Brookhaven

History

The primary known inhabitants were Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, of the Setauket and Unkechaug tribes. The first English settlers arrived around 1640, and in 1655, several purchased Brookhaven's land from its tribal inhabitants. The latter founding year was recognized in 1976, when the Brookhaven Town Bicentennial Commission proposed setting the date on the seal to 1655 in line with this first deed of settlement of the town of Brookhaven at Setauket on April 14, 1655. Considering this founding year of 1655, Brookhaven is the fifth English township on Long Island following Southampton, Southold, Huntington, and East Hampton. The first English settlement was named "Setauket" after the Native American tribe. The names "Brookhaven" and "Setauket" were initially used interchangeably to describe the village or the town. The verbal division between the smaller hamlet of Setauket and township of Brookhaven was not set until well into the 19th century. A point of confusion is the existence of the hamlet named Brookhaven, which was in fact named for the township in 1879. Other names used in the settlement's first decades were "Ashford", after Ashford, Kent, in England, and "Cromwell Bay", for English Protestant leader Oliver Cromwell. The original purchase from the native Setalcott tribe that took place in 1655 encompassed the land making up present-day Setauket, Stony Brook, and Port Jefferson. A second purchase was made by Richard Woodhull in 1664 expanded this tract eastward along the North Shore to additionally include all lands from the Old Mans area (Mount Sinai and Miller Place) to Wading River. Richard Woodhull was the direct heir of Eustace de Vesci, a British noble who was a signator of the Magna Charta. Another land purchase in the same year expanded…

Geography

Brookhaven is located centrally on the geographic Long Island and extends from the North Shore to the South Shore. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (51.20%) is water. It is the largest town in New York in terms of total area, excluding water. However, there are four towns in the state with more land area: Arietta in Hamilton County, Long Lake in Hamilton County, Ohio in Herkimer County and Webb in Herkimer County. Brookhaven is bounded by Long Island Sound to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the south, Riverhead to the northeast, Southampton to the southeast, Smithtown to the northwest, and Islip to the southwest. A large part of Fire Island (accessible by a bridge at Smith Point) and the Great South Bay are in the town. Bald Hill, a large hill in the hamlet of Farmingville, marks where the glacier which formed Long Island stopped. At the top of Bald Hill is a Vietnam veterans memorial. Telescope Hill, to the west of Bald Hill Cultural Park, is slightly taller at above sea level and the highest point in the town. The climate of the town is hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) except in the coastal areas where it is humid subtropical (Cfa). The following are the averages in Upton from 1981 to 2010: * Outer Barrier * Fire Island * Great South Bay ** Patchogue Bay ** Bellport Bay ** Narrow Bay ** Moriches Bay

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  17,122
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,286
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,662
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,757
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  14,663
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  12,634
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  12,129
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  11,932

Most recent

• M 2.8 — 2025-08-05
  1 km N of Hillsdale, New Jersey
• M 3 — 2025-08-03
  0 km W of Little Ferry, New Jersey
• M 3.04 — 2019-04-09
  63 km SSE of Sagaponack, New York
• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut
• M 2.6 — 2001-10-27
  1 km NNW of Manhattan, New York