Cold Spring Harbor, New York

Cold Spring Harbor is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Huntington, in Suffolk County, on the North Shore of Long Island in New York. As of the 2020 census, Cold Spring Harbor had a population of 3,064.

History

thumbnail|left|Photo of Cold Spring Harbor by [[George Bradford Brainerd]]

Cold Spring Harbor was named after the naturally cold freshwater springs that flow in the area. Its economy mainly tied to milling and port activities, it rose in prominence as a whaling community in the mid-nineteenth century. After the decline of whaling in the 1860s, it became a resort town with several hotels. In the 20th century it became known as the site of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, although the laboratory itself is located in the adjacent village of Laurel Hollow in Nassau County, which was called Cold Spring before incorporation.

Today it is primarily a bedroom community of New York City, with a small central business area running along Route 25A, and is home to many educational and cultural organizations: the Cold Spring Harbor Whaling Museum, the Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery and Aquarium (also in Laurel Hollow), Dolan DNA Learning Center, the Uplands Farm Sanctuary (home of The Nature Conservancy's Long Island chapter), and a museum exhibition gallery run by Preservation Long Island.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 4.86%, is water.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Cold Spring Harbor had a population of 3,064. This represented a decrease from 4,975 in 2000.

There were 975 households in Cold Spring Harbor, of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 71.8% were married-couple households, 8.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 15.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.