Smithtown is a town in Suffolk County, New York, on the Northshore of Long Island. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. The population was 116,296 at the 2020 Census.
The census-designated place (CDP) of Smithtown lies within the town's borders.
History The land that would become the town was previously inhabited by the Nissequogue Native Americans.
Local legend An oft-repeated but apocryphal story has it that, after rescuing a Native American chief's abducted daughter, Richard Smith was told that the chief would grant title to all of the land Smith could encircle in one day while riding a bull. Smith chose to ride the bull on the longest day of the year (summer solstice) 1665, to enable him to ride longer "in one day." The land he acquired in this way is said to approximate the current town's borders. A large statue of Smith's bull, known as Whisper, pays homage to the legend at the fork of Jericho Turnpike (New York State Route 25) and St. Johnland Road (New York State Route 25A).Rediscovering Smithtown's Golden Age of Progressive Architecture; 1911–1948 (Preservation Long Island)
Actual founding According to local historians, the bull story is a myth. It was actually English settler Lion Gardiner who had helped rescue the daughter of Nissequogue Grand Sachem Wyandanch, after she was kidnapped by rival Narragansetts. Smith, who lived in nearby Setauket, was a friend of Gardiner; it was at Smith's house where the Nissequogue princess was returned to Wyandanch. The Grand Sachem awarded a large tract of land to Gardiner as a gesture of gratitude. In 1663 Gardiner sold the Nissequogue lands to Smith. Two years later, colonial Governor Richard Nicolls recognized the sale by awarding Smith “The Nicolls Patent of 1665,” which formally ratified Smith's claim to the land. Thus, 1665 is considered the founding date of the town.
Smithtown was originally known as "Smithfield".
The border between Smithtown and the town of Huntington is partially defined by Bread and Cheese Hollow Road (Suffolk County Road 4), so named after Bread and Cheese hollow, which according to legend is where Smith stopped on his ride to have a lunch of bread and cheese. The road is reputed to follow part of his original ride. The border between Smithtown and Huntington was also the site of Fort Salonga, a British fort that was the site of a battle of the American Revolution during 1781. The Smithtown hamlet of Nesconset was the home of Spaceplex, an indoor amusement park and arcade that was falsely accused of being the abduction site in the Katie Beers kidnapping case in 1992.
350th anniversary In 2015, the town celebrated its 350th anniversary with the unveiling of a new statue of founder Richard Smith, in front of an office building at the intersection of Main Street and Route 111.
Geography Smithtown is bounded by Long Island Sound to the north, Islip to the south, Brookhaven to the east, and Huntington to the west.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and (51.75%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 115,715 people, 38,487 households, and 31,482 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 39,357 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was:
114,817 or 99.2% mono-racial 110,546 or 95.51% White 748 or 0.65% Black or African American, 78 or 0.01% Native American 1,763 or 1.7% Asian 22 or less than 0.01% Pacific Islander 660 or 0.6% from other races 898 or 0.8% from two or more races. 3,855 or 3.3% Hispanic or Latino
There were 38,487 households, out of which 38.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.6% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.2% were non-families. 15.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.28.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.6 males. For every 1000 females age 18 and over, there were 911.2 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the town was $100,165, and the median income for a family was $110,776." Income in the Past 12 Months (In 2007 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars): 2007 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates" American Fact Finger. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved April 21, 2017.
Males had a median income of $61,348 versus $38,208 for females. The per capita income for the town was $31,401. About 2.1% of families and 3.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Ancestries: Italian (35.3%), Irish (26.0%), German (18.7%), Polish (6.9%), English (5.0%), Russian (4.1%).
Government and politics +Current Town Board as of January 1, 2024Town Clerk / RegistrarCouncilwomanCouncilmanSupervisorCouncilwomanCouncilmanReceiver of TaxesThomas D. McCarthy (R)since January 1, 2024Lynne Nowick (R)since January 1, 2014Thomas J. McCarthy (R)since January 1, 1998Edward Wehrheim (R)since January 1, 2018Lisa Inzerillo(R)since January 1, 2015Thomas W. Lohmann (R)since January 10, 2018Deanna Varricchio (R)since January 1, 2002
The present town hall and seat of the town was built in 1912 on Main Street in Smithtown.
In 2015 the town hall was dedicated and renamed after former Supervisor Patrick R. Vecchio.Hampton, Deon J. (November 1, 2015). "Smithtown Town Hall renamed to honor supervisor Patrick Vecchio". Newsday.
Smithtown is led by a Town Supervisor and a four-member Town Council, elected town-wide with each serving four year terms. Elections are held in odd-numbered years, with two of the councilmembers being up for re-election each year.
The current Supervisor is Edward Wehrheim who has been Town Supervisor since 2018. His predecessor, Patrick Vecchio was in office for forty years, the longest elected town supervisor in the history of the United States. Elected as a Democrat during a special election, Vecchio switched parties in 1993 in an attempt to run for County Executive. Although defeated in the primary by Robert Gaffney, Vecchio remained a Republican until his death in 2019. He is the longest serving town supervisor in all of New York State. Vecchio ran in 2013 against former Councilman Robert Creighton, of the Conservative Party. Supervisor Vecchio won the Republican Primary against Councilman Creighton and then later defeated the Councilman in the General Election 45-30%. The Democratic candidate, Steven Snair received 25% of the vote. Councilman Creighton was later ousted in 2015 by Lisa Inzerillo. In the 2017 Republican primary, then-Councilman Ed Wehrheim received about forty votes more than Vecchio. The race was too close to call and a recount was demanded by Vecchio. Following the recount a week later, Wehrheim was declared the winner, nearly doubling his lead. Vecchio conceded the race the same day saying "“All good things come to an end." On November 7, 2017, Ed Wehrheim defeated William Holst in the election for the town's next supervisor. Wehrheim succeeded Vecchio on January 1, 2018. On January 10, 2018, Thomas Lohmann was appointed to the seat vacated by Wehrheim's election.
The Town of Smithtown has always been dominated by Republicans at all levels of government. This one-party domination has often led to infighting between factions of the Republican Party in Smithtown with the most recent between Supervisor Vecchio and Smithtown Republican Party Chairman William Ellis. In recent times the Republican party has dominated the Town Board; the last Democratic Town Supervisor being Mr. Vecchio. The most Republican areas for Smithtown are its three incorporated villages, Nissequogue, Head of the Harbor, and the Branch, along with the hamlets of Smithtown and Kings Park. The weakest areas for the Republican party in Smithtown is the edges of the Town in the hamlets of Commack and Hauppauge. In 2016, Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton by a margin of 25 percent. Democratic County Executive Steve Bellone has won the town, in two of his three runs for that office.
In addition to presidential politics, the Town of Smithtown is also the power bases of many State and County elected officials. The former New York State Senate Majority Leader John J. Flanagan had the bulk of his district located in Smithtown. Current Republican Comptroller John M. Kennedy, Jr., along with his wife, Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy both reside in Nesconset.
Former Supervisor Vecchio died on April 6, 2019, at the age of 88.
+ Town of Smithtown, New York vote by party in presidential elections Year Republican Democratic202058% 42,05140% 28,946201661% 35,93136% 20,552201260.17% 32,54939.83% 21,544200856.85% 34,40943.15% 26,114200456.41% 33,68643.59% 26,034 + Town of Smithtown, Supervisor election resultsYearCandidateVote%2021(R)Edward Wehrheim 21,09573.9(D)Maria Scheuring7,45326.12017(R)Edward Wehrheim 16,26856.8(D)William Holst10,04735.0(I)Kristen Slevin2,2508.22013(R)Patrick Vecchio 9,50745.08(C)Robert Creighton6,36630.18(D)Steve Snair5,21824.742009(R)Patrick Vecchio 11,04960.35(D)Patricia Biancaniello7,05138.51(WF)Deanna DeLieto2081.142005(R)Patrick Vecchio 12,37055.52(D)William Holst5,98126.84(I)Jane Conway3,92917.63
Communities and locations Villages (incorporated) Head of the Harbor Nissequogue Village of the Branch Village of the Landing (former; dissolved 1939)
Hamlets (unincorporated) Commack (in part, with the Town of Huntington) Fort Salonga (in part, with the Town of Huntington) Hauppauge (in part, with the Town of Islip) Kings Park Lake Ronkonkoma (in part with the Town of Brookhaven and Town of Islip) Nesconset Smithtown St. James
The now-defunct hamlet of Flowerfield is also listed in the official New York State Gazetteer, maintained and published by the New York State Department of Health, which includes numerous defunct hamlets and towns, some with alternate or archaic spellings.
Other communities North Smithtown San Remo Smithtown Pines
State parks Caleb Smith State Park Preserve, a state park southwest of Smithtown village Sunken Meadow State Park Nissequogue River State Park Blydenburgh Park Historic District
Media and culture
Smithtown broadcasts its board meetings on SGTV, the Town of Smithtown's public service television station; Optimum channel 18 or Verizon Fios channel 27. The Times of Smithtown newspaper carries community-based articles.
The Smithtown Performing Arts Center is a theater at 2 East Main Street. The historic building has not been significantly visually altered since it was built in 1933. It operated as a movie theater from 1933 to November 2001, and was renovated and restored to accommodate live performances in 2002. In 2022 the building was purchased by the nonprofit Smithtown Performing Arts Council, which programs a variety of live entertainment and community events including musicals, plays, music, comedy, educational classes. and summer camps.
Emergency services