Smithtown is a town in
Suffolk
County
, New
York
, United
States
, on the North
Shore of Long
Island
. The population was 115,715 at the
2000 census.
The
census-designated place of
Smithtown
lies in the town.
History
The town was first settled around 1665. Local legend has it that
after rescuing a
Native American
Chief's kidnapped daughter, Richard Smith was told that the Chief
would grant title to all of the land Smith could encircle in one
day -
on a bull. Richard Smith chose to ride the bull on
the longest day of the year (summer solstice) - to enable him to
ride longer "in one day". The land he acquired in this way is said
to approximate the current town's location. There is a large
anatomically correct statue of Smith's bull, known as Whisper, at
the fork of Jericho Turnpike (
New York State Route 25) and St.
Johnland Road (
New York State
Route 25A). Smithtown originally was known as
"Smithfield."
The border between Huntington and Smithtown is partially defined by
'Bread and Cheese Hollow Rd', so named after Bread and Cheese
hollow, which according to legend is where Smith stopped on his
ride to have a lunch of bread and cheese. The road is reputed to
follow part of his original ride.
Geography
The Town of Smithtown is located at 40° 52' 13" North, 73° 13' 3"
West (40.862786, -73.215175).
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of
111.4
square miles
(288.5
km²), of which,
53.6 square miles (138.8 km²) of it is land and
57.8 square miles (149.7 km²) of it (51.89%) is
water.
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 115,715
people, 38,487 households, and 31,482 families residing in the
town. The
population density was
2,159.9 people per square mile (833.9/km²). There were 39,357
housing units at an average density of 734.6/sq mi
(283.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was:
There were 38,487 households out of which 38.5% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were
married couples living together, 7.5% had a female
householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families.
15.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had
someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average
household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.28.
Main Street, Smithtown
In the town the population was spread out with 26.0% under the age
of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to
64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was
38 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every
1000 females age 18 and over, there were 911.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in
the town was $100,165, and the median income for a family was
$110,776.
[34913] Males had a median income of $61,348
versus $38,208 for females. The
per
capita income for the town was $31,401. About 2.1% of families
and 3.0% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age
18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Ancestries: Italian (35.3%), Irish (26.0%), German (18.7%), Polish
(6.9%), English (5.0%), Russian (4.1%).
Communities and locations
Villages (incorporated)
Hamlets (unincorporated)
Government and Politics
Other Communities
State Parks
Notable People from Smithtown
Media
Smithtown
is the city of license for two radio stations, WFRS
Family Radio
and WMJC "Island 94-3", repeater W228BI for
WNYC
, and TV station WFTY-TV
. Smithtown runs its board meetings on the
GOVT TV station, local channel 18.Smithtown is also home to a local
newspaper, The Smithtown News, which carries articles pertaining to
the community.
Infrastructure
Smithtown is protected by the 4th precinct of the
Suffolk County Police
Department. Fire, rescue, EMS and other emergency services are
in jurisdiction of the Smithtown Fire Department, which operates
from three stations in the district.
Smithtown Fire Department
Emergency medical care can be found at the hospital at the St.
Catherine of Sienna Medical Center, as well as the nearby
Stony Brook University
Hospital.
Schools
Smithtown Central School District is home of nine elementary
schools, three middle schools, and two high schools, all on
different campuses.
The Town of Smithtown is also home to the Kings Park Central School
District, a portion of the Commack Union-Free School District
(shared with the Town of Huntington), a portion of the Hauppauge
School District (shared with the Town of Islip) and a portion of
the Sachem Central School District (shared with the Town of
Brookhaven).
Elementary schools
- Accompsett Elementary School
- Branch Brook Elementary School
- Dogwood Elementary School
- Mills Pond Elementary School
- Mt. Pleasant Elementary School
- Nesconset Elementary School
- Smithtown Elementary School
- St. James Elementary School
- Tackan Elementary School
Middle schools
- Accompsett Middle School (formerly Smithtown High School
Freshman Campus 1992-2005)
- Great Hollow Middle School
- Nesaquake Middle School
Smithtown High School
- Eastern Campus (formerly Smithtown Central High School,
1960s-1973; formerly Smithtown High School East, 1973-1992;
formerly Smithtown Middle School, 1993-2005) - located in St. James
- The High School's Eastern Campus is composed of graduates of
Nesaquake Middle School and those graduates of Great Hollow Middle
School that reside in the Tackan and Nesconset Elementary
area.
- Famous graduates
Smithtown High School West
- Western Campus (formerly Smithtown High School West, 1973-1992;
formerly Smithtown High School 10-12 Building, 1992-2005)- located
in south of the Kings Park Hamlet and west of the Smithtown Bull
- The High School's Western Campus is composed of graduates of
Accompsett Middle School and those graduates of Great Hollow Middle
School that reside in the Mt. Pleasant and Branch Brook Elementary
area.
Private schools
Former Smithtown schools (No longer used as K-12
Facilities)
- New York Avenue Junior High School- (now the Joseph M.
Barton/New York Avenue Building) Currently the central office and
headquarters of Smithown Central School District
- Smithtown Branch High School- Smithtown High School before the
opening of Smithtown Central High School in the 1960s
References
External links
(in
part, with the Town of Huntington
)
(in part, with the Town of
Huntington)
(in part with the Town of
Brookhaven
and Town of Islip
)
, a state park southwest
of Smithtown village
(pre-school to twelfth grade)
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