Founding
town in Suffolk County, New York, United States
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Huntington is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11th most populous town in the state.
Founded in 1653, the Town of Huntington is located on the North Shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with the Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. It is part of the New York metropolitan area.
In 1653, three men from Oyster Bay – Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams, and Daniel Whitehead – purchased a parcel of land from the Matinecock tribe. This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered by Cold Spring Harbor on the west, Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known as Old Country Road to the south, and the Long Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the settlers who had already been living there.
Some believe the town was named in honor of the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell, born 25 April 1599 in Huntingdon, Kingdom of England, who was Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland 1653–1658. From that initial settlement, Huntington grew over subsequent years to include all of the land presently comprising the modern Towns of Huntington and Babylon. The southern part of the town was formally separated to create Babylon in 1872.
Because Huntington was populated largely by English settlers, unlike the rest of the New Amsterdam colony, the town voted in 1660 to become part of the Connecticut Colony rather than remain under the authority of New Amsterdam. It was not until the British gained control of New Amsterdam in 1664 (renaming it New York) that Huntington was formally restored to the jurisdiction of New York.
On June 21st, 1774 in support of the Sons of Liberty in Boston after the Boston Port Act the town adopted its own Declaration of Rights. These rights include "... every freemans [sic] property is absolutely his own, and no man has a right to take it from him without consent, expressed by himself or his represenatives [sic]."
Before the Declaration of Independence the flag flying over Huntington was a British Red Ensign with the word "LIBERTY" on one side and "GEORGE III" on the other. On July 22nd, 1776 when the declaration was being read aloud in Huntington, the "GEORGE III" and the Union Jack were ripped off the flag. The flag was then carried into the Battle of Long Island by the Suffolk County Militia. The flag would be adopted by the town as its official flag shortly before the bicentennial. Following the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, British troops used Huntington as their headquarters, and remained encamped there until the end of the war.
The arrival of the Long Island Rail Road in 1867 transformed the economy of Huntington from primarily agriculture and shipping (based on its well protected harbor) to tourism and commuting. Cold Spring Harbor became a popular summer resort.
The end of World War II brought about an explosive growth of population in Huntington as western Suffolk County began suburbanizing. Farms and resorts gave way to homes, and Huntington transformed into a major commuter town for nearby New York City.
In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that Huntington had violated the Fair Housing Act by preventing apartment construction anywhere except in black neighborhoods. A developer of an affordable housing project sought to build it in a white neighborhood, but the town restricted the developer to black neighborhoods. The Supreme Court ordered the town to build an affordable housing project in a white neighborhood. Construction on that project began in 2023.
In 2019, Huntington banned the creation of new basement apartments. In 2023, a council member proposed legalizing basement apartments to alleviate the housing crisis in Huntington and other communities surrounding New York City. At a July 2023 hearing, in which local residents railed against "migrants, pedophiles, or criminals" moving into Huntington, council members backtracked on their support for the zoning change.
Huntington is bounded by Long Island Sound to the north, Nassau County to the west, Babylon to the south, and Smithtown to the east. It also shares a small border with Islip to the southeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 137.1 square miles (355 km2), of which 94.0 square miles (243 km2) is land and 43.1 square miles (112 km2) (31.44%) is water.
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As of the census of 2000, there were 195,289 people, 65,917 households, and 52,338 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,078.4 inhabitants per square mile (802.5/km2). There were 67,708 housing units at an average density of 720.6 units per square mile (278.2 units/km2). The racial makeup of the town in 2000 was 88.31% White, 4.22% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.27% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.58% of the population. As of the census of 2010, the racial makeup of the town was 84.15% White, 4.68% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 4.96% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.89% from other races, and 2.10% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11.00% of the population.
There were 65,917 households, out of which 37.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 16.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.91 and the average family size was 3.26.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.5% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 25.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males.
According to a 2023 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $164,196, and the median income for a family was $190,280. About 4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
Sbarro's headquarters were located in Melville in the Town of Huntington until 2015.
Around 2002, Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville to Uniondale, Town of Hempstead. The facility, the former Swissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architect Richard Meier to design the Melville facility.
In 1997, Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Manhattan to Melville; James Lyndon, a spokesperson for the airline, said that the company moved to Long Island in an effort to reduce costs, as leasing costs are lower on Long Island than in Manhattan. The move would transfer 75 employees, including administrative personnel, marketing personnel, sales personnel, and telephone reservation agents. The airline planned to move on June 15, 1997. The airline had also considered sites in Boston and in Westchester, New York.
According to Huntington's 2025 Adopted Budget, the top employers in the town are:
The town government consists of a town council with four members, all of whom are elected at large. The town supervisor is elected by the entire town. Other elected positions are the Town Clerk, Highway Superintendent, and Receiver of Taxes. A referendum to move to a ward district system on December 22, 2009, failed 81% to 18%.
Until 2017, Huntington was generally controlled by the Democratic Party, having the same Democratic town supervisor, Frank Petrone, for 20 years prior to 2017. The town board followed suit during these years, generally being controlled by the Democratic Party. In 2017, the Republican Party took control of the town supervisor position with the election of Chad Lupinacci. The Republicans have held this position since. In the 2021 general election, the people of Huntington elected Edmund Smyth to the supervisor position. Two Republicans were also elected to the town board: Dr. Dave Bennardo and Salvatore Ferro. In the 2023 general election, Brooke Lupinacci and Theresa Mari were elected, creating a 5–0 super majority for the Republican Party on the town board. The town clerk position is held by Andrew Raia, and the highway superintendent is Andre Sorentino, both Republicans. The lone Democrat in the Huntington town government is Jillian Guthman.
The town supervisor is Edmund J.M. Smyth.
Huntington has four representatives in the Suffolk County Legislature:
Several weekly newspapers cover local news exclusively, including The Long-Islander, since 1838 as well as The Times of Huntington by TBR News Media. The Village Connection Magazine, published by Jim Savalli, is a lifestyle and entertainment magazine dedicated to the town of Huntington. Additionally, Patch, an online-only news website formerly owned by AOL – as well as the Huntington Buzz, an online-only news website that is independently owned – cover hyper-local news on issues, people, and events in Huntington.
The Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch serves the town's vicinity, and uses stations between Cold Spring Harbor through Northport. Huntington is the eastern terminus of electrification along the Port Jefferson Branch.
The Town of Huntington is served primarily by Huntington Area Rapid Transit bus routes, though some routes from Suffolk County Transit also serve the town.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Huntington, New York”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.