Stony Brook, New York

Stony Brook is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the North Shore of Long Island. Begun in the colonial era as an agricultural enclave, the hamlet experienced growth first as a resort town and then to its current state as one of Long Island's major tourist towns and centers of education. Despite being referred to as a village by residents and tourists alike, Stony Brook has never been legally incorporated by the state. As of the 2020 census, Stony Brook had a population of 13,467.

The CDP is adjacent to the main campus of Stony Brook University, the largest public university in New York by area, and also The Stony Brook School, a private college preparatory school. It is also home to the Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages and the Stony Brook Village Center, a privately maintained commercial center planned in the style of a traditional New England village.

History

Origins and early history

Stony Brook was first settled in the late 17th century. It was originally known by the native name Wopowog and then as Stony Brook, with both names likely referring to the interconnected bodies of water at the hamlet's western edge. It began as a satellite community of adjacent Setauket, New York, the Town of Brookhaven's first settlement, and its land was included in the initial 1655 purchase from the native Setalcott tribe.

thumb|left|The Three Village Inn, housed in the Richard Hallock homeA gristmill was built in 1699 on the water body now known as the Mill Pond, currently drained after severe rain breached it in the early hours of August 19, 2024. The current structure, which replaced the original in 1751, ground grain into the 1940s and has since been repurposed for public tours. For religious services and education, the hamlet's original residents had to attend institutions in the neighboring communities of Setauket and St. James. In the latter half of the 18th century, activity began to shift from the mill area north toward the harbor as new residences, a number of which still stand, were constructed.

Stony Brook was a remote area through the 18th century aside for a modest amount of commerce near the mill at the intersection of Main Street and Harbor Road. The community's development was stalled by its poorly accessible harbor relative to nearby Setauket and Port Jefferson. In the 1840s, local painter William Sidney Mount led a call for the harbor's dredging. This was completed twice, but after the harbor filled in both times the effort was abandoned. Lacking the resources of its neighboring harbor settlements, Stony Brook based its economy on agriculture and the cordwood industry. The university is in a separate census-designated place and has been since the 2010 U.S. census, and up to the 2000 U.S. census the U.S. Census Bureau did not place the university in a census-designated place at all.

The hamlet is primarily located within the boundaries of (and is thus served by) the Three Village Central School District.

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2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Stony Brook had a population of 13,467. The median age was 46.0 years. 18.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.1% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 93.9 males age 18 and over.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,831 households in Stony Brook, of which 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 61.9% were married-couple households, 12.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 21.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 20.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. of 2010, there were 13,727 people, 4,758 households, and 3,787 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 4,970 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.6% White, 14.4% from two or more races, 7.5% Asian, 4.4% Hispanic or Latin of any race, 1.7% African American, 0.25% from other races, 0.1% Native American, and 0.01% Pacific Islander.

thumb|right|The [[William Sidney Mount House]] thumb|left|Hercules figurehead of the , kept in Old Stony BrookThere were 4,758 households, out of which 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.3% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.4% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.

Income and poverty

The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,009, and the median income for a family was $95,567. Males had a median income of $68,400 versus $41,770 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $35,247. About 1.9% of families and 2.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.9% of those under age 18 and 2.9% of those age 65 or over.

Local media

SBU TV, Stony Brook University Television
Stony Brook Independent, publication at Stony Brook University
Stony Brook Press, a newspaper at Stony Brook University.
The Statesman, the oldest newspaper at Stony Brook University
The Village Times Herald, a newspaper in Setauket
WUSB (FM), Stony Brook University Radio at 90.1 FM

Notable people

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thumb|right|[[The Stony Brook School]]

Bud Abbott (1897–1974), comedian
Cody Arnoux, soccer player
Awkwafina, actress, rapper
Ella May Bennett, Universalist minister
Harold Beverage, inventor
Blue Öyster Cult, musicians, band
George Booth, New Yorker cartoonist
Lars Brownworth, teacher and historian
Nathan Bruckenthal, U.S. Coast Guardsman and posthumous Bronze Star recipient
Sarah Drew, actress
Brooke Ellison, first quadriplegic graduate from Harvard University
Michael J. Epstein, filmmaker and musician
Toni Frissell, fashion photographer
Frank E. Gaebelein, educator
Manon Gage, actress
Marci Geller, independent singer-songwriter
Kevin James, comedian, actor
Karsh Kale, producer, composer, musician
Anthony Kay, pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball
Michael Kimmel, sociologist, scholar
Steven Matz, pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball
Evelina Mount, painter
R.A. the Rugged Man, hip-hop artist
Cliff Robertson, actor
Jim Simons, mathematician and hedge-fund manager
Louis Simpson, Pulitzer Prize poet
Robert R. Sokal (1925–2012), biological anthropologist and biostatistician
Koyo (band), musicians, band

References

External links

Stonybrook.com, community website
Ward Melville Heritage Organization
The Stony Brook School
Stony Brook University