Yaphank, New York
Encyclopedia
Yaphank is a census-designated place
(CDP) in Suffolk County
, New York
, United States
. The population was 5,025 at the 2000 census.
Yaphank is a community in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven
. It is served by the Longwood Central School District
, except for extreme southwestern Yaphank, where it is served by the South Country Central School District
.
author
Mary Louise Booth
was born in Millville in 1831. In 1846 a post office
was opened in the town, but because there were thirteen other towns named "Millville" in New York State at the time, the town was renamed "Yaphank", from the local Native American
word "Yamphanke", meaning "bank of a river".
In 1843 the Long Island Rail Road
built a railroad station in Yaphank (still named Millville at the time), and virtually overnight the small mill town became a major commercial center. By 1875, Yaphank had two grist mills, two lumber mills, two blacksmith
shops, a printing office
, an upholstery
shop, a stagecoach
line, two physician
s, a shoe
shop, two wheelwright
shops, a meat market
, a dressmaker
and a general store
.
Today, Yaphank is home to about half of those industries. The Grist mills, blacksmith, physician, shoe shop, wheelwright shops, meat markets and the dress makers are long gone although the rail road station is still here along with the general stores.
Today, Yaphank holds three deli's, one pizza shop, a shooting supply company, a skeet range, a bank, and Dawn House & Building Movers - a house moving company.
Yaphank was the home of Camp Upton
, which was used as a boot camp
in 1917. In 1947, the United States War Department transferred the Camp Upton site to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and it now serves as the home of Brookhaven National Laboratory
. Before the end of World War I
, more than 30,000 men received their basic training
there. Perhaps the most notable person to have trained at Camp Upton was the songwriter Irving Berlin
. It was there he composed the musical comedy revue
Yip Yip Yaphank
, which had a brief run on Broadway
.
WWII Significance - German Bund and Nazi activity. Outside of Yaphank, the German-American Bund
operated Camp Siegfried, a summer camp which taught Nazi ideology. See also Amagansett
and Operation Pastorius
A number of Suffolk County facilities are located in Yaphank, including Suffolk County Police Department headquarters, the county fire academy, and the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center, which offers a glimpse into the workings of an authentic 100+ year old farm and educational programs by Cornell Cooperative Extension.
A quarter horse
racing facility named Parr Meadows operated in Yaphank during 1977. The racetrack reopened in 1986 for a single meet, then called Suffolk Meadows
. In 1979, Parr Meadows served as the venue of a tenth anniversary reunion concert that featured many of the original performers from the Woodstock Festival
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the CDP has a total area of 14.1 square miles (36.5 km²), of which, 14 square miles (36.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.78%) is water.
of 2000, there were 5,025 people, 1,566 households, and 1,130 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 359.5 per square mile (138.8/km²). There were 1,650 housing units at an average density of 118.0/sq mi (45.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.11% White, 11.22% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.94% from other races
, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.34% of the population.
There were 1,566 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 115.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $70,534, and the median income for a family was $72,348. Males had a median income of $48,807 versus $35,406 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $25,020. About 3.3% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) in Suffolk County
Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York on the eastern portion of Long Island. As of the 2010 census, the population was 1,493,350. It was named for the county of Suffolk in England, from which its earliest settlers came...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 5,025 at the 2000 census.
Yaphank is a community in the south part of the Town of Brookhaven
Brookhaven, New York
The Town of Brookhaven is one of the ten towns into which Suffolk County, New York, United States, has been divided. Part of the New York metropolitan area, it is located in central Suffolk County and is the only town in the county that stretches from the North Shore to the South Shore of Long...
. It is served by the Longwood Central School District
Longwood Central School District
Longwood Central School District covers in central Brookhaven Town, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It serves the hamlets of Ridge, Middle Island, Coram, and Yaphank, and parts of Shoreham, Shirley, Medford, Miller Place, Mount Sinai, and Upton...
, except for extreme southwestern Yaphank, where it is served by the South Country Central School District
South Country Central School District
The South Country Central School District is a district of approximately located in southern Brookhaven Town, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is composed of the Village of Bellport, the Hamlets of Brookhaven, North Bellport, and East Patchogue, and parts of Yaphank, and Medford.-...
.
History
In the mid 18th century, a man named John Homan built two mills along Carmen's River, which runs directly through the center of the town. These two mills inspired the first name for the town: Millville. The translatorTranslation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Mary Louise Booth
Mary Louise Booth
Mary Louise Booth translator, writer, editor born in Millville, the present Yaphank, New York to William Chatfield Booth and Nancy Monswell. She was editor of Harper's Bazaar from its beginning in 1867 until her death...
was born in Millville in 1831. In 1846 a post office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
was opened in the town, but because there were thirteen other towns named "Millville" in New York State at the time, the town was renamed "Yaphank", from the local Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
word "Yamphanke", meaning "bank of a river".
In 1843 the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
built a railroad station in Yaphank (still named Millville at the time), and virtually overnight the small mill town became a major commercial center. By 1875, Yaphank had two grist mills, two lumber mills, two blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
shops, a printing office
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, an upholstery
Upholstery
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word upholstery comes from the Middle English word upholder, which referred to a tradesman who held up his goods. The term is equally applicable to domestic,...
shop, a stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
line, two physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, a shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
shop, two wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...
shops, a meat market
Meat market
A meat market is, traditionally, a marketplace where meat is sold, often by a butcher.It may also refer to:* Meat packing industry* As an alternative spelling for meet market, a singles event or location with many single people, especially one where attendees are rapidly sizing up members of the...
, a dressmaker
Dressmaker
A dressmaker is a person who makes custom clothing for women, such as dresses, blouses, and evening gowns. Also called a mantua-maker or a modiste.-Notable dressmakers:*Cristobal Balenciaga*Charles Frederick Worth...
and a general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
.
Today, Yaphank is home to about half of those industries. The Grist mills, blacksmith, physician, shoe shop, wheelwright shops, meat markets and the dress makers are long gone although the rail road station is still here along with the general stores.
Today, Yaphank holds three deli's, one pizza shop, a shooting supply company, a skeet range, a bank, and Dawn House & Building Movers - a house moving company.
Yaphank was the home of Camp Upton
Camp Upton
Camp Upton was an installation of the United States Army located in Yaphank on Long Island in Suffolk County, New York. It was located near Camp Mills.-History:...
, which was used as a boot camp
Recruit training
Recruit training, more commonly known as Basic Training and colloquially called Boot Camp, is the initial indoctrination and instruction given to new military personnel, enlisted and officer...
in 1917. In 1947, the United States War Department transferred the Camp Upton site to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), and it now serves as the home of Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
. Before the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, more than 30,000 men received their basic training
Basic Training
Basic Training may refer to:* Basic Training, a 1971 American documentary directed by Frederick Wiseman* Basic Training , an American sex comedy* Recruit training...
there. Perhaps the most notable person to have trained at Camp Upton was the songwriter Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
. It was there he composed the musical comedy revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
Yip Yip Yaphank
Yip Yip Yaphank
Yip Yip Yaphank is the name of musical revue composed and produced by Irving Berlin in 1918 while he was a recruit during World War I in the United States Army at Camp Upton in Yaphank, New York.-From idea to the stage:...
, which had a brief run on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
.
WWII Significance - German Bund and Nazi activity. Outside of Yaphank, the German-American Bund
German-American Bund
The German American Bund or German American Federation was an American Nazi organization established in the 1930s...
operated Camp Siegfried, a summer camp which taught Nazi ideology. See also Amagansett
Amagansett, New York
Amagansett is a census-designated place that roughly corresponds to the hamlet by the same name in the town of East Hampton in Suffolk County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 1,067. Amagansett hamlet was founded in 1680.The...
and Operation Pastorius
Operation Pastorius
Operation Pastorius was a failed plan for sabotage via a series of attacks by Nazi German agents inside the United States. The operation was staged in June 1942 and was to be directed against strategic U.S. economic targets...
A number of Suffolk County facilities are located in Yaphank, including Suffolk County Police Department headquarters, the county fire academy, and the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center, which offers a glimpse into the workings of an authentic 100+ year old farm and educational programs by Cornell Cooperative Extension.
A quarter horse
American Quarter Horse
The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
racing facility named Parr Meadows operated in Yaphank during 1977. The racetrack reopened in 1986 for a single meet, then called Suffolk Meadows
Suffolk Meadows
Suffolk Meadows was a quarter horse racing facility on Long Island that operated during 1977 and 1986. The racetrack was situated on a parcel located in Yaphank northwest of the William Floyd Parkway interchange on the Long Island Expressway....
. In 1979, Parr Meadows served as the venue of a tenth anniversary reunion concert that featured many of the original performers from the Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
.
Geography
Yaphank is located at 40°50′7"N 72°55′45"W (40.835277, -72.929159).According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 14.1 square miles (36.5 km²), of which, 14 square miles (36.3 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square mile (0.258998811 km²) of it (0.78%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 5,025 people, 1,566 households, and 1,130 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 359.5 per square mile (138.8/km²). There were 1,650 housing units at an average density of 118.0/sq mi (45.6/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.11% White, 11.22% African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.94% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.41% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.34% of the population.
There were 1,566 households out of which 33.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 21.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.14.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.9% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 34.6% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 115.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 118.1 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $70,534, and the median income for a family was $72,348. Males had a median income of $48,807 versus $35,406 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $25,020. About 3.3% of families and 3.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 4.7% of those age 65 or over.
See also
- Robert Hawkins HomesteadRobert Hawkins HomesteadRobert Hawkins Homestead is a historic home located at Yaphank in Suffolk County, New York. It was built about 1855 and is a clapboard sheathed, wood frame building on a brick foundation. It has a symmetrical, two story, three bay, cruciform plan with low intersecting gable roofs in the...
- Homan-Gerard House and MillsHoman-Gerard House and MillsHoman-Gerard House and Mills is a historic home and mill complex located at Yaphank in Suffolk County, New York. It is composed of a large Federal-style residence , four contributing related support buildings, and six contributing related archaeological sites. The house is a -story frame...
- St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Yaphank, New York)St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Yaphank, New York)St. Andrew's Episcopal Church is a historic church on Main Street in Yaphank, New York.It was built in 1853 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.-External links:*...
- Suffolk County Almshouse BarnSuffolk County Almshouse BarnSuffolk County Almshouse Barn is a historic hay and livestock barn located at Yaphank in Suffolk County, New York. It was built in 1871 and the large multi-story barn has a broad gable roof and wood shingle sheathing. It is the only extant structure from the Suffolk County Almshouse.It was added...
External links
- http://www.longwood.k12.ny.us/history
- http://www.newsday.com/community/guide/lihistory/ny-hs729a,0,7169.story?coll=ny-lihistory-navigation Newsday story on Camp Siegfried
- Yaphank Website
- Yaphank History (Longwood Public Library)