Northport,_New_York

Northport, New York

Northport is a village in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the village population was 7,606. Students attend the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District.

The Village of Northport sits along New York State Route 25A in the Town of Huntington, on Long Island's picturesque North Shore. It is known for its bucolic main street which still bears trolley rails from a long discontinued streetcar that brought people to the village from the Long Island Rail Road station in East Northport. Main Street ends at the village dock and village green, site of numerous "concerts in the park" on summer evenings. It has a number of fine restaurants and ice cream parlors, antique stores, as well as an old-style barbershop, and other independent retailers.

History

European Settlement

The original inhabitants of the area now known as Northport were the Matinecocks, one of 13 Native American tribes of Long Island. The Matinecocks called this land "Opcathontyche", which meant "wading place creek". After Dutch interest a few years earlier, the land was sold by Chief Asharoken, head of the Matinecocks, to three Englishmen in 1656.

With land that was well suited for farming, the early settlers grazed cattle on pastures around the harbor. The area soon became known as Great Cow Harbor. (The nearby village of Centerport was known as Little Cow Harbor.)

Growth, Change, and Shipbuilding

In the early 19th century Great Cow Harbor was still a rural farming community. By the 1830s the village contained only eight dwellings. But a new industry of shipbuilding brought rapid change and growth. The village shifted away from its farming roots as shipbuilding became the community's primary industry. By 1837 the village was being referred to as Northport..

The 1860 census listed Northport's population at 1,016. By 1874 it had become the most flourishing village in all of Suffolk County's north shore, with three ship yards, five sets of marine railways, two hotels, and at least six general stores.

Northport's shipbuilding boon lasted fifty years but waned at the end of the century as steel-hulled ships began replacing the wooden vessels produced in the village.

Railroads & Trolleys

On April 25, 1868 the Long Island Railroad opened a station within the village of Northport. This was an essential transportation link for the village, especially for the growing commuter population. However, just a few years later the LIRR decided to move the Northport station to a new location in Larkfield to facilitate further railway extension to Port Jefferson. The new railway station located on Larkfield Road was opened on January 13, 1873 and retained the station name of Northport.

To avoid confusion with the former station located in the village of Northport, train conductors would refer to the station in Larkfield as "East of Northport" because the station was located east of the Northport railway junction which directed trains north to the station located in the village. Despite the fact that Larkfield was primarily south of Northport, the area became known thereafter as East Northport.The original rail spur to Northport would then be known as the Northport Branch. After the old bypassed village station closed in 1899, Northport decided to build a 2½ mile trolley line to take commuters between Main Street and the new Northport station located in Larkfield. The new commuter trolley opened in mid-April 1902. The trolley would eventually become obsolete with the invention of the automobile and the trolley made its last scheduled commuter run on August 19, 1924.

Incorporation and Annexation

Although it was known by the name of Northport since at least 1837, the village of Northport was formally incorporated in 1894, the first village to do so in Huntington Township. Over the years Northport has expanded from its original borders, annexing other established communities.

Around the Revolutionary War, a concentration of 31 families began settling 1½ miles east of Northport, around where Main Street and Route 25A now intersect . This settlement was originally known as Red Hook and changed names to Vernon Valley in 1820. By 1874 Vernon Valley had a population of around 150 inhabitants. Vernon Valley became part of Northport in the mid-20th century.

Northport also annexed the formerly independent settlement of Crab Meadow (also known as Great Neck), as well as westerm parts of the Freshpond community .

Modern Northport

After nearly a century of heavy commercial use, the waterfront which had supported the community for generations, had fallen into decay by the 1920s. The village decided to purchase the land along the harbor and created Northport Memorial Park in 1932, which is a defining feature of Northport today.

In 1967, the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) opened the Northport Power Station, which is currently the largest oil-fired electric generating station on the East coast. The four enormous stacks are a well known landmark that can be seen as far away as Connecticut across Long Island Sound. Each stack is 600 feet tall.

The Northport Trolley which had ceased operations in 1924 enjoyed a popular revival in the 1970s and 1980s, transporting weekend tourists along Main Street. Unlike the original electric trolleys, this nostalgic replica was horse driven. It also ran on rubber automobile tires rather than utilizing the original rails which still remain a visible element of Main Street to this day.

Every September the village of Northport commemorates its rich history with the celebration of Cow Harbor Day, which follows the annual Great Cow Harbor 10K race.

Geography

Northport is located at (40.902803, -73.344069). According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.5 square miles (6.6 km²), of which, 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (9.02%) is water.

Most of the village is made up of the low, steep hills of Long Island's northern terminal moraine. To the west is the highly sheltered Northport Harbor, to the north is Long Island Sound, and to the east are woods and marshland.

A prominent feature of Northport is Steer’s Pit (known simply as "The Pit" to locals), a large land depression carved into the cliffs adjacent to Northport Harbor and just south of the enormous LIPA smokestacks. This unusual geographic feature is the result of sand mining operations by the Steers and Steers Company. Mining began in 1923 and ceased in the 1950s. The mined sand was shipped by barge to New York City where, mixed with Portland cement and rock aggregate, it became the sidewalks of New York. The area has since been utilized for home and condo use and a portion of the Pit is a park used by local youth soccer and baseball leagues. The Northport Fire Department also maintains a training facility in the Pit that is the site of the annual firemen fair in the summer.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,606 people, 2,952 households, and 2,069 families residing in the village. The population density was 3,287.0 people per square mile (1,271.3/km²). There were 3,052 housing units at an average density of 1,319.0/sq mi (510.1/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.04% White, 0.59% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from other races, and 0.75% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.09% of the population.

There were 2,952 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.9% were non-families. 23.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 94.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $86,456, and the median income for a family was $104,488. Males had a median income of $78,715 versus $50,119 for females. The per capita income for the village was $43,694. About 1.6% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.7% of those under age 18 and 2.8% of those age 65 or over.

Interesting Facts

In 1984 Northport garnered nationwide media attention as the sight of a gruesome satanic murder by high school dropout Ricky Kasso. Long after the crime, the unfortunate events have been recounted in books and movies, from which the village of Northport has suffered a negative reputation for satanism.
The adjacent areas of Asharoken, Eatons Neck, and Fort Salonga are all served by the United States Post Office situated in Northport Village and share the same zip code of 11768. However Asharoken, Eatons Neck, and Fort Salonga are each independent villages and hamlets of New York.
In 2005, a coalition of New York environmental groups issued a report which named the Northport Power Station as the number one polluting power plant on Long Island and the second most polluting plant in the Northeast.

Notable residents

Performing Arts

Patti Lupone - Tony Award-winning broadway and television actress, best known for her role as Eva Peron in Evita.
Edie Falco - Broadway, movie, and television actress best known for her role as Carmela Soprano on the The Sopranos.
Elizabeth Hendrickson - Television actress best known for her role as twin sisters Frankie and Maggie Stone on All My Children.
Gretchen Rau - Academy Award-winning motion picture set decorator.
Charles Ludlam - Actor and playwright.
Danny Masterson - Television actor, best known for his role as Steven Hyde on That '70s Show.
Christopher Masterson - Television actor, best known for his role as Francis on Malcolm in the Middle.
Dan Milano - Television writer and voice actor best known as the co-creator of the show Greg the Bunny.
Peter Calandra - Broadway, movie, and television pianist/composer.
Alison Fanelli - Actress who is best known for the role on the television series The Adventures of Pete & Pete

Musicians

Paul Pesco - Session and stage guitarist for many major artists' world tours, and motion picture musician and composer.
Paul Zunno - Lead guitarist for rock and roll singer Wilson Pickett.
Vance Brescia - Singer-songwriter. Lead vocals and guitar for the 80's rock and roll band The Mosquitos, Musical Director and lead guitarist for Herman's Hermits Starring Peter Noone.
Wendy Andreiev (Wendy Wild) - Lead vocalist in the 1980s for several New York-based bands.
Ian Matthias Bavitz (Aesop Rock) - Hip-Hop, Rap artist.
Brendan B. Brown - Lead vocalist for the band Wheatus.
Jimmie Webster- Innovator of the Gretsch White Falcon guitar.

Writers

Jack Kerouac - Novelist and writer commonly credited as the catalyst for the 1960s counterculture movement.
Greg Fox - Nationally syndicated comic strip artist/writer (His comic Kyle's Bed & Breakfast takes place in Northport.)
Edwin G. Burrows - Pulitzer Prize-winning history writer.
Antoine de Saint Exupéry - - author of The Little Prince

Sports

Darius Kasparaitis - Former NHL ice hockey player for the New York Rangers.
Greg Buttle - Former NFL football player for the New York Jets.
Phil Weber Jr. - Former NBA player and current assistant coach for the Knicks.

Others

Andrew Geller- Renowned architect.
Bruce Morrison- Former United States Congressman from Connecticut. He grew up in Northport and attended Northport High School.
Alia Sabur - Youngest professor in history.