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54-519: The Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of seven national wildlife refuges, two refuge sub-units and one wildlife management area, all managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service . Collectively, the ten units are approximately 6,500 acres (26 km) in size. Each unit is unique and provides wildlife habitat amongst Long Island's urban settings essential for the livelihood of migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, fish and other wildlife. The strategic location of Long Island in

108-650: A Para-Transit Bus line. The Village of Patchogue operates its own local Bus Service . Long Island Rail Road has three lines running through the Town of Brookhaven. The Main Line includes Ronkonkoma station , which not only serves as a major transportation hub, but is also located on the Islip-Brookhaven Town Line. It also contains the Medford and Yaphank stations. The Montauk Branch , located on

162-461: A United States Army installation that was used as a training ground in World War I and World War II by thousands of soldiers including composer Irving Berlin . In 1946 ownership of the grounds was transferred for use by the new national laboratory, which began operating the following year. Brookhaven researchers have since made such diverse contributions as patenting Maglev , designing one of

216-490: A patent for the town which confirmed title to the lands purchased. Governor Thomas Dongan issued a patent in 1686 which granted powers to the town and established a representative form of government. The town seal was authorized at this time. The central element of the town seal, the letter “D”, was designated to the Town of Brookhaven as its official cattle earmark by the Duke's Laws of 1665. Although no records exist dating to

270-469: 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 334 feet (102 m) above sea level and the highest point in the town. As of

324-499: A few firefighters suffered injuries, and nobody was killed in the event. As of 2007, the region has mostly recovered from the damage it sustained, although some vegetation still bears the scars of the fire. Pine Barren ecosystems are highly adapted to fire and generally require periodic fires to maintain their unique vegetation and wildlife. On April 9, 2012, several brushfires joined to ignite over 2,000 acres (8.1 km ) of woodland around Manorville , Ridge and Brookhaven . By

378-461: A mix of federal, state, county and local public land managers intermixed with private inholdings. It is Long Island's largest natural area and its last remaining wilderness . The region contains a remnant of the Atlantic coastal pine barrens ecoregion , whose forests might once have covered a quarter million acres (1,000 km ) on Long Island. The Central Pine Barrens overlays and recharges

432-550: A portion of a federally designated sole source aquifer for Long Island's drinking water. All of Long Island's drinking water comes from ground water wells; none of the island's water comes from reservoirs. Almost all of the Peconic River and Carmans River (two of Long Island's four biggest rivers ) as well as much of their watersheds are in the Barrens. Two other large, contiguous examples of this ecosystem remain in

486-651: A protected area in New York state is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Long Island Pine Barrens The Long Island Central Pine Barrens (also known as the Long Island Pine Barrens ) is a large area of publicly protected pine barrens in Suffolk County, New York , on Long Island , covering more than 100,000 acres (405 km ). The Barrens operates in a similar manner to Adirondack Park , with public lands managed by

540-431: A referendum in 2002. Prior to 2002, the local Republican Party for the Town of Brookhaven nearly controlled the entirety of the town board for several decades, except for a four-year period in the mid-1970s when Democrats held a majority under Supervisor John Randolph. This one-party domination, and a series of scandals, led to a tarnished reputation of local politics and accorded the nickname "Crookhaven". After

594-522: Is also home to The Stony Brook School , a Christian college prep and boarding school in Stony Brook. The St. Joseph's University's Long Island Campus is located in Patchogue. Brookhaven Public Schools over-sees the 11 School Districts, 15 High Schools and 63,500 Students within the town. Notable Roads. The Town of Brookhaven is served primarily by Suffolk County Transit . It also operates

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648-480: Is also named Brookhaven. * - Mastic Beach, previously an incorporated village which was dissolved on December 31, 2017 Brookhaven is the home of Stony Brook University , which moved to Stony Brook from its original Oyster Bay campus in 1962; the university has since become the town's largest employer. The town is home to the first and largest campus of Suffolk County Community College , located in Selden . The town

702-637: 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 532.0 square miles (1,378 km ), of which 259.6 square miles (672 km ) is land and 272.4 square miles (706 km ) (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

756-509: Is the second most populous town in the United States and in New York (after Hempstead , in the adjacent Nassau County ) and the third most populous community in the state. The first settlement in what is now Brookhaven was known as Setauket . Founded as a group of agricultural hamlets in the mid-17th century, Brookhaven first expanded as a major center of shipbuilding in the 19th century. Its proximity to New York City facilitated

810-421: The 2020 United States census , there were 485,773 people residing in the town. The population density was 1,873.4/sq mi (723.3/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 83.0% White (including 72.0% Non-Hispanic Whites ), 6.1% Black or African American , 0.1% Native American , 4.7% Asian , 0.1% Pacific Islander , and 3.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 15.6% of

864-600: The Long Island Pine Barrens and along the Atlantic Flyway make it an important nesting, wintering and migratory stop over area for hundreds of species of birds. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service . 40°47′37″N 72°52′51″W  /  40.793734°N 72.880839°W  / 40.793734; -72.880839 This article related to

918-714: The South Shore of Long Island , includes the Patchogue , Bellport , and Mastic–Shirley stations, with the Center Moriches station having operated until 1998. On the North Shore of the town, the Port Jefferson Branch contains two stations as it enters from the Town of Smithtown , Stony Brook station along the northern edge of SUNY at Stony Brook , and Port Jefferson station along Main Street where

972-591: The first video games , detecting the first solar neutrinos , designing pollutant-eating bacteria, creating the first PET scan , and various contributions to particle physics . The laboratory contains the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the National Synchrotron Light Source . Noted physicist and Nobel laureate I.I. Rabi was instrumental in the national laboratory's establishment. Brookhaven

1026-545: The local Protestant church as a fortress. Gunshots were fired and some bullet holes remain within the walls of the adjacent Caroline Church . In the mid-19th century, several communities in Brookhaven prospered as shipbuilding ports. The most successful of those were the villages of Port Jefferson and Patchogue , which remain the township's most bustling traditional downtowns. Whaling and cordwood industries also developed in Brookhaven. Railroads reached Brookhaven in

1080-630: The northeastern United States : the Massachusetts Coastal Pine Barrens and the New Jersey Pine Barrens . In the 1970s the State of New York began acquiring large parcels to create a greenbelt . The federal government at Brookhaven National Laboratory transferred 2,300 acres (9 km ) in 1971 and RCA transferred 7,200 acres (29 km ) around Rocky Point in 1978 (for a cost of $ 1). In 1984

1134-437: The 1970s. In 2007, councilwoman Carol Bissonette chose not to pursue re-election, but to instead run for the open receiver of taxes seat. Her district, the sixth, was won by Republican Keith Romaine, returning the town to a 4-3 majority on the town board. The new majority opted to elect councilman Tim Mazzei as majority leader. In 2008, Brian X. Foley was elected to the New York state senate. As per New York state law his seat

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1188-505: The Central Pine Barrens Joint Planning & Policy Commission to oversee the plan, and divided the area into two regions: The initial towns were Brookhaven , Riverhead , and Southampton . In 1998 East Hampton set aside a small portion of land for the Barrens and it was expanded to 1,000 acres (4.0 km ) in 2007. In late August-early September 1995, a series of major brush fires swept through

1242-571: The Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli (MSRM) Regional Park in Tuscany , Italy are "twin parks" under a New York State program which supports such programs with the goal of sharing knowledge and experience between the citizens of both regions. Brookhaven (town), New York Brookhaven is a large suburban town in Suffolk County , Long Island , New York . With a population of 488,497 as of 2022, it

1296-782: 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 Brookhaven to the South Shore of Long Island. Brookhaven was integrated into the Province of New York following that colony's establishment in 1664, and in 1666 Governor Richard Nicolls granted

1350-681: The Pine Barrens Review Commission was created to review development in the region. In 1986 the Suffolk County Open Space Program financed by a 0.25% sales tax was to result in 28 new Suffolk County Parks in the region totalling 4,600 acres (19 km ) Despite the efforts development pressure continued and in 1989 the Long Island Pine Barrens Society filed a multibillion-dollar suit against Suffolk County, and

1404-417: The Town of Islip. Ocean Bay Park is the westernmost community in the Town of Brookhaven, and ferries from there lead to Bay Shore . The Town of Brookhaven contains no Commercial Airports. The adjacent Town of Islip contains Long Island MacArthur Airport which serves Brookhaven Residents, three Minor Reliever Airports are within Brookhaven, all of which are in the southern shore communities. The first one

1458-487: The construction in 1939 of the Stony Brook Village Center , a picturesque commercial center set on village green in Stony Brook , with clapboard buildings designed to look as if they had colonial origins. In 1962, Ward Melville donated 400 acres of land for the relocation of now-named Stony Brook University from Oyster Bay . Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) sits on the site of Camp Upton ,

1512-538: The end of the day, the fires were intense enough to cause a closure of parts of the Long Island Expressway . Parts of Riverhead were placed under mandatory evacuation. The fire burned 1,124 acres (4.55 km ) of pine lands. About 600 firefighters from about 109 departments battled the fire with 30 brush trucks, 20 tankers, and 100 engines. Airdrops of water were made by a New York State Police helicopter. The Central Pine Barrens Commission and

1566-407: The establishment of resort communities, followed by a post-war population boom. In the 2020 census record, Brookhaven contained 485,773 people. The township is home to two renowned research centers , Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory . Combined these two research centers are approximately 50% of the Town's top ten employer's employee count. Tourism is also a major part of

1620-604: The highway system of Robert Moses . The township's most internationally renowned institutions, Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Lab , both date to the years following World War II. During the mid-century, a number of major transformations were conducted by philanthropist Ward Melville in the "Three Village" area ( The Setaukets , Stony Brook , and Old Field ). Melville, an Old Field resident and owner of what later became CVS Corporation , used his fortune to transform Northwestern Brookhaven to his vision of an idealized New England–style region. To this end, he ordered

1674-614: The large Wardenclyffe Tower . As of 2016, this site was being renovated as the Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe . Guglielmo Marconi opened one of the world's largest radio facilities, known as RCA 's Radio Central , in Rocky Point . In the post-war era, Brookhaven experienced a massive population boom. This was partly due to its proximity to New York City along the Long Island Rail Road and

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1728-473: The late 19th century until the middle of the 20th, many communities along the North Shore and South Shore became successful resort towns. These hosted many urban residents from nearby New York City , including numerous celebrities of the era, during the summer months. Meanwhile, many rural sections across Brookhaven served as campgrounds for youth clubs. During the Gilded Age , Brookhaven underwent some of

1782-648: The line terminates. The primary ferry within the Town of Brookhaven is the Bridgeport-Port Jefferson Ferry , which takes vehicles and passengers across the Long Island Sound to and from Port Jefferson to Bridgeport, Connecticut . On the Great South Bay, passenger ferries take vacationers to and from Fire Island. The ferry terminals in Patchogue lead to the communities of Davis Park , and Watch Hill Visitor Center , on

1836-693: The local economy. The largest traditional downtowns are located in Port Jefferson , a regional transportation hub for the Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry , and Patchogue . The area has long been serviced by the Long Island Rail Road . 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

1890-630: The major highway connecting the Hamptons region with the rest of Long Island. The fires closed down the highway and stopped railroad service, effectively cutting the Hamptons off from the rest of the island for days as firefighters from all over Long Island, the FDNY and Connecticut worked around the clock to battle the blaze. By early September, the Sunrise Wildfire was extinguished, but

1944-401: The mid-19th century, beginning in 1843 with trains reaching inland to Ronkonkoma . The earliest equivalent to the North Shore's present-day Port Jefferson Branch began operation in 1873. The Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry has been operating between Port Jefferson and Bridgeport, Connecticut , since 1888 and was partly founded by legendary circus-master P.T. Barnum . From the end of

1998-585: The pine barrens region. The first major fire incident occurred in Rocky Point , but was extinguished within days of its outbreak. A larger, more catastrophic fire erupted in the Westhampton area just shortly after the Rocky Point blaze was brought to an end. The fire, aided by high winds and dry conditions, quickly spread, threatening area homes and businesses. The fire was nicknamed the "Sunrise Wildfire", as it engulfed both sides of Sunrise Highway ,

2052-502: The population. According to Brookhaven's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town are: Patchogue was the town seat of Brookhaven until 1986, when it moved to Medford and then its current location near Bald Hill in Farmingville. Brookhaven is led by a town supervisor and a six-member town council, which are all four-year term elected positions. Council members have been elected by district since

2106-472: The referendum was passed In 2002, Steve Fiore-Rosenfield became the first Democrat to be elected since the 1970s in 2003. In 2005, Brian X. Foley , a Democratic county legislator, won the town supervisor race. Constance Kepert and Carol Bissonette were also elected to the town board. With the re-election of Fiore-Rosenfield the Democrats gained control of the Brookhaven town board for the first time since

2160-585: The rest of Long Island were captured by British forces, and many residents sided with the British as loyalists to the English crown. Nevertheless, Brookhaven had multiple episodes of celebrated American activity during the war. This included the actions of the Culper Spy Ring , a spy network working for George Washington that largely consisted of Brookhaveners working in occupied territory. Another episode

2214-408: The results of that fire, in addition to the Rocky Point fire, were disastrous: Approximately 7,000 acres (28 km ) had burned, numerous homes and small businesses suffered damage, and 400 people were forced to evacuate their homes. The fire, which erupted during the peak of the Hamptons' tourist season, resulted in a considerable economic blow for the region. However, the human toll was very light,

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2268-467: The same changes that affected Long Island's Gold Coast . Waterfront areas along the North Shore, including Belle Terre and Old Field , transformed from small fishing communities into fashionable and exclusive enclaves of the moneyed elite. A variety of notable research occurred in Brookhaven around the turn of the 20th century. Inventor Nikola Tesla had a research center in Shoreham , which featured

2322-467: 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

2376-739: 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

2430-470: The subsequent victories of Daniel Losquadro in 2013 for the special election of highway superintendent, and Independence party member Donna Lent to town clerk, the Republican party and its endorsed allies won all townwide seats for the first time since former supervisor John Jay LaValle. Brookhaven has eight villages : Brookhaven includes all or part of approximately 50 hamlets . One of those hamlets

2484-487: The theocratic New Haven Colony in the modern state of Connecticut . Brookhaven was transferred to the more secular Hartford-led Connecticut Colony in 1662. Following the English takeover of New Netherland in 1664, the new English colony of New York laid claim to Long Island and brought Brookhaven into its jurisdiction. During the early stages of the American Revolutionary War , Brookhaven and

2538-408: The town seal's original design plan, it is generally thought that the seal's olive branch signified peace and the whaling tools signified the most lucrative business in the Town of Brookhaven at the time. The current seal is a redesign, retaining the original elements, but adding the Town of Brookhaven and its 1655 date of settlement. Early English settlers farmed, fished, and hunted whales. Brookhaven

2592-642: The towns of Brookhaven, Riverhead and Southampton. The Society eventually lost its suit in the New York's highest court—the New York Court of Appeals —after winning in earlier courts. In 1993 the New York State Legislature approved the Long Island Pine Barrens Protection Act to protect the region through the development and implementation of a comprehensive land use plan. The act also created

2646-712: The western edge of the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness Area. Bellport also has a ferry leading to Bellport Beach on Fire Island. From Fire Island itself, communities have ferries from Fire Island Pines and Cherry Grove, both of which are popular vacation spots for LGBT tourists as well as the Sailors Haven Visitor Center, which is located within the Sunken Forest Visitor Center. All three ferries lead to Sayville in

2700-571: Was Benjamin Tallmadge's successful raid from across Long Island to the British stronghold at the Manor St. George , wherein his raiding party rowed from Connecticut to Cedar Beach and marched across Long Island, culminating in the Battle of Fort St. George and burning of the defensive structure. A more minor skirmish occurred within the settlement of Setauket , where the British had repurposed

2754-426: Was declared vacant, a special election was held on March 31, 2009, to replace him. Democrat Mark Lesko . defeated Majority Leader Mazzei to become Supervisor. In August 2012, Lesko chose to step down and join a tech company on Long Island. A special election was held on November 6, 2012, which was won by Republican county legislator Edward P. Romaine, who had previously served as county clerk. With Romaine's victory and

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2808-402: Was largely agrarian, with each hamlet being limited to a handful of families yet containing miles of land. This economy was supplemented in coastal sections with fishing. A major commercial center did not exist in Brookhaven until the early 19th century. Brookhaven was founded primarily by English colonists that partook in the settlement of Southold , and was likewise under the jurisdiction of

2862-505: 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

2916-513: 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

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