County Suffolk Founded 1648 Elevation 7.9 m Population 1,103 (2013) | State New York Town East Hampton Incorporated 1920 Zip code 11937 Area code 631 | |
Weather 6°C, Wind NW at 8 km/h, 39% Humidity Area 12.7 km² (12.34 km² Land / 36 ha Water) |
The Village of East Hampton is a village in the town of East Hampton, New York, United States. It is located in Suffolk County, on the South Fork of eastern Long Island. The population was 1,083 at the time of the 2010 census, 251 less than in the year 2000. It is a center of the summer resort and upscale locality at the East End of Long Island known as The Hamptons and is generally considered one of the area's two most prestigious communities.
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Seventeenth Century
Founded in 1648 by Puritan farmers who worshiped as Presbyterians, the village of Easthampton was a farming community with some fishing and whaling. Whales that washed up on the beach were butchered and whales were hunted offshore with rowboats sometimes manned by Montauk Indians. Due to no good harbor in East Hampton; however, it was Sag Harbor which became a whaling center which sent ships to the Pacific.
The land had been purchased in 1648 by the governors of Connecticut Colony and New Haven Colony from the Montauk Indians, in large part for small drills to make wampum, their traditional industry; hunting and fishing rights were retained. It was then sold for about £30 to settlers, some from Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts, who had not found room for their herds in Massachusetts Bay Colony. The original name for the village was Maidstone, from a village in Kent some of the settlers may have come from. Each original settler was allotted a village lot of several acres and rights in common to surrounding lands which were regulated by the town government. The area was transferred to the jurisdiction of New York in 1664.
In large part early settlers in East Hampton were unacquainted with one another. A great deal of jockeying for position resulted which took the form of legal proceedings conducted by the town government. Summaries of these proceedings were recorded by the town clerk and form the major resource for historians studying East Hampton during the 17th Century; there are few other written records such as diaries.
The witchcraft accusation against Elizabeth Garlick began in East Hampton.
Nineteenth Century
In the late 19th century, after extension of the railway to Bridgehampton in 1870 by predecessors of the Long Island Rail Road, visitors began to summer, at first in boarding houses on Main Street, then in "cottages," which sometimes were substantial estates, built on former farms and pastures in the village. Shingle style architecture was popular from the 1880s. By the early 1890s the prices being commanded for cottage sites, as high as $10 thousand an acre, were the object of comment by the editors of The New York Times. The Montauk Branch of the railroad was extended through East Hampton to Montauk in 1895.
Twentieth Century
It was during the 1910s and 20s that most luxury estates were built by the very wealthy, mostly in the Eastern Plain, a previously undeveloped agricultural area. The privately circulated Blue Book of the Hamptons informed, and continues to inform, fashionable residents as to who is who. The Great Depression and World War II resulted in a lull, but full-scale building of cottages resumed in the 1950s and some of the large estates began to be broken up. By 1968 the exclusive character of the "Summer Colony" had become so diluted by the merely rich that the column of that name in The East Hampton Star was discontinued.
The quaint windmills and other sights were favored by artists and art students from the 1890s. It became an artists' colony in the mid-20th century, popularized by the Abstract Expressionists.
Twenty First Century
As of the 21st century The Hamptons are a fashionable, if crowded and expensive, weekend destination during the summer season. According to Sotheby's International Realty®:
History and surviving historic sites are detailed in "Village of East Hampton Multiple Area", a New York State study.
Beaches
Parking access to the Atlantic Ocean beaches within the village of East Hampton is severely restricted from May 1 to September 30. In 2006 there were only 2,600 permits available for non-residents with a charge of $250. Residents can always get parking permits.
East Hampton's beaches are highly regarded because of their clean white sands, the fact they're relatively accessible and because there is minimal development along the beach, which is strictly residential. Parking space at the village beaches is limited, which prevents crowding. Parking is prohibited on neighboring streets. There is no law that restricts people from accessing the beaches via bike, foot or being dropped off.
The beaches of East Hampton Village (from west to east):
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.9 square miles (12.7 km2). 4.7 square miles (12.3 km2) are land, while 0.15 square miles (0.4 km2), or 2.82% of the total area, is water. The village gained some territory and lost some territory between the 1990 census and the 2000 census. The neighborhood near Georgica Pond, a tidal pond on the west side of the village is notable for its fashionable residences and high-profile residents.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,334 people, 635 households, and 337 families residing in the village. The population density was 280.3 people per square mile (108.2/km²). There were 1,745 housing units at an average density of 366.7 per square mile (141.5/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 93.10% White, 1.42% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 1.87% Asian, 1.87% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.92% of the population.
There were 635 households out of which 16.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.2% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.9% were non-families. 36.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.07 and the average family size was 2.68.
In the village, the population was spread out with 14.4% under the age of 18, 4.5% from 18 to 24, 22.6% from 25 to 44, 31.3% from 45 to 64, and 27.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 52 years. For every 100 females there were 95.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.6 males.
The median income for a household in the village was $56,607, and the median income for a family was $62,500. Males had a median income of $41,181 versus $37,083 for females. The per capita income for the village was $51,316. About 5.5% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.2% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or older.
Regulations
The size of homes that can be built in East Hampton is regulated. The point is to ensure that new construction is more or less compatible with size of the lot it is constructed on and the neighborhood it is located in.
Law enforcement
Law enforcement in East Hampton is the responsibility of the East Hampton Village Police Department, chosen in 2009 for New York State accredited status. The department is located within the town of East Hampton, in Suffolk County, New York. It is headed by Chief of Police Gerard Larsen, Jr., and staffed by 22 full-time officers and 13 civilian staff. The department has both a uniformed and detective division.
The police department building is part of the Municipal Emergency Building located at One Cedar Street in East Hampton.