Hampton Bays is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

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 count ...

(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 Hamptons, part of the East End of Long Island, consist of the towns of Southampton and East Hampton, which together comprise the South Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York. The Hamptons are a popular seaside resort and one o ...

. The population was 13,603 at the 2010 census.

History

The hamlet was settled in 1740 as "Good Ground", which became the main hamlet of eleven in the immediate area. The area where Main Street, also known as

Montauk Highway Montauk Highway is an east–west road extending for 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 ...

, is located today, was the approximate area of the original hamlet. There were ten other hamlets in the area. They were called Canoe Place, East Tiana, Newtown, Ponquogue, Rampasture, Red Creek, Squiretown, Southport, Springville, and West Tiana. Most of these hamlets were settled by one or two families and had their own school house. Many of the names from the former hamlets are still featured as local street names today. As a result of the growth of the surrounding hamlets and villages in the Hamptons and increased tourism from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, the eleven hamlets, although generally called "Good Ground" collectively by the early part of the 20th century, amalgamated under the name "Hampton Bays" in 1922. The motive behind the name change was for the hamlet to benefit from the "Hamptons" trade that the community's neighbors were experiencing. In the early 1970s and the 2010s, portions of Hampton Bays unsuccessfully attempted to incorporate itself as the Incorporated Village of Hampton Bays.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 28.54%, is water. The hamlet is surrounded by three bays, the Peconic Bay to the north, and Shinnecock and Tiana bays to the south. The two southern bays are a part of a greater bay system, called the

Great South Bay The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...

system, which stretches from approximately Southampton Village to Jamaica Bay in

. The

Shinnecock Canal The Shinnecock Canal (also known as the Shinnecock and Peconic Canal) is a canal that cuts across the South Fork at Hampton Bays, New York. At long, it connects Great Peconic Bay and the north fork of Long Island with Shinnecock Bay and the A ...

, a man-made canal located in the eastern part of the hamlet, connects the Great Peconic Bay with the Shinnecock Bay.

Shinnecock Inlet Shinnecock Inlet is the easternmost of five major inlets connecting bays to the Atlantic Ocean through the narrow Outer Barrier that stretches from New York City to Southampton, New York on the south shore of Long Island. It splits Westhampton Is ...

, which leads from the Shinnecock Bay to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, is the easternmost inlet, making it very popular for commercial fishing. The inlet itself, which separates the barrier beaches of Hampton Bays from those of neighboring Southampton, was created in the

1938 New England hurricane The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The storm ...

when the forces of the hurricane washed over that area of barrier beach, connecting the waters of the Atlantic with the bay. The Hampton Bays CDP is bounded by the

to the south; by the Shinnecock Inlet and the eastern portion of Shinnecock Bay to the east, beyond which lie the village of

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

and the CDP of Shinnecock Hills; by Peconic Bay to the north, beyond which lie the towns of Southold and Riverhead; and by the CDPs of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

and East Quogue (still within the town of Southampton) to the west. Hampton Bays is located approximately east of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 12,236 people, 4,877 households, and 3,092 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 1,016.1 per square mile (392.4/km²). There were 6,875 housing units at an average density of 570.9/sq mi (220.5/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.87%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.70% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 3.69% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

or Latino of any race were 2% of the population. There were 4,877 households, out of which 26.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.5% were married couples living together, 8.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.6% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.00. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 20.8% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 31.1% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $50,161, and the median income for a family was $58,773. Males had a median income of $47,633 versus $30,426 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $27,027. About 6.7% of families and 10.7% 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 t ...

, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 10.7% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Like most of the other communities in The Hamptons,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

is a critical component of the local economy. Commercial fishing remains a vital part of the Hampton Bays economy, centered on the fishing station at

. After Montauk, Hampton Bays is the second-busiest commercial fishing port in the state of New York. According to 2014 statistics by the

National Marine Fisheries Service The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), informally known as NOAA Fisheries, is a United States federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that is responsible for the ste ...

, 4.7 million pounds of finfish and shellfish, worth $5.5 million, were landed in the Hampton Bays/Shinnecock port. Hampton Bays was used as the set of the 2007 movie '' Margot at the Wedding'' starring

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

and Jack Black.

Education

Hampton Bays is served by Hampton Bays Public Schools. The district operates three schools. Hampton Bays Elementary School serves grades Pre-K-4, and Hampton Bays Middle School, which fully opened in Fall 2008, serves grades 5-8. It is the first "green" school in New York state.

Hampton Bays High School Hampton Bays High School is a public high school located in Hampton Bays, a hamlet in the Town of Southampton in Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on ...

serves grades 9-12. HB Schools' athletic teams are called the "Baymen", in honor of local commercial fishermen who work the hamlet's inland waters. Team colors are purple, black and white

Media

WLIR-FM WLIR-FM (107.1 FM, ''Talkradio 107.1'') is a radio station licensed to Hampton Bays, New York, and serving eastern Long Island. The station's studios and offices are located on Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, with additional offices on ...

is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to serve Hampton Bays.

Transportation

Hampton Bays is served by

Sunrise Highway New York State Route 27 (NY 27) is a 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 com ...

(NY 27), which is a major artery to the western parts of Long Island and

. The hamlet is also served by

( NY 27A), which runs from

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

to Montauk. Montauk Highway serves as the "Main Street" of many hamlets and villages along the south shore of Long Island. The Long Island Rail Road provides limited rail service seven days per week via the

Montauk Branch 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 branch runs the length of Long Island, 115 miles (185 km) from Long Island City on the west to Montauk on the east. Howe ...

connecting Hampton Bays to Montauk and

. Hampton Jitney and Hampton Luxury Liner coach bus services provide slightly more frequent passenger travel between New York City and Hampton Bays, especially during summer months. Local Suffolk County buses also provide service to neighboring areas. The waterways in the area, including the

, provide invaluable routes for boats.

References

External links

Hampton Bays Public Library

Hampton Bays Public Schools
{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) Southampton (town), New York Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)