune Memorial, and the Albert Einstein Memorial in Wa ...

, and

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

.URL=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/walt-whitman-the-long-islander-bicentennial-of-his-birth-1.30762823, accessndate=April 13, 2013 Throughout the town there's countless art galleries and studios ranging all mediums of artistic expression. The town also has a rich community of musicians.

Transportation

Railroads

*The

's Main Line is the sole line within the Town of Southold. Passengers can go to

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 ...

via

, Southold and Greenport Stations. The line is also used by the Railroad Museum of Long Island.

Bus service

* The Town of Southold is served primarily by

Suffolk County Transit Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus services in Suffolk County, New York, on Long Island and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private con ...

bus routes, although

Hampton Jitney Hampton Jitney is a commuter bus company based in Southampton, New York. It operates three primary routes from the east end of Long Island (The Hamptons and the North Fork) to New York City. Hampton Jitney also operates charter and tour service ...

buses are available for trips to

Major roads

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 ...

is the main west–east route in the Town of Southold, and as such is almost entirely named "Main Road." Two truck routes of NY 25 also exist. * NY-114

New York State Route 114 New York State Route 114 (NY 114) is a state highway, including two ferry crossings, on the far eastern sections of Long Island in New York (state), New York in the United States. It serves as a connector between the two "forks" of Lon ...

enters and exits the Village of Greenport via the ferry to Shelter Island * Suffolk County 48

County Route 48 (Suffolk County, New York) County Route 48 (CR 48) is a major east–west county road on the North Fork of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It runs for from Sound Avenue in Mattituck to New York State Route 25 (NY 25) ...

is a major west–east county road between Mattituck and north of Greenport. The NYSDOT once planned to upgrade the road into part of the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mens ...

. *Sound Avenue was a former segment of

New York State Route 25A New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York (state), New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore (Long Island), North Shore of Long Island, running ...

, which is unmarked, but still serves as an important thoroughfare from Wading River along the north shore into Mattituck.

Airports

* Mattituck Airport * Charles Rose Airport

Ferries

* Cross Sound Ferry Orient to

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the outlet of the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River in New London County, Connecticut, which empties into Long Island Sound. The cit ...

North Ferry The North Ferry is a ferry service that links Shelter Island, New York, with Greenport, New York. With the South Ferry service, it forms part of New York State Route 114 and provides a link between the North and South Forks of Long Island. O ...

, Greenport to Shelter Island

References

External links

Town of Southold

Whitaker, Epher. ''History of Southold, L.I.: Its First Century''
(available from HathiTrust)
North Fork
- Southold Town Visitors Guide {{Authority control Towns on Long Island Towns in Suffolk County, New York Towns in New York (state) Populated places established in 1640 Towns in the New York metropolitan area Populated coastal places in New York (state) 1640 establishments in the British Empire