East End (Long Island)

Last updated
The Montauk Point Lighthouse stands at the eastern tip on the mainland of Long Island. Montauk Point Lighthouse.jpg
The Montauk Point Lighthouse stands at the eastern tip on the mainland of Long Island.
The Great Peconic Bay, with the Atlantic Ocean as its primary inflow, separates the North Fork and South Fork at the East End of Long Island. G-P Bay.jpg
The Great Peconic Bay, with the Atlantic Ocean as its primary inflow, separates the North Fork and South Fork at the East End of Long Island.

The East End of Long Island is constituted by the five townships at the eastern end of New York's Suffolk County, namely Riverhead, Southampton (which includes Westhampton), Southold, Shelter Island, and East Hampton. [1] Long Island's North Fork and South Fork are part of the East End. [2] "The East End" is sometimes shortened as "The End", but this latter term is also applied only to Montauk, the most easterly hamlet of the contiguous land mass. [3]

The East End includes the best-known part of Long Island's Viticultural Area, [4] as well as The Hamptons and related resort areas. While other Suffolk County communities have long been considered suburban to New York City, the more rural East End townships have traditionally relied more upon agriculture and recreation. Residents of the five eastern townships had occasionally advocated seceding from Suffolk County to form a proposed "Peconic County", [5] [6] named for the Peconic Bay at the center of the East End's geography. The East End's North Shore is bounded by Long Island Sound, while its east and south are bounded by Block Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean; the west is bounded by Brookhaven.

The East End is also home to Gabreski Air Base, Plum Island's Animal Disease Center, and the Shinnecock Indian Nation's Shinnecock Reservation.

Area and population

At the 2000 census, the five East End towns and the Shinnecock Reservation had a land area of 900.581 km2 (347.72 sq mi), or about 38.12 percent of Suffolk County's land area. Its total population was 125,442 inhabitants, or about 8.84 percent of the county's population. Its average population density was 139.29/km2 (360.76/sq mi). [7]

Suffolk County's five western townships (that is, Suffolk County without the East End) have a total land area of 1,462.001 km2 (564.482 sq mi) and an adjusted 2000 census population of 1,293,927 inhabitants, for a population density of 885.04/km2 (2,292.24/sq mi), more than six times that of the East End.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suffolk County, New York</span> County in New York, United States

Suffolk County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It comprises the eastern two-thirds of Long Island, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hampton Bays, New York</span> Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States

Hampton Bays is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. It is considered as part of the region of Long Island known as The Hamptons. The population was 13,603 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinnecock Reservation</span> Indian Reservation in New York, United States

Shinnecock Reservation is a Native American reservation for members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation in the town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is the furthermost east of the two Native American reservations in Suffolk County; the other being Poospatuck Reservation in the town of Brookhaven. It lies on the east side of Shinnecock Bay on southeastern Long Island, near Tuckahoe, Shinnecock Hills, and the village of Southampton. The population was 819 as of the 2020 census. Roughly that many tribal members additionally live off the reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverhead (CDP), New York</span> Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States

Riverhead is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name located in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 13,299 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverhead, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Riverhead is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the north shore of Long Island. Since 1727, Riverhead has been the county seat of Suffolk County, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,902. The town rests on the mouth of the Peconic River, from which it derives its name. The smaller hamlet of Riverhead lies within it, and is the town's principal economic center. The town is 166 miles (267 km) southwest of Boston via the Orient Point-New London Ferry, and is 76 miles (123 km) northeast of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southampton, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in southeastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town had a population of 69,036. Southampton is included in the stretch of shoreline prominently known as the Hamptons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southold, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town also contains a hamlet named Southold, which was settled in 1640.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookhaven, New York</span> 2nd most populated town in New York, United States

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peconic Bay</span> Two bays in New York, United States

The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork of Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peconic County, New York</span> Hypothetical new county on Long Island, New York

Peconic County is a proposed new county on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York that would secede the five easternmost towns of Suffolk County: East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southampton and Southold, plus the Shinnecock Indian Reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Fork (Long Island)</span> Peninsula on Long Island, New York, United States

The North Fork is a 30-mile- (48 km) long peninsula in the northeast part of Suffolk County, New York, U.S., roughly parallel with a longer peninsula known as the South Fork, both on the East End of Long Island. Although the peninsula begins east of Riverhead hamlet, the term North Fork can also refer collectively to the towns of Riverhead and Southold in their entirety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Fork (Long Island)</span>

The South Fork of Suffolk County, New York is a peninsula in the southeastern section of the county on the South Shore of Long Island. The South Fork includes most of the Hamptons. The shorter, more northerly peninsula is known as the North Fork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montaukett</span> Native northeastern American people

The Montaukett ("Metoac"), more commonly known as Montauk are an Algonquian-speaking Native American people from the eastern and central sections of Long Island, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New York's 1st congressional district</span> U.S. House district for New York

New York's 1st congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in eastern Long Island. It includes the eastern two-thirds of Suffolk County, including the northern portion of Brookhaven, as well as the entirety of the towns of Huntington, Smithtown, Riverhead, Southold, Southampton, East Hampton, and Shelter Island. The district encompasses extremely wealthy enclaves such as the Hamptons, middle class suburban towns such as Selden, Centereach, and Lake Grove, working-class towns such as Riverhead and rural farming communities such as Mattituck and Jamesport on the North Fork. The district currently is represented by Republican Nick LaLota who lives in Amityville, outside of the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outer Barrier</span> String of barrier islands dividing Long Island from the Atlantic Ocean

The Outer Barrier, also known as the Long Island and New York City barrier islands, refers to the string of barrier islands that divide the lagoons south of Long Island, New York from the Atlantic Ocean. These islands include Long Beach Barrier Island, Barnum Island, Jones Beach Island, Fire Island and Westhampton Island. The outer barrier extends 75 miles (121 km) along the South Shore of Long Island, from the Rockaway Peninsula in New York City to the east end of Shinnecock Bay in Suffolk County.

Canoe Place was a station stop along the Montauk Branch of the Long Island Rail Road and first opened as a low cinder platform on the south east side of Shinnecock Canal in 1935. The station was in service for "Fisherman's Special" trains and was closed in 1953. "Fisherman's Special" trains operated from Penn Station to Montauk and provided an intermediate stop at Canoe Place for boats waiting to take anglers out on Peconic Bay. The station was located between Hampton Bays and Suffolk Downs Stations. The hamlet where it was located is now part of Hampton Bays, New York.

References

  1. "Repeal the tax in Brookhaven and the five East End Towns"
  2. ""East End Lighthouses"". Archived from the original on 2010-06-13. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  3. Fisher's Island, eleven miles east of the rest of the Town of Southold, lies west of Montauk's eastern shore.
  4. "Long Island (AVA): Appellation Description"
  5. Growth Pains And Clout Heading East In Suffolk - New York Times - February 11, 2004
  6. Voters Vs. Politicians On Peconic County - East Hampton Star - March 5, 1998 [ permanent dead link ]
  7. "2000 U. S. Census" . Retrieved 2010-03-26.