Statue of the Smithtown Bull that Richard Smith was said to have ridden in order to claim the land that became the Town of Smithtown
The land that would become the town was originally owned by the Nissequogue Native Americans.[3]
Smithtown in 1931
Local legend
An oft-repeated but apocryphal story has it that, after rescuing a Native American chief's abducted daughter, Richard Smith was told that the chief would grant title to all of the land Smith could encircle in one day while riding a bull. Smith chose to ride the bull on the longest day of the year (summer solstice) 1665, to enable him to ride longer "in one day." The land he acquired in this way is said to approximate the current town's borders.[3] A large statue of Smith's bull, known as Whisper, pays homage to the legend at the fork of Jericho Turnpike (New York State Route 25) and St. Johnland Road (New York State Route 25A).[4][5]
Actual founding
According to local historians, the bull story is a myth.[3][5] It was actually English settler Lion Gardiner who had helped rescue the daughter of Nissequogue Grand Sachem Wyandanch, after she was kidnapped by rival Narragansetts.[3] Smith, who lived in nearby Setauket, was a friend of Gardiner; it was at Smith's house where the Nissequogue princess was returned to Wyandanch.[3] The Grand Sachem awarded a large tract of land to Gardiner as a gesture of gratitude.[3] In 1663 Gardiner sold the Nissequogue lands to Smith.[3] Two years later, colonial Governor Richard Nicolls recognized the sale by awarding Smith “The Nicolls Patent of 1665,” which formally ratified Smith's claim to the land.[3] Thus, 1665 is considered the founding date of the town.
Smithtown was originally known as "Smithfield".[6]
The border between Smithtown and the town of Huntington is partially defined by Bread and Cheese Hollow Road (Suffolk County Road 4), so named after Bread and Cheese hollow, which according to legend is where Smith stopped on his ride to have a lunch of bread and cheese. The road is reputed to follow part of his original ride. The border between Smithtown and Huntington was also the site of Fort Salonga, a British fort that was the site of a battle of the American Revolution during 1781.[7][8] The Smithtown hamlet of Nesconset was the home of Spaceplex, an indoor amusement park and arcade that was falsely accused of being the abduction site in the Katie Beers kidnapping case in 1992.[9][10]
350th anniversary
The town celebrated its 350th anniversary with the unveiling of a new statue of founder Richard Smith, in front of an office building at the intersection of Main Street and Route 111.[3]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 111.5 square miles (289km2), of which 53.8 square miles (139km2) is land and 57.7 square miles (149km2) (51.75%) is water.[11]
As of the census[13] of 2000, there were 115,715 people, 38,487 households, and 31,482 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,159.9 inhabitants per square mile (833.9/km2). There were 39,357 housing units at an average density of 734.6 per square mile (283.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was:
There were 38,487 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.28.[citation needed]
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 1000 females age 18 and over, there were 911.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $100,165, and the median income for a family was $110,776.[14]
Males had a median income of $61,348 versus $38,208 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,401. About 2.1% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.[citation needed]
Ancestries: Italian (35.3%), Irish (26.0%), German (18.7%), Polish (6.9%), English (5.0%), Russian (4.1%).[15]
Government and politics
Current Town Board as of January 10, 2018
Town Clerk / Registrar
Councilwoman
Councilman
Supervisor
Councilwoman
Councilman
Receiver of Taxes
Vincent Puleo (R)
since January 1, 2006
Lynne Nowick (R)
since January 1, 2014
Thomas J. McCarthy (R)
since January 1, 1998
Edward Wehrheim (R)
since January 1, 2018
Lisa Inzerillo (R)
since January 1, 2015
Thomas W. Lohmann (R)
since January 10, 2018
Deanna Varricchio (R)
since January 1, 2002
The present town hall and seat of the town was built in 1912 on Main Street in Smithtown.
In 2015 the town hall was dedicated and renamed after former Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio.[16]
Smithtown is led by a Town Supervisor and a four-member Town Council, elected town-wide with each serving four year terms. Elections are held in odd-numbered years, with two of the councilmembers being up for re-election each year.[citation needed]
The current Supervisor is Edward Wehrheim who has been Town Supervisor since 2018. His predecessor, Patrick Vecchio was in office for forty years, the longest elected town supervisor in the history of the United States. Elected as a Democrat during a special election, Vecchio switched parties in 1993 in an attempt to run for County Executive. Although defeated in the primary by Robert Gaffney, Vecchio remained a Republican until his death in 2019. He is the longest serving town supervisor in all of New York State. Vecchio ran in 2013 against former Councilman Robert Creighton, of the Conservative Party. Supervisor Vecchio won the Republican Primary against Councilman Creighton and then later defeated the Councilman in the General Election 45-30%. The Democratic candidate, Steven Snair received 25% of the vote. Councilman Creighton was later ousted in 2015 by Lisa Inzerillo. In the 2017 Republican primary, then-Councilman Ed Wehrheim received about forty votes more than Vecchio. The race was too close to call and a recount was demanded by Vecchio. Following the recount a week later, Wehrheim was declared the winner, nearly doubling his lead. Vecchio conceded the race the same day saying "“All good things come to an end."[17] On November 7, 2017, Ed Wehrheim defeated William Holst in the election for the town's next supervisor. Wehrheim succeeded Vecchio on January 1, 2018. On January 10, 2018, Thomas Lohmann was appointed to the seat vacated by Wehrheim's election.
The Town of Smithtown has always been dominated by Republicans at all levels of government. This one-party domination has often led to infighting between factions of the Republican Party in Smithtown with the most recent between Supervisor Vecchio and Smithtown Republican Party Chairman William Ellis. In recent times the Republican party has dominated the Town Board; the last Democratic Town Supervisor being Mr. Vecchio. The most Republican areas for Smithtown are its three incorporated villages, Nissequogue, Head of the Harbor, and the Branch, along with the hamlets of Smithtown and Kings Park. The weakest areas for the Republican party in Smithtown is the edges of the Town in the hamlets of Commack and Hauppauge. In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by a margin of 25 percent. Democratic County Executive Steve Bellone has won the town, in two of his three runs for that office.
In addition to presidential politics, the Town of Smithtown is also the power bases of many State and County elected officials. The former New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan had the bulk of his district located in Smithtown. Current Republican Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr., along with his wife, Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy both reside in Nesconset.[18]
Former Supervisor Vecchio died on April 6, 2019, at the age of 88.[19]
Town of Smithtown, New York vote by party in presidential elections[20]
Smithtown broadcasts its board meetings on SGTV, the Town of Smithtown's public service television station; Optimum channel 18 or Verizon Fios channel 27. The Times of Smithtown newspaper carries community-based articles.
The Smithtown Performing Arts Center is a theater at 2 East Main Street.[22] The historic building has not been significantly altered since it was built in 1933.[22] It operated as a movie theater from 1933 to November 2001, and was renovated and restored to accommodate live performances in 2002.[22] In 2022 the building was purchased by the nonprofit Smithtown Performing Arts Council, which programs a variety of live entertainment and community events including musicals, plays, music, comedy, educational classes and summer camps.[23]
Emergency services
Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services are provided by the seven Volunteer Fire Departments, and two Volunteer Ambulance Corps that cover parts of the Township. The Smithtown, Kings Park, Saint James, Nesconset, and Nissequogue Fire Departments provide both Fire Protection, as well as Emergency Medical Services to their districts. The Commack Fire Department and Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps provide coverage for the Commack hamlet, which is divided between the Town of Smithtown, and the Town of Huntington. The Hauppauge Volunteer Fire Department and Central Islip-Hauppauge Volunteer Ambulance Corps provide coverage to the Hauppauge hamlet, which is divided between the Town of Smithtown, and the Town of Islip.[citation needed]
Smithtown is policed by the 4th Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department. The Suffolk County Police are the primary law enforcement agency in Smithtown. They are responsible for responding to all 911 emergency calls. The Smithtown Department of Public Safety is an agency with limited powers. The Park Ranger Division is made up peace officers as defined in the Criminal Procedural Law of the state of New York.[24] Their enforcement powers are limited to Smithtown town property. The Department of Public Safety also has a Harbor Master division and Fire Marshall division.
Interstate 495 is the Long Island Expressway, and the sole interstate highway in the Town of Smithtown although only in the southwest corner of the town between Exit 52 in Commack and east of Exit 53 in Brentwood.[25]
Northern State Parkway was the sole west-east limited-access highway in the Town of Smithtown until the construction of the Long Island Expressway. It has interchanges from Exit 43 in Commack on the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line to Veterans Memorial Highway in Hauppauge.[25] Extensions further east were proposed at one time.
Sagtikos State Parkway is the south-north parkway that enters the Town of Smithtown from Brentwood at the interchange with the Long Island Expressway, and terminates at the Northern State Parkway (Exit SM1) in Commack, where it becomes the Sunken Meadow State Parkway.[25]
Sunken Meadow State Parkway is the dominant south-north parkway within the western Town of Smithtown. It begins at Northern State Parkway as a continuation of Sagtikos State Parkway in Commack, winding northeast, until it reaches Sunken Meadow State Park immediately after the interchange with NY 25A.
New York State Route 25A, the northernmost west-east state highway on Long Island including the Town of Smithtown. It enters the town from Bread and Cheese Hollow Road in Fort Salonga, winding through the hills of Fort Salonga through Kings Park where it becomes Main Street, then makes a sharp turn to the south onto Saint Johnland Road before passing the Smithtown Bull where it overlaps NY 25 and becomes Main Street. In the Village of the Branch, NY 25A leaves the overlap across from NY 111 where it runs along North Country Road as it heads northeast through Saint James and Head of the Harbor before crossing the Smithtown-Brookhaven Town Line west of Stony Brook.
New York State Route 25 runs west to east along Jericho Turnpike from Suffolk CR 4 at the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line through Main Street at the Smithtown Bull where it overlaps with NY 25A until separating with that route again at NY 111 in the Village of the Branch. East of there it runs along Main Street, then Middle Country Road through the Smithtown-Brookhaven Town Line in the Village of Lake Grove.
County Route 16, includes Terry Road from the eastern border of the Village of the Branch to northeastern Hauppauge, and Smithtown Boulevard from northeastern Hauppauge through Nesconset to the northern shores of Lake Ronkonkoma.
Smithtown Central School District is home of seven elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools.[citation needed]
The Town of Smithtown is also home to the Kings Park Central School District, a portion of the Commack Union-Free School District (shared with the Town of Huntington), a portion of the Hauppauge School District (shared with the Town of Islip) and a portion of the Sachem Central School District (shared with the Town of Brookhaven).[citation needed]
Elementary schools
Accompsett Elementary School
Branch Brook Elementary School (Closed)
Dogwood Elementary School
Mills Pond Elementary School
Mt. Pleasant Elementary School
Nesconset Elementary School (Closed)
Smithtown Elementary School
St. James Elementary School
Tackan Elementary School
Middle schools
Accompsett Middle School (formerly Smithtown High School Freshman Campus 1992-2005)
Great Hollow Middle School
Nesaquake Middle school
Smithtown High School
Eastern Campus (formerly Smithtown Central High School, 1960s-1973; formerly Smithtown High School East, 1973–1992; formerly Smithtown Middle School, 1992–2005) - located in St. James
The High School's Eastern Campus is composed of graduates of Nesaquake Middle School and those graduates of Great Hollow Middle School that reside in the Tackan and Mills Pond Elementary area.
Smithtown High School West
Western Campus (formerly Smithtown High School West, 1973–1992; formerly Smithtown High School 10-12 Building, 1992–2005)- located in south of the Kings Park Hamlet and west of the Smithtown Bull
The High School's Western Campus is composed of graduates of Accompsett Middle School and those graduates of Great Hollow Middle School that reside in the Mt. Pleasant Elementary area.
Former schools (No longer used as K-12 Facilities)
New York Avenue Junior High School- (now the Joseph M. Barton/New York Avenue Building) Currently the central office and headquarters of Smithown Central School District
Smithtown Branch High School- Smithtown High School before the opening of Smithtown Central High School in the 1960s
Jodi Hauptman, Senior Curator at The Museum of Modern Art, New York; organizer of landmark exhibitions Henri Matisse: The Cut-Outs and Georges Seurat - The Drawings
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.
Hauppauge is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Islip and Smithtown in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island. The population was 20,882 at the time of the 2010 census. Despite Riverhead being the county seat, many government offices are located in Hauppauge.
Nesconset is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Smithtown, located in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 13,387 at the 2010 census.
The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 204,127, making it the 11th most populous city/town in the state.
Islip is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the South Shore of Long Island. The population was 335,543 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous city or town in the New York metropolitan area.
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.
Michael J. Fitzpatrick is the Assembly member for the 8th District of the New York State Assembly. He is a Republican. The district includes portions of Islip and Smithtown, including Kings Park, Nesconset, St. James, Village of the Branch, Head of the Harbor and Nissequogue in Suffolk County on Long Island.
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.
New York's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives along the South Shore of Long Island, New York. It includes southwestern Suffolk County and a small portion of southeastern Nassau County. The district is currently represented by Republican Andrew Garbarino.
New York State Route 111 (NY 111) is a state highway located in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It runs north–south for 9.42 miles (15.16 km) through the towns of Islip and Smithtown, connecting NY 27A in the town seat of Islip to the east end of the NY 25 and NY 25A concurrency in Smithtown's Village of the Branch. Most of the road is a two-lane highway, save for several short four-lane stretches in the vicinity of interchanges along the route. NY 111 was assigned as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York as an East Islip–Village of the Branch highway, using what is now County Route 17 (CR 17) south of Hauppauge. It was realigned to serve the hamlet of Islip in 1966.
New York State Route 347 (NY 347) is an east–west arterial road located in Suffolk County, New York, in the United States. It connects the Northern State Parkway in Hauppauge to NY 25A in Mount Sinai. The route serves as a southern bypass of Smithtown and as a direct link between Nesconset and Port Jefferson. Along the way, NY 347 intersects NY 25 in Nesconset and Nicolls Road in Lake Grove. The westernmost 2 miles (3.2 km) of NY 347 is concurrent with NY 454 while the portion northeast of NY 25 parallels NY 25A, which follows a more northerly alignment through the town of Brookhaven than NY 347.
New York State Route 454 (NY 454), also known as the Suffolk County Veterans Memorial Highway or simply Vets Highway, is a 13.67-mile (22.00 km) east–west arterial road in western and central Suffolk County on Long Island in New York. It spans from NY 25 in Commack to NY 27 in Holbrook. The route provides access to the Long Island MacArthur Airport, as well as New York State and Suffolk County government offices, and at one time the Long Island Arena. NY 454 serves as the northern terminus for the Northern State Parkway in Hauppauge, where a concurrency with NY 347 begins.
Times Beacon Record Newspapers is a community newspaper publisher, located in Setauket, NY, consisting of seven different weekly newspapers serving Suffolk County localities on the North Shore of Long Island spanning from the town of Huntington into Wading River. The current publisher is Leah S. Dunaief.
The Nissequogue River is an 8.3-mile (13.4 km) long river flowing from Smithtown, New York into the Long Island Sound. Its average discharge of 42.2 cubic feet per second (1.19 m3/s) is the most of any of the freshwater rivers on Long Island. The river, like all other freshwater rivers on the island, is totally derived from groundwater. Its name is derived from one of the Algonquian-speaking Nissequaq tribe in the area.
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