Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1834.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Bellport’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bellport is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.
A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bellport’s overall grade.
New York towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical New York town has 12.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bellport’s 10.3 sits near the middle of its state (46% of New York towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1664.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.0 points).
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bellport’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The land that is now Bellport was purchased along with what is now the hamlet of Brookhaven (then called Fireplace Neck) and western South Haven from the Unkechaug Indians in 1664 by settlers from nearby Setauket, who were attracted by the plentiful harvests of salt hay. The part that became Bellport was named Occumbomock Neck. Jonathan Rose was the first permanent settler in the 1680s, and by 1720 the Rose family owned much of Occumbomock Neck. In 1829, Captain Thomas Bell, a Scottish immigrant, bought land there. He sold sections of it, and by 1843 the village had 30 dwellings and 200 inhabitants. He changed the name to Bell-Port (now Bellport), envisioning a seaport, since Bellport was very close to the Old Inlet, a breach in the barrier island Fire Island, which gave Bellport easy access to the open ocean. With Colonel William Howell, Bell built a dock and a road to the dock. But th…
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Bellport.
Every building
Bellport, building by building, 1910–1920
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
In 1664, according to Wikidata. Bellport’s post office opened in 1834, and the census of 1880 counted 297 people here.
How does Bellport rank for history?
Bellport is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Bellport?
30% of Bellport’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.0 points), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1957.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (7), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1889
1902
1907
