Country United States Elevation 105 ft (32 m) Area code(s) 631 Population 117,801 (2010) | County Suffolk Time zone EST (UTC−5) Local time Friday 2:45 PM | |
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ZIP codes 11725, 11745,11754, 11780, 11787, 11788, 11768 (part), 11755 (part), 11779 (part) Weather 7°C, Wind S at 29 km/h, 58% Humidity Points of interest Caleb Smith State Park Pres, Sweet Briar Nature Center, Long Island Greenbelt, Maple Avenue Park, Landing Avenue Park | ||
Smithtown is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. The population was 117,801 at the 2010 census.
Contents
- Map of Smithtown NY USA
- History
- Geography
- Demographics
- Government and politics
- Villages incorporated
- Hamlets unincorporated
- Other communities
- State parks
- Notable people
- Media
- Emergency services
- Railroad lines
- Bus service
- Major roads
- Schools
- Elementary schools
- Middle schools
- Smithtown High School
- Private schools
- Former Smithtown schools No longer used as K 12 Facilities
- References
Map of Smithtown, NY, USA
The census-designated place (CDP) of Smithtown lies within the town's borders.
History
Smithtown originally, known as "Smithfield", 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". 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).
The border between Smithtown and the town of Huntington is partially defined by Bread and Cheese Hollow Road (Suffolk County Road 4), 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. The border between Smithtown and Huntington was also the site of Fort Salonga, a British fort that was the site of a battle of the American Revolution during 1781.
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 per square mile (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.
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.[1] 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%).
Government and politics
The present town hall and seat of the town was built in 1912 on Main Street in Smithtown. In 2015 the town hall was dedicated and renamed after current Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio.
Smithtown is led by a Town Supervisor and a four-member Town Council, elected town-wide with each serving four year terms. Elections are held on odd numbered years with two of the councilmembers being up for re-election each year.
The current Supervisor is Patrick R. Vecchio, who has been Town Supervisor since 1978. Elected as a Democrat during a special election, Vecchio switched parties in 1993 in an attempt to run for County Executive. Although defeated in the primary by Robert Gaffney, Vecchio has remained a Republican to present day. At this time he is currently the longest serving town supervisor in all of New York State. Vecchio's most recent election was in 2013 against former Councilman Robert Creighton, of the Conservative Party. Supervisor Vecchio won the Republican Primary against Councilman Creighton and then later defeated the Councilman in the General Election 45-30 (A Democratic candidate, Steven Snair ran as the third party candidate, obtaining 25% of the vote). Councilman Creighton was later ousted in 2015 by Lisa Inzerillo as revenge by Supervisor Vecchio for challenging his position.
The Town of Smithtown has always been dominated by Republicans at all levels of government. This one-party domination has often led to infighting between factions of the Republican Party in Smithtown with the most recent between Supervisor Vecchio and Smithtown Republican Party Chairman William Ellis. In recent presidential elections the Republican party has never received less than 56% of the vote from the Town of Smithtown. The most Republican areas for Smithtown are its three incorporated villages, Nissequogue, Head of the Harbor, and the Branch, along with the hamlets of Smithtown and Kings Park. The weakest areas for the Republican party in Smithtown is the edges of the Town in the hamlets of Commack and Hauppauge. In 2016 President-elect Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by 28 points, the highest performing town for him on all of Long Island.
In addition to Presidential Politics, the Town of Smithtown is also the power bases of many State and County elected officials. New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan has the bulk of his district located in Smithtown. Current Republican Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr., along with his wife, Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy both reside in Nesconset.
Villages (incorporated)
Hamlets (unincorporated)
Other communities
State parks
Notable people
Media
Smithtown is the city of license for two radio stations, WFRS Family Radio and WWSK "94.3 the Shark", repeater W228BI for WNYC, and the TV station WFTY-TV. Smithtown broadcasts its board meetings on SGTV, the Town of Smithtown Public service television station; Cablevision channel 18 or Verizon channel 27. SGTV is also available on the web at http://www.smithtowngtv.org/ Smithtown has three local newspapers, Smithtown Messenger, The Times of Smithtown, and The Smithtown News, which carry community-based articles. Web sites such as SmithtownRadio.com serve as hyper-local news outlets for the community.
Emergency services
Fire Protection and Emergency Medical Services are provided by the seven Volunteer Fire Departments, and two Volunteer Ambulance Corps that cover parts of the Township. The Smithtown, Kings Park, Saint James, Nesconset, and Nissequogue Fire Departments provide both Fire Protection, as well as Emergency Medical Services to their districts. The Commack Fire Department and Commack Volunteer Ambulance Corps provide coverage for the Commack hamlet, which is divided between the Town of Smithtown, and the Town of Huntington. The Hauppauge Volunteer Fire Department and Central Islip-Hauppauge Volunteer Ambulance Corps provide coverage to the Hauppauge hamlet, which is divided between the Town of Smithtown, and the Town of Islip.
Smithtown is policed by the 4th Precinct of the Suffolk County Police Department. The Suffolk County Police are the primary law enforcement agency in Smithtown. They are responsible for responding to all 911 emergency calls. The Smithtown Department of Public Safety is an agency with limited powers. The Park Ranger Division is made up peace officers as defined in the Criminal Procedural Law of the state of New York. Their enforcement powers are limited to Smithtown town property. The Department of Public Safety also has a Harbor Master division and Fire Marshall division.
Emergency medical care can be found at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center, located in Smithtown, as well as the nearby Stony Brook University Hospital, located in Stony Brook, in the neighboring Town of Brookhaven.
Railroad lines
The Town of Smithtown is also home to the Kings Park, Smithtown, and Saint James Stations of the Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch.
Bus service
The Town of Smithtown is served entirely by Suffolk County Transit bus routes.
Major roads
Schools
Smithtown Central School District is home of eight 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).