Riverhead (town), New York

"Riverhead, New York" redirects here. For the smaller subdivision which includes the Riverhead downtown area, see Riverhead (CDP), New York.

Riverhead, New York
Town
Town of Riverhead
Riverhead, New York
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Government
• Type	Civil Township
• Supervisor	Sean W. Walter (C)
Area
• Total	201.3 sq mi (521.3 km2)
• Land	67.4 sq mi (174.5 km2)
• Water	133.9 sq mi (346.8 km2)
Elevation	13 ft (4 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	33,506
• Density	170/sq mi (64/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	11901
Area code(s)	631
GNIS feature ID	0962565
Website	www.townofriverheadny.gov

The town of Riverhead is in Suffolk County, New York, on the north shore of Long Island. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census. The town is on the mouth of the Peconic River, for which the town is named. Riverhead has been the county seat of Suffolk County since 1727. Riverhead contains the smaller hamlet of Riverhead, which includes the town's principal commercial downtown. Riverhead is located approximately 76 miles(123 km) northeast of New York City and 166 miles (267 km) southwest of Boston via the Orient Point–New London Ferry.

History

European colonists purchased the 'Southold land' from the local Algonquian-speaking Native Americans and Shinnecock Indian Nation in 1649. An additional portion was purchased from Col. William Smith and divided among settlers in 1742.

The town of Riverhead was created in 1792 as part of new jurisdictions after the American Revolution. The New York State Legislature divided it from the town of Southold, New York, which lies to the north and east. Riverhead was separated at the behest of its inhabitants, who "represented to the Legislature that their town is so long that it is very inconvenient for them [people of western regions of Southold] to attend at [sic] town meetings, and also to transact the other necessary business of the said town, and have prayed that the same may be divided into two towns". The poor western sections of Southold, with no harbor and little commerce, were thus divided. On March 13, 1792, the Legislature passed a bill splitting off this section under the name River Head. The new enclave's first town meeting was scheduled to be held April 3, 1792.

River Head was named the county seat of Suffolk County (called "county town" at the time), and its name was later combined as Riverhead.

By 1902, its approximate population was 2,500.

Geography

The north town line is delineated by Long Island Sound with Connecticut on the opposite shore. The east town line is the border of the town of Southold. The town is partly on the North Fork of the county. The eastern terminus of the Long Island Expressway is in Riverhead.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 201.3 square miles (521 km²), of which 67.4 square miles (175 km²) is land and 133.9 square miles (347 km²), or 66.53%, is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1800	1,498		—
1810	1,711		14.2%
1820	1,857		8.5%
1830	2,016		8.6%
1840	2,449		21.5%
1850	2,540		3.7%
1860	3,044		19.8%
1870	3,461		13.7%
1880	3,939		13.8%
1890	4,010		1.8%
1900	4,503		12.3%
1910	5,345		18.7%
1920	5,753		7.6%
1930	7,956		38.3%
1940	8,922		12.1%
1950	9,973		11.8%
1960	14,519		45.6%
1970	18,909		30.2%
1980	20,243		7.1%
1990	23,011		13.7%
2000	27,680		20.3%
2010	33,506		21.0%
Est. 2014	33,777		0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2010, there were 33,506 people and 15,424 households residing in the town. The population density was 497.1 people per square mile (192.0/km²).

As of the census of 2000, There were 10,749 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.0% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.2% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 3.01.

As of the census of 2010, in the town the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 18, 2.2% from 18 to 20, 6.1% from 20 to 24, 10.5% from 25 to 34, 20.6% from 35 to 49, 21.8% from 49 to 64, and 19.4% who were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 99.0 males.

As of the census of 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $52,195, and the median income for a family was $60,939. Males had a median income of $40,855 versus $32,288 for females. The per capita income for the town was $24,647. About 15.8% of families and 17.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.7% of those under age 18 and 7.4% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Flag of the Town of Riverhead flying at Grumman Memorial Park.

Riverhead has a town council government. There is an elected Town Supervisor who is elected by the entire town, and four "at large" Town Council seats.

Media

The Riverhead newspaper The News-Review, owned by Times-Review Newspapers as of at least 2010, was founded in 1868. Its parent company also owns The Suffolk Times, Shelter Island Reporter, The North Shore Sun, and The Wine Press.

In 2010, an online-only hyperlocal news website began in Riverhead called RiverheadLOCAL.com. Since then, the website's parent company, East End Local Media Corp., has expanded to the neighboring town of Southold with SoutholdLOCAL.com.

Radio stations WFTU, WRCN-FM and WRIV are licensed to Riverhead.

Communities and locations

Hamlets (unincorporated)

• Aquebogue
• Baiting Hollow
• Calverton (part, with the Town of Brookhaven)
• Jamesport
• Laurel (part, with the Town of Southold)
• Manorville (part, with the Town of Brookhaven)
• Northville
• Riverhead (hamlet)
• Wading River (part, with the Town of Brookhaven)

Other communities

• Centerville
• Polishtown
• Reeves Park
• Roanoke
• South Jamesport
• Sweyze

State parks

• Wildwood State Park

Transportation

Railroad lines

The Long Island Rail Road's Main Line is the sole line within the Town of Riverhead. The only active station is Riverhead, which is also used as the western terminus of the Railroad Museum of Long Island.

Bus service

The Town of Riverhead is served primarily by Suffolk County Transit bus routes.

Major roads

See also: List of county routes in Suffolk County, New York

• Interstate 495 - New York
• New York State Route 25A - Stony Brook University , Greenport
• New York State Route 25 - New York, Orient Point
• County Route 58 (Suffolk County, New York)
• County Route 105 (Suffolk County, New York)
• Sound Avenue

Airports

The town of Riverhead contains a minor private-use airport known as the Calverton Executive Airpark, originally the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Riverhead (town), New York

References

• Town of Riverhead official site
• 2000 census data

External links

• Riverhead Central School District
• Taussig, Charles William, The Book of Radio (1922), Chapter XXI "The World's Greatest Radio Station", pp. 312–327