Port Jefferson, New York

Port Jefferson, New York
—  Village  —
A sculpture in Port Jefferson that commemorates the town's maritime history
U.S. Census Map
Port Jefferson, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 40°56′46″N 73°3′44″W
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Government
• Mayor	Margot Garant
Area
• Total	3.1 sq mi (7.9 km2)
• Land	3.0 sq mi (7.8 km2)
• Water	0.0 sq mi (0.1 km2)
Elevation	3 ft (1 m)
Population (2000)
• Total	7,837
• Density	2,587.2/sq mi (998.9/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	11777
Area code(s)	631
FIPS code	36-59355
GNIS feature ID	0960968
Website	www.portjeff.com

The Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson is located in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the 2000 United States Census, the village population was 7,837. The small town is home to several unique restaurants and shops, and has a growing tourism industry.

Geography

A group of boats in Port Jefferson Harbor

Port Jefferson is located at 40°56′46″N 73°03′44″W, on the North Shore of Long Island. According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²), of which, 3.0 square miles (7.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.98%) is water.

Port Jefferson Harbor is a natural deep water harbor on the North Shore of Long Island. Setauket Harbor branches off to the west from the Harbor. One notable geographic feature is Pirate's Cove, a small cove dredged in the early 20th century by the Seaboard Dredging Company. The original name was Seaboard Hole, but it was changed for the sake of appealing to tourists. Several large sand dunes (artificially created by the dredging) are found here.

History

Port Jefferson's village hall

The original settlers bought a tract of land from the Setauket Indians in the mid-17th century. The traditional name is referred to as Sowassett or Souwassett in Long Island histories, meaning "at the place of small pines", however there is evidence to suggest this and the neighboring Poquott were a corruption of Poquossett, meaning "where (water) it opens out or widens, i.e., drowns the land", seemingly confirmed by the later name of the area, "Drowned Meadow".

Suwassett was renamed in 1682 to "Drowned Meadow" after being settled by an Irish shoemaker from Queens named John Roe. It remained a small community of five homes through the 18th century but developed into a small ship building community by the 19th century. The community leaders, realizing this was a poor name for the ship building business, eventually changed its name to Port Jefferson in 1836 after President Thomas Jefferson. The town was once a major whaling port, especially in the 1880s.

The Village was named after Jefferson because he was the major source of funding for a project to prevent the flooding of the lower village from whence the original name originated—Drowned Meadow.

P.T. Barnum, the famous circus owner, owned a tract of land which ran through the village. His intention was to make Port Jefferson the home base for his circus. The townspeople put a stop to his plans, and he eventually sold his land. A street named "Barnum Ave." now runs though the area that was once his land, and one of Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Ferry boats is named the "P.T. Barnum". A house he had constructed also still exists but is privately owned.

The Village of Port Jefferson was incorporated in 1964. A number of historic building were included in the Port Jefferson Village Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. Separately listed are the Bayles Shipyard and First National Bank of Port Jefferson building.

The Village of Port Jefferson's Main Street and East Main Street were featured as part of National Public Radio's "Mapping Main Street" project in Spring 2010. "Port Jeff" lays astride New York State Route 25A, locally long-known as North Country Road.

The areas of Uptown Port Jefferson and Port Jefferson Station have been getting waves of immigrants from Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and El Salvador since the early 90's but is increasing as of late.

Schools

The Port Jefferson Union Free School District covers Belle Terre and most of Port Jefferson. In 2008, the district had 1375 students. There are three schools:

• Edna Louise Spear Elementary School (Pre-K to 5th)

aka Port Jefferson Elementary School, aka Scraggy Hill. The elementary school has a swimming pool, and students swim once a week.

• Port Jefferson Middle School (6th to 8th)
• Earl L. Vandermeulen High School (9th to 12th)

aka Port Jefferson High School

Port Jefferson Middle School and High School share the same building.

The Port Jefferson "Royals" compete in Section XI athletics.

In 2007, the district was named one of America's "Best 100 Communities for Music Education" by the NAMM foundation.

Port Jefferson UFSD is bordered on the west by Three Village CSD, on the south by Comsewogue UFSD, and on the east by Mount Sinai UFSD.

The Port Jefferson School District also has an agreement with Comsewogue School District to send its upper port students to Comsewogue Schools.

Events

The Port Jefferson Village center and encompassing park

Port Jefferson is home to an annual Charles Dickens Festival, since the early 1990s, early in December. This typically includes many events and occurrences, such as the regular sighting of people who dress in 19th century clothing, house tours, the reading of winter-related poetry, caroling, and booths set up by local businesses. Students from the Port Jefferson Middle School and High School submit poetry and art that are used in the festival. Free concerts of seasonal music by various ensembles are presented at the Methodist church.

As well as this festival, many small festivals are held during the summer, showcasing music and crafts. Each Fourth of July sees a substantial parade on Main Street.

In keeping with its seafaring heritage, Port Jefferson also boasts two recent America's Cup winners. Scott Vogel, winner of the 1987 race and Wally Henry who won the race in 1992.

Demographics

A group of sculptures by the harbor

As of the census of 2000, there were 7,837 people, 2,985 households, and 1,982 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,587.2 people per square mile (998.6/km²). There were 3,074 housing units at an average density of 1,014.8 per square mile (391.7/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 56.97% White, 18.67% African American, 0.04% Native American, 3.33% Asian, 1.70% from other races, and 1.29% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 32.21% of the population.

There were 2,985 households out of which 26.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.6% were non-families. 26.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the village the population was spread out with 20.0% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 28.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $65,119, and the median income for a family was $83,981. Males had a median income of $57,125 versus $41,936 for females. The per capita income for the village was $33,852. About 3.9% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Regional and local newspapers

• Newsday (daily)
• The Port Times Record (weekly)
• The Statesman (Stony Brook University)
• Stony Brook Press (Stony Brook University)

Notable residents

People who were born or lived in Port Jefferson include:

• Walter Berndt, cartoonist
• Vivien Cardone, actress
• Ted Chiang, author
• Chris Colmer, football player
• Tony DePhillips, baseball player
• Cathy Downs, actress
• Peter Ferraro, hockey player
• Les Goodman, football player
• Adam Klein, opera singer
• Toby Knight, former NBA player
• Nick Mamatas, author
• Alan North, actor
• Louis Edmonds, actor
• Stefanie LoSchiavo, writer

Gallery

• 

  The Seawolf in Port Jefferson's harbor

• 

  Danford's Inn

• 

  Port Jefferson-Bridgeport Ferry

• 

  A ferry passes a local power plant on its way to Bridgeport, Connecticut

• 

  View of boats at the local docks

• 

  The Port Jefferson Free Library

• 

  Tugboats and harbor view

• 

  Port Jefferson harbor

• 

  1897 Bayles Chandlery, part of the historic Bayles Shipyard

External links

• Port Jefferson School District
• Port Jefferson Parents Blog
• Port Jefferson Boys' Basketball
• Port Jefferson Free Library
• Official village site
• The original Port Jefferson guide
• The Historical Society of Greater Port Jefferson
• Bridgeport & Port Jefferson Steamboat Company
• Port Jefferson Info
• Me4PortJeff - People, Places & Events that Make Port Jeff a great Place to Live, Work and Visit!