Bridgehampton is a

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

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 counte ...

(CDP) on the South Fork of Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 1,756 at the 2010 census. Bridgehampton is in the town of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Shortly after the founding of Southampton in 1640, settlers began to move east to the area known by the Shinnecock Indians as Sagaponack and Mecox. At the head of Sagg Pond, the settlers established a community called Bullhead, later renamed Bridgehampton—after the bridge built across the pond. Sagg Bridge was built in 1686 by Ezekiel Sandford. The bridge was the link between Mecox and Sagaponack and gave this locality its name of Bridgehampton. The notorious criminal and memoirist Stephen Burroughs lived there during the 18th century and helped found the town's first library in 1793; the volumes he purchased could be found in the Bridgehampton Public Library as late as 2002. Bridgehampton became the home of the

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...

known as the Hampton Classic and a

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

course that figured prominently in American automobile racing. It was also home to one of the last

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

stores in the United States, however, it closed on October 20, 2024.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,381 people, 627 households, and 369 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,494 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 78.86%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 17.38%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.51% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 1.45% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.26% of the population. There were 627 households, out of which 19.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.0% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. Of all households 33.0% were made up of individuals, and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.82. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 17.7% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 22.2% from 25 to 44, 33.2% from 45 to 64, and 22.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $54,896, and the median income for a family was $74,583. Males had a median income of $50,865 versus $32,778 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the CDP was $43,781. About 6.8% of families and 8.5% 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 19.2% of those under age 18 and 2.7% of those age 65 or over.

Geography

Bridgehampton is located at (40.933182, -72.307987). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.57%, is water.

Climate

Bridgehampton has a climate transitioning between humid continental,

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones immediately to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Ge ...

and maritime. Due to the cold winter lows, plant hardiness more resembles a continental environment in spite of its oceanside location.

Education

The Bridgehampton Union Free School District operates one school, the Bridgehampton School, serving grades K through 12. The private Hayground School is also located in the hamlet.

Race circuit

The Bridgehampton Race Circuit was a , thirteen-turn road course located near Sag Harbor. The historic

track has been converted to a golf course and homes.Bridgehampton Race Circuit

Notable people

* Lloyd Blankfein, business executive * James M. Halsey, farmer, merchant and politician * Henry E. Huntting, whaler, farmer, and member of the New York State Assembly * Sean Ludwick, real estate developer convicted of vehicular homicide * A. J. Pierzynski, baseball player * Ernestine Rose, born and raised in Bridgehampton, was a librarian at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

responsible for the purchase and incorporation of the Arthur A. Schomburg collection. * Isaac Sandford, Brigadier General * Carl Yastrzemski, Boston Red Sox, 1967 Triple Crown winner, born and raised in Bridgehampton

References

External links

Bridgehampton Racing Heritage Group
{{authority control Census-designated places in New York (state) Census-designated places in Suffolk County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Suffolk County, New York Populated coastal places in New York (state)