Cutchogue ( ) 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) in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Fork of

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 ...

's East End. The population was 3,349 at the 2010 census. The Cutchogue CDP roughly represents the area of the Cutchogue hamlet in the

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Southold.

Geography

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 community has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.2%, is water.

History

The name ''Cutchogue'' is derived from an Algonquin word meaning "principal place". Many of the local Native Americans lived at Fort Corchaug before English-American settlers began arriving in 1640. The Old House, built ca. 1699, is the oldest English-style house in the village. In fact, it is one of the best surviving examples of English domestic architecture in the United States, and it has been named a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

. Famous 18th century residents include political figure Parker Wickham and his nephew John Wickham. Cutchogue is also the birthplace of composer

Douglas Moore Douglas Stuart Moore (August 10, 1893 – July 25, 1969) was an American composer, songwriter, organist, pianist, Conducting, conductor, educator, actor, and author. A composer who mainly wrote works with an American subject, his music is genera ...

(1893–1969). In 1854, Cutchogue was the location of three notorious murders perpetrated by Nicholas Bain. Hargrave Vineyard, the first

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

on Long Island, was established in Cutchogue in 1973. The Long Island Merlot Alliance, which promotes wine-making using the merlot grape, the principal Long Island grape, is based in Cutchogue.

Local landmarks

* Fort Corchaug, a 17th-century Native American settlement, is a

. * Wickham’s Fruit Farm has a family history going back to the 17th century. * The vintage Cutchogue Diner, housed in an original 1941 Kullman Building Corporation diner. * Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library. The building that is now the Library’s home "was originally a church built by the Independent Congregational Church and Society in 1862." * The Old House (c. 1649), one of the oldest houses in New York state.

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 2,849 people, 1,120 households, and 801 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 1,680 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the community was 93.86%

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 ...

, 2.42%

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 ...

, 0.04% Native American, 0.53% Asian, 1.72% from other races, and 1.44% 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 5.69% of the population. Cutchogue_Library

There were 1,120 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.3% 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, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% 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 2.93. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 5.1% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 28.3% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the community was $65,469, and the median income for a family was $71,611. Males had a median income of $51,103 versus $34,432 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 $35,042. About 2.0% of families and 5.6% 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 5.8% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.

Albert Einstein and Cutchogue

An avid sailor,

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

once called Little Peconic Bay in Cutchogue "the most beautiful sailing ground I ever experienced." In the summers of 1938 and 1939 he rented a cottage on Old Cove Road, now called West Cove Road, on Nassau Point, and spent many hours alone in a little sailboat he called Tineff (

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

for "worthless"). Albert Einstein was taught to sail on Little Peconic Bay but his sailing skills left much to be desired. While in Cutchogue on August 2, 1939, pipe-smoking Einstein was visited by fellow Jewish physicists from Hungary Leó Szilárd (who had produced a nuclear chain reaction in a laboratory at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

) and Edward Teller (both prompted by

Niels Bohr Niels Henrik David Bohr (, ; ; 7 October 1885 – 18 November 1962) was a Danish theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and old quantum theory, quantum theory, for which he received the No ...

), and dictated the famous Letter to President Roosevelt, alerting him to the new developments in

nuclear physics Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies atomic nuclei and their constituents and interactions, in addition to the study of other forms of nuclear matter. Nuclear physics should not be confused with atomic physics, which studies th ...

and hinting that the Germans might be working on an atomic bomb, urging him to launch his own program. The letter is widely credited with setting in motion the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

, the US government effort that built the first

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

. When Szilárd first explained the concept of a nuclear chain reaction to him, Einstein gave the famous reply, "Daran habe ich gar nicht gedacht!" ("I really never thought of that before").

Schools

* Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free School District

References

{{authority control Southold, 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) 1640 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies Connecticut Colony establishments on Long Island