The Town of Southold is one of ten

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an or ...

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 populat ...

, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...

. The population was 23,732 at the 2020 census. The town also contains 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 ...

named Southold, which was settled in 1640.

History

Algonquian-speaking tribes, related to those in New England across Long Island Sound, lived in eastern Long Island before European colonization. The western portion of the island was occupied by bands of

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory inclu ...

, whose language was also one of the

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...

. In surrounding areas, the Dutch colonists had established early settlements to the northwest: on the upper Hudson River was Fort Orange, founded in 1615 (later renamed Albany by the English); and New Amsterdam (later renamed

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 ...

) in 1625.

Lion Gardiner Lion Gardiner (1599–1663) was an English engineer and colonist who founded the first English settlement in New York, acquiring land on eastern Long Island. He had been working in the Netherlands and was hired to construct fortifications on th ...

established a manor on

Gardiners Island Gardiner's Island is a small island in the Town of East Hampton, New York, in Eastern Suffolk County. It is located in Gardiner's Bay between the two peninsulas at the east end of Long Island. It is long, wide and has of coastline. The isl ...

in East Hampton in 1639. Just across from Long Island, the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

, or Connecticut River Colony, was established in 1636. The

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

s established New Haven Colony separately in 1638, even though it was largely surrounded by Connecticut Colony. New Haven Colony was a theocracy, governed only by church members. English

Puritans The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

from New Haven Colony settled in Southold on October 21, 1640. They had purchased the land in the summer of 1640 from the group of Indians related to the Pequot of New England, who lived in the territory they called ''Corchaug'' (now Cutchogue). Settlers spelled the Indian name of what became Southold as ''Yennicott''. In most histories Southold is reported as the first English settlement on

in the future

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. sta ...

. Under the leadership of the Reverend John Youngs, with Peter Hallock, the settlement consisted of the families of Barnabas Horton, John Budd, John Conklin, John Swazy, William Wells, John Tuthill, and Matthias Corwin. In 1650, the Treaty of Hartford established a boundary between Dutch and English claims roughly through Oyster Bay on the North Shore. The Dutch colony was the western part of Long Island, and the English dominated the east. The population of Southold at that point was about 180. The harbor at Greenport, on the North Fork, became important in trade, fishing, and

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industr ...

, because it rarely froze over. Settlers developed the interior land for agricultural purposes. Both New Haven Colony and Connecticut Colony had sought to establish Southold as a

theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

. The New Haven Colony did not permit other churches to operate at all, while the Connecticut Colony allowed freedom of religion. New Haven supervised Southold until 1662, when New Haven towns began shifting their allegiance to the surrounding Connecticut Colony. By 1664, New Haven colonists all had decided to join Connecticut, and the New Haven colony ceased to exist. Southold was supervised by the

until 1674. When the Dutch took control of the colony of New York in 1673, the English-settled eastern towns, including Southold, East Hampton, and Southampton, refused to submit; the Dutch attempted to force the matter by arms, and the colonists of the towns repelled them, with assistance from Connecticut. When New York was retaken by the English in 1674, these eastern towns preferred to stay part of Connecticut. Although Connecticut agreed, the government of

James, Duke of York James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious ...

forced the matter for them to be part of the Province of New York. Governor Sir

Edmund Andros Sir Edmund Andros (6 December 1637 – 24 February 1714) was an English colonial administrator in British America. He was the governor of the Dominion of New England during most of its three-year existence. At other times, Andros served ...

threatened to eliminate the residents' rights to land if they did not yield, which they did by 1676. The Duke of York had a grudge against Connecticut. New Haven had hidden three of the judges who sentenced his father King Charles I to death in 1649. The town called as its second minister Rev. Joshua Hobart, a

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

graduate from Hingham, Massachusetts, and son of Rev. Peter Hobart. The latter was the founding minister of

Old Ship Church The Old Ship Church (also known as the Old Ship Meetinghouse) is a Puritan church built in 1681 in Hingham, Massachusetts. It is the only surviving 17th-century Puritan meetinghouse in America. Its congregation, gathered in 1635 and officia ...

, the nation's oldest church in continuous use. Rev. Joshua Hobart was installed in 1674 and served until his death in 1717, when he was 88 years old. Rev. Hobart's brother Josiah was one of the earliest settlers and initial trustees of East Hampton, Long Island, as well as High Sheriff of Suffolk County. The name Southold is believed to be an

elision In linguistics, an elision or deletion is the omission of one or more sounds (such as a vowel, a consonant, or a whole syllable) in a word or phrase. However, these terms are also used to refer more narrowly to cases where two words are run toget ...

of Southwold, a coastal town in the corresponding

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

county of

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

. John Youngs, the minister who was one of the founders of the Town, was born and brought up in Southwold, England. Youngs was a member of St. Margaret's Church in nearby Reydon. Within the Town's limits is an area known as Reydon Shores, perhaps a reference to the Reydon, England known by Youngs. The Town's name also may refer to a "holding" to the south f New Haven, from whence the original settlers hailed. Southold,_NY,_Main_Street,_c

In the meantime, the population of Southold grew from 180 in 1650 to 880 by 1698. In the late 19th century, 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, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

extended its line on the North Shore to Greenport. This enabled summer vacationers to travel to the destination by train. Due to the light on the North Fork from water on both sides, the area attracted many artists, including

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

. The area was agricultural, and long dominated by for potato farming. In the late 20th century, large areas of the North Fork were redeveloped as vineyards. This area of Long Island has developed a respectable wine industry. In November 1994, the village of Greenport voted to abolish its police department and contract with the Southold Town Police for law enforcement.

Geography

The town is at the northeastern end of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

on a

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

called the North Fork and its extensions Plum Island, and

Fishers Island Fishers Island (Pequot: ''Munnawtawkit'') is an island that is part of Southold, New York, United States at the eastern end of Long Island Sound, off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. About long and wide, it ...

. The

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

separates the town from

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

. The eastern end of the peninsula, near Orient Point, is north of the Town of Shelter Island, but the town is separated from the South Fork of Long Island by the Great Peconic Bay and the Little Peconic Bay. The western end of the town is the border of the Town of Riverhead. It is twenty-one miles from Orient Point to the border with Riverhead. Robins Island, a protected open space in Great Peconic Bay, is also part of the Town of Southold. According to 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 th ...

, the town has a total area of 404.5 square miles (1,047.6 km²), of which 53.7 square miles (139.1 km²) is land and 350.8 square miles (908.5 km²) (86%) is water. The town has approximately 163 linear miles of coastline. Significant coastal fish and wildlife habitats within the Town of Southold, include: the Mattituck Inlet Wetlands and Beaches, Fishers Island Beaches, Pine Islands and Shallows, the Goldsmith Inlet and Beach, Pipes Cove Creek and Moores Drain, the Dumpling Islands and Flat Hammock.

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 inc ...

of 2000, there were 20,599 people, 8,461 households, and 5,804 families residing in the town. 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 RosenberPopu ...

was 383.5 people per square mile (148.1/km²). There were 13,769 housing units at an average density of 256.3 per square mile (99.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 93.53%

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 ...

, 2.91%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

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 ...

, 0.07% Native American, 0.45% Asian, 0.07%

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 ...

, 1.51% from other races, and 1.47% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race were 4.77% of the population. There were 8,461 households, out of which 26.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.8% were

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 ...

living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.4% were non-families. 26.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.90. In Southold town the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.2 males. The median income for a household in the town was $49,898, and the median income for a family was $61,108. Males had a median income of $46,334 versus $31,440 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 town was $27,619. About 4.1% of families and 5.8% of the population were below the

poverty line 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 ...

, including 7.2% of those under age 18 and 5.4% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and locations

Villages (incorporated)

* Greenport, near the easternmost tip of the mainland.

Hamlets (unincorporated)

* Cutchogue, in the western part of the town, originally a farming village * East Marion, in the eastern part of the town *

, a hamlet located on

* Laurel, by the western town line * Mattituck, in the western part of the town, settled in 1680 * New Suffolk, in the southwest part of the town *

Orient The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of '' Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

, the eastern tip of the mainland * Peconic, in the central part of the town, southwest of Southold village * Southold, the hamlet of Southold, settled in 1640.

Other census designated places (CDPs)

* Greenport West

Other communities

* ''Arshamomaque'', between Greenport and Southold village * ''Bay Haven'', on Little Peconic Bay * ''Bay View'', on Great Hog Neck * ''Beixedon Estates'', a private community east of Southold village * ''Cedar Beach'' on Great Hog Neck, southeast of Bay View * ''Cove, The'' * ''Cutchogue Station'', north of Cutchogue * ''Fleet's Neck'', South of Cutchogue * ''Founder's Landing'', the historic center of Southold Village * ''East Cutchogue'', located east of Cutchogue * ''Eastwind Shores'' * ''Laughing Water'', near Great Hog Neck * ''Nassau Farms'' * ''Nassau Point'', on Little Hog Neck * ''Oregon'', along the vicinity of Oregon Road between Mattituck and Peconic * ''Orient Point'', at the eastern tip of the mainland * ''Reydon Shores'', on Great Hog Neck (named after Reydon in

, England the birthplace of the wife of the Rev. John Youngs). * ''Stirling'', north of Greenport * ''Terry Waters'' on Little Peconic Bay * ''Waterville'', north of Matttituck

Government and politics

Islands

, in the eastern end of Long Island Sound * Great Gull Island, (uninhabited) located east of Plum Island and west of Fisher's Island *

Little Gull Island Little Gull Island Light is a lighthouse on Little Gull Island, a small island in Long Island Sound, located approximately northeast of Great Gull Island. Both islands are located in the Town of Southold, in Suffolk County, New York, and lie r ...

, (uninhabited) located east of Great Gull Island * Plum Island, a restricted research facility east of Orient Point * Robins Island, in the Great Peconic Bay

Geographic features

* ''Great Hog Neck'', a peninsula into Little Peconic Bay * ''Little Hog Neck'', a peninsula into Peconic Bay * ''Long Beach Bay'', a bay near Orient * ''Orient Harbor'', a bay in the eastern part of the town * ''Orient Point'', the easternmost tip of the mainland of the north fork of Long Island

State parks

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 ...

Orient Beach State Park Orient Beach State Park is a state park located in Southold, New York. The park is situated at the tip of the North Fork of Long Island. Long Beach, located within the park, was designated a National Natural Landmark in April 1980 for its s ...

, a

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...

on Orient Point

Culture

Southold Town, along with the rest of the

East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

, has a very rich cultural history. A handful of world-renowned artists have lived in the town including; Douglas Moore,

Robert Berks The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, and

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

.URL=https://www.newsday.com/long-island/walt-whitman-the-long-islander-bicentennial-of-his-birth-1.30762823, accessndate=April 13, 2013 Throughout the town there's countless art galleries and studios ranging all mediums of artistic expression. The town also has a rich community of musicians. Local music venue and restaurant, The Green Hill Kitchen, has seen performances from modern jazz greats such as

Tommy Campbell (musician) Thomas W. Campbell (born February 14, 1957, Norristown, Pennsylvania) is an American jazz drummer. Campbell's uncle is Jimmy Smith; Campbell played with him as a teenager and subsequently. He was a student at Berklee College of Music from 197 ...

Gil Goldstein Gil Goldstein (born November 6, 1950 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American jazz pianist and accordionist. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and he was nominated 8 time Biography He began studying accordion at age 5 after noticing it in The Lawrence ...

Alex Sipiagin Alex Sipiagin (born June 11, 1967) is a Russian jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player. Biography Sipiagin was born on June 11, 1967. He moved from Russia to the U.S. in 1990. His first major job in the U.S. was with the Gil Evans Band. He has pl ...

, and

Morris Goldberg Morris Goldberg is a South African saxophonist who is recognised as one of the early pioneers of Cape Jazz, along with Dollar Brand and Chris McGregor. Biography Born in Cape Town, Goldberg grew up in Observatory, a suburb of Cape Town. He le ...

Transportation

Railroads

*The

's Main Line is the sole line within the Town of Southold. Passengers can go to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

via Mattituck, Southold and Greenport Stations. The line is also used by the

Railroad Museum of Long Island The Railroad Museum of Long Island is a railway museum based on the North Fork, of Long Island, New York, in the United States. It has two locations, the main location in Riverhead, and a satellite location in Greenport, west of the North ...

Bus service

* The Town of Southold is served primarily by

Suffolk County Transit Suffolk County Transit is the provider of bus services in Suffolk County, New York on Long Island and is an agency of the Suffolk County government. It was founded in 1980 as a county-run oversight and funding agency for a group of private contr ...

bus routes, although

Hampton Jitney Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales * Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada *Hampton, New Brunswick * ...

buses are available for trips to

Major roads

New York State Route 25 is the main west–east route in the Town of Southold, and as such is almost entirely named "Main Road." Two truck routes of NY 25 also exist. * NY-114

New York State Route 114 enters and exits the Village of Greenport via the ferry to Shelter Island * Suffolk County 48

County Route 48 (Suffolk County, New York) is a major west–east county road between Mattituck and north of Greenport. The NYSDOT once planned to upgrade the road into part of the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music me ...

. *Sound Avenue was a former segment of

New York State Route 25A New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at the ...

, which is unmarked, but still serves as an important thoroughfare from Wading River along the north shore into Mattituck.

Airports

Mattituck Airport Mattituck Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) southeast of the central business district of Mattituck, a hamlet in the Town of Southold, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is privately owned by Mat ...

* Charles Rose Airport

Ferries

Cross Sound Ferry Cross Sound Ferry is a passenger and road vehicle ferry service operating between New London, Connecticut, New London, Connecticut and Orient, New York, Orient on the North Fork (Long Island), North Fork of Long Island, New York (state), New Yor ...

Orient to

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

* North Ferry, Greenport to Shelter Island

References

External links

Town of Southold

Whitaker, Epher. ''History of Southold, L.I.: Its First Century''
(available from HathiTrust)
North Fork
- Southold Town Visitors Guide {{Authority control Towns on Long Island Towns in Suffolk County, New York Populated places established in 1640 Towns in the New York metropolitan area Populated coastal places in New York (state) 1640 establishments in the British Empire