The Incorporated Village of Bellport is named after the Bell family, early settlers of the area. South Country Road (Main St.) in the village features small businesses such as antique shops, artist galleries, small inns, restaurants, and a service center. These family-run businesses get community support from the Bellport Chamber of Commerce. Bellport is also home to the Gateway Playhouse, a professional summer theater in operation since 1950.
History
The land that is now Bellport was purchased along with what is now the hamlet of Brookhaven (then called Fireplace Neck) and western South Haven from the Unkechaug Indians in 1664 by settlers from nearby Setauket, who were attracted by the plentiful harvests of salt hay. The part that became Bellport was named Occumbomock Neck. Jonathan Rose was the first permanent settler in the 1680s, and by 1720 the Rose family owned much of Occumbomock Neck. In 1829, Captain Thomas Bell, a Scottish immigrant, bought land there. He sold sections of it, and by 1843 the village had 30 dwellings and 200 inhabitants. He changed the name to Bell-Port (now Bellport),[3] envisioning a seaport, since Bellport was very close to the Old Inlet, a breach in the barrier island Fire Island, which gave Bellport easy access to the open ocean. With Colonel William Howell, Bell built a dock and a road to the dock. But the breach healed over, and Bellport instead became a tourist attraction, with wealthy visitors coming by railroad and then coach from New York City. Although all seven hotels eventually closed, the last in the 1950s, Bellport remained associated with wealthy New Yorkers, who eventually established year-round residences. After World War II, nearby Camp Upton was converted into Brookhaven National Laboratory, bringing in more, highly educated, year-round residents.[4]
On March 8, 1963, Bellport High School burned down. No one was killed, but 40 students and teachers were hospitalized. The replacement school was built in Brookhaven, but is still called Bellport High School.[6]
On November 26, 1983, the New York Pyrotechnic Products Company factory (now known as Fireworks by Grucci) just north of the village exploded, killing two and injuring 24. The explosion had the effect of an earthquake, causing significant damage to hundreds of homes.[7]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has an area of 1.5 square miles (4.0km2), of which 1.4 square miles (3.7km2) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2km2), or 5.94%, is water.[2] The village of Bellport is on the shore of Bellport Bay, an arm of the Great South Bay.
Ho Hum Beach
Ho Hum Beach is on Fire Island, 2.2 miles (3.5km) across the Great South Bay from the Bellport Village Marina. Village residents and their guests are welcome to visit the beach. Surfers, sunbathers, and fishermen especially enjoy its privateness. Ho Hum Beach offers a bathing area, a screened-in snack shack and showers on the bay side of the beach. The Whalehouse Point ferry runs from the Bellport Village Marina from late May to early September. Village residents can buy round-trip ferry tickets, and their guests may ride the ferry for an increased fare. Village residents are also welcome to ride their own boats over. Boat slips for non-residents are available for a fee.
As of the census[9] of 2000, there were 2,363 people, 993 households, and 684 families residing in the village. The population density was 1,619.7 inhabitants per square mile (625.4/km2). There were 1,139 housing units at an average density of 780.7 per square mile (301.4/km2). The racial makeup of the village was 95.13% White, 1.27% African American, 0.38% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.21% from other races, and 1.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.78% of the population.
There were 993 households, out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.4% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the village, the population was spread out, with 18.7% under the age of 18, 4.6% from 18 to 24, 24.0% from 25 to 44, 32.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.8 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $77,523, and the median income for a family was $80,850. Males had a median income of $51,189 versus $40,985 for females. The per capita income for the village was $38,906. About 0.6% of families and 1.6% of the population were below the poverty threshold, including 0.9% of those under age 18 and 1.7% of those age 65 or over.
Government
The village is governed by four trustees and a mayor. Each trustee is elected to a two-year term, with two trustees up for election every year.[10] The mayor is also elected to a two-year term.[11]
Bellport is responsible for many local services, such as snow removal, road maintenance, and garbage removal. These are paid for by taxes on property within the village boundaries, which the Brookhaven town receiver of taxes collects. Education is the responsibility of the South Country Central School District, ambulance service is provided by the South Country Ambulance Company, fire service by the Bellport Fire District, and police service by the Suffolk County Police Department and Bellport code enforcement.
Bellport is served by two bus routes, the 66 (which runs from the Patchogue LIRR station to the Riverhead LIRR station, running mostly on Montauk Highway before turning onto William Floyd Parkway in Mastic and running along Neighborhood Road in Mastic Beach, then turning onto Mastic Road and ultimately rejoining Montauk Highway) and the 77 (which runs from the Patchogue LIRR station to South Country Road in Bellport). Both bus routes also provide a direct connection to the Bellport LIRR station in the hamlet of North Bellport.[12]
The main route through Bellport is South Country Road (Suffolk CR 36), a former section of Montauk Highway that runs west to east from East Patchogue to Brookhaven. The main south-north road is Bellport Lane, which becomes Bellport Avenue north of South Country Road. At the northern village border, the principal south-north route shifts to Station Road and runs toward West Yaphank, while Bellport Avenue becomes a minor local street that terminates at a dead end on the Montauk Branch of the LIRR, resuming its trajectory between Montauk Highway and the eastbound service road of Sunrise Highway at Exit 56. Other roads include Head of the Neck Road, which runs west through east from North Bellport and skirts the village's northern border east of Fairway Drive.
Suffolk County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered to its west by Nassau County, to its east by Gardiners Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, to its north by Long Island Sound, and to its south by Great South Bay. The county is part of the Long Island region of the state, of which it comprises the eastern two-thirds.
East Patchogue is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 22,469 at the 2010 census. The CDP is a proximate representation of the East Patchogue hamlet used for statistical purposes of the Census Bureau.
Lindenhurst is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the southern shore of Long Island in the town of Babylon. The population was 27,253 at the 2010 census.
Mastic Beach is a hamlet and census-designated place, and former village in the southeastern part of the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 14,849 at the 2010 census, when it was an unincorporated census-designated place for the first time.
Patchogue is a village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. Patchogue is an incorporated community part of the town of Brookhaven, on the south shore of Long Island, adjoining the Great South Bay. It is officially known as the Incorporated Village of Patchogue.
Brookhaven, formally the Town of Brookhaven, is a large suburban town in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. With a population of 488,497 as of 2022, it is the second most populous town in the United States and in New York and the third most populous community in the state.
Montauk Highway is an east–west road extending for 95 miles (153 km) across the southern shore of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It extends from the Nassau County line in Amityville, where it connects to Merrick Road, to Montauk Point State Park at the very eastern end of Long Island in Montauk. The highway is known by several designations along its routing, primarily New York State Route 27A (NY 27A) from the county line to Oakdale and NY 27 east of Southampton. The portion of Montauk Highway between Oakdale and Southampton is mostly county-maintained as County Route 80 and County Route 85.
New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a 120.58-mile (194.05 km) long state highway that runs east–west from Interstate 278 (I-278) in the New York City borough of Brooklyn to Montauk Point State Park on Long Island, New York. Its two most prominent components are Sunrise Highway and Montauk Highway, the latter of which includes the Montauk Point State Parkway. NY 27 acts as the primary east–west highway on southern Long Island east of the interchange with the Heckscher State Parkway in Islip Terrace. The entire route in Suffolk, Nassau, and Queens counties were designated by the New York State Senate as the POW/MIA Memorial Highway. The highway gives access to every town on the South Shore. NY 27 is the easternmost state route in the state of New York, as well as the longest highway on Long Island.
The Montauk Branch is a rail line owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The line runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City to Montauk. However, in LIRR maps and schedules for public use, the term Montauk Branch refers to the line east of Babylon; service from Jamaica to Babylon is covered by separate Babylon Branch schedules, while the line west of Jamaica is currently unused for passenger service. A select number of Montauk Branch trains operate via the Main Line during peak hours.
The Suffolk Traction Company is a former streetcar system in Suffolk County, New York. It operated primarily between Patchogue and Holtsville, but also included a route that served Blue Point, Bayport, and Sayville. It was opened in 1909 and ceased operations in 1919.
The South Side Railroad of Long Island was a railroad company in the U.S. state of New York. Chartered in 1860 and first opened in 1867 as a competitor to the Long Island Rail Road, it was reorganized in 1874 as the Southern Railroad of Long Island and leased in 1876 to the LIRR. After a reorganization as the Brooklyn and Montauk Railroad in 1879 it was merged in 1889.
Patchogue is a station of the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road in Patchogue, New York. It is on Division Street between West Avenue and South Ocean Avenue. The station is the eastern terminus for some trains on the branch.
The Sag Harbor Branch was a branch of the Long Island Rail Road that was the eastern terminal on the south shore line of Long Island from 1869 to 1895 and then was a spur from Bridgehampton to Sag Harbor, New York from 1895 to 1939.
Bellport is a station along the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, at Bellport Station Road and Montauk Highway in North Bellport, New York.
Hagerman was a rail station stop in Hagerman, New York along the Montauk Branch. It first opened around October 1890, and though little more than a small shack, it was the site of a former experimental electric-powered monorail line. It was later razed and discontinued as a station stop in 1929. It was located between the Patchogue and Bellport stations.
Mastic was a station stop along the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It was located on the corner of Mastic Road and Mastic Boulevard at the Mastic Road grade crossing, near the Fire Department and Mastic Seafoods.
↑ Bellport Village and Brookhaven Hamlet, by Victor Principe
↑ "About our village". Incorporated Village of Bellport, NY. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009. Bellport will commemorate the 100th anniversary of its incorporation in 2010 and a gala year-long celebration is being planned.
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