Freeport

History

Before people of European ancestry came to the area, the land was part of the territory of the Meroke Indians. Written records of the community go back to the 1640s. In 1853, residents voted to rename the village Freeport, adopting a variant of a nickname used by ship captains during colonial times because they were not charged customs duties to land their cargo. From 1868, Freeport was served by the Southside Railroad, which was a major boon to development. The most prominent figure in this boom was developer John J. Randall; among his other contributions to the shape of Freeport today were several canals, including the Woodcleft Canal, one side of which is now the site of the "Nautical Mile". The Freeport Spite House still is standing and occupied. The village residents voted to incorporate the village on October 18, 1892, At that time, it had a population of 1,821. Public street lighting was begun in 1907, and a public fire alarm system was adopted in 1910. In the years after incorporation, Freeport was a tourist and sportsman's destination for its boating and fishing. From 1902 into the late 1920s, the New York and Long Island Traction Corporation ran trolleys through Freeport to Jamaica, Hempstead, and Brooklyn. These trolleys went down Main Street in Freeport, connecting to a ferry at Scott's Hotel near Ray Street. In later years these ferries departed from Ellison's dock on Little Swift Creek, served by separate trolleys operated by the Great South Bay Ferry Company. The ferries took people to Point Lookout, about three miles (5 km) south of Freeport, where there is an ocean beach. For a few years after 1913, the short-lived Freeport Railroad Company ran a trolley nicknamed "the Fishermen's Delight" along Grove Street (now Guy Lombardo Avenue) from…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of . The village is bisected by east–west New York State Route 27 (Sunrise Highway). The Meadowbrook State Parkway defines its eastern boundary. The southern part of the village is penetrated by several canals that allow access to the Atlantic Ocean by means of passage through salt marshes. The oldest canal is the late 19th-century Woodcleft Canal. Precipitation is uniform throughout the year, with slight spring and fall peaks.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  37,374
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  36,360
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  36,243
• European Starling

  Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  34,207
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  34,117
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  33,139
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  32,688
• American herring gull, Smithsonian Gull

  Larus smithsonianus Coues, 1862 · Aves
  29,866

Largest nearby schools

• FREEPORT HIGH SCHOOL
  High · FREEPORT · 2,264 students · 13.5:1 ratio
• UNIONDALE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · UNIONDALE · 2,080 students · 11.6:1 ratio
• ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL
  Other · HEMPSTEAD · 1,880 students · 17.1:1 ratio
• HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HEMPSTEAD · 1,866 students · 23.6:1 ratio
• HICKSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · HICKSVILLE · 1,852 students · 13:1 ratio
• NEW HYDE PARK MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · NEW HYDE PARK · 1,727 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• NASSAU BOCES
  Other · GARDEN CITY · 1,712 students · 4.4:1 ratio
• FARMINGDALE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
  High · FARMINGDALE · 1,703 students · 10.4:1 ratio

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 2.9 — 2024-05-24
  6 km E of Califon, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-05-01
  1 km NW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.9 — 2024-04-27
  7 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey
• M 2.6 — 2024-04-10
  5 km WSW of Gladstone, New Jersey