Jamesport 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 ...

in Riverhead in

Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...

. A

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a 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 counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

population estimate was around 1,710 at the 2010 census. Inn Exterior Dusk DSC 2245 160 REV 3000pix

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

Jamesport contains

antique shop An antique shop (or antiques shop) is a retail store specializing in the selling of antiques. Antiques shops can be located either locally or, with the advent of the Internet, found online. An antiques shop can also be located within an anti ...

s and a handful of fine-dining restaurants. Jamesport has many farms, including sod, pumpkin, flower, and potato farms, as well as wineries.

Hallock State Park Preserve Hallock State Park Preserve (formerly Jamesport State Park) is a state park and nature preserve located in the towns of Riverhead and Southold in Suffolk County, New York. The park is situated on Long Island's north shore, with nearly of b ...

(previously '' Jamesport State Park'') is located north of Jamesport in the adjacent hamlet of Northville.

Geography

The

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

estimated that Jamesport had a total area of , of which was made out of land and , or 0.60%, was made out of water.

History

Jamesport was first settled in the 1690s and was originally called "

Aquebogue Aquebogue () is a census-designated place (CDP) roughly corresponding to the hamlet by the same name in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 2,438 at the 2010 census. Aqu ...

." It became "Lower Aquebogue" when another hamlet called "Upper Aquebogue" was established to the west. The

Jamesport Meeting House Jamesport Meeting House is a historic meeting house located at Jamesport in Suffolk County, New York. It is in the form of a 2-story gable-fronted building with a -story wing to the east. It features an open bell tower topped by a two-tiered ...

, built in 1731, is the oldest operating church building in Suffolk County. The name "Jamesport" refers to James Tuthill, a man who settled in the area south of Lower Aquebogue on the Peconic Bay with his family in 1833. Over time, Lower Aquebogue came to be called Jamesport, while the community to the south, previously called Jamesport, came to be called South Jamesport (and is included in the present-day Jamesport CDP). Upper Aquebogue became

. James Tuthill's attempt to establish a commercial whaling and shipping wharf on the

Peconic Bay The Peconic Bay is the parent name for two bays between the North Fork and South Fork, Suffolk County, New York, South Fork of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is separated from Gardiners Bay by Shelter Island (t ...

in what is now South Jamesport was a failure. The depth of water at low tide was too shallow to accommodate ships. However, the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system 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 Co ...

established service to Jamesport from New York City, and Jamesport became a popular resort and fishing community with several large bayfront hotels. These included the Miamogue Hotel and the Great Peconic Bay House, which operated until 1952. Jamesport was a center for the

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve mollusks in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related families ...

and bunker (

menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker and bunker and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...

) fisheries. From the 1830s to about 1950, Jamesport was the site of a Camp Meeting Grove operated by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

and, after 1904, an

Epworth League Founded in 1889, the Epworth League is a Methodist young adult association for people aged 18 to 35. It had its beginning in Cleveland, Ohio, at its Central Methodist Church on May 14 and 15, 1889. There was also a Colored Epworth League. Before ...

Fresh Air Camp. During the 1960s, the

Long Island Lighting Company The Long Island Lighting Company, or LILCO "lil-co" was an electrical power company and natural gas utility for the communities of Long Island, New York, serving 2.7 million people in Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Counties. ...

(LILCO) designated land on the North Shore of Long Island for use as a possible second nuclear power station, in addition to its Shoreham plant already under construction. However, the Jamesport plan was scrapped when LILCO ran into opposition to Shoreham in the 1970s and 1980s.

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 incl ...

of 2020, there are 1,609 people, 469 households, and 1,126 housing units in Jamesport. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is 216.0 per square mile. The ethnic makeup of the CDP is 88.6%

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 on ...

, 1.5%

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 ...

, 0.4%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.06%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, 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 the original p ...

, 0.43% from other

ethnicities An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

, and 0.48% from two or more ethnicities.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any ethinicity are 11% of the population. There are 469 households, out of which 56.7% are

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, 29.4% have a female householder with no spouse present, and 3.2% have a male householder with no spouse present. 10.2% of the population are minors. 9.9% of the population is classified as living below the poverty line.

Schools

Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District is a public school district located on the North Fork, Suffolk County, New York, North Fork of Long Island, in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. I ...

(small eastern portion of CDP of Jamesport) *

Riverhead Central School District Riverhead Central School District is a public school district located in the eastern part of Suffolk County, New York, United States. It primarily serves the Town of Riverhead, as well as in the Town of Southampton and in the Town of Brookh ...

(majority of CDP of Jamesport)

References

External links

Jamesport History

Jamesport Meeting House Preservation Trust
{{Authority control Riverhead (town), New York Census-designated places in New York (state) Hamlets in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)