Brookhaven dates to 1655, and 52 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 80% of U.S. towns · #419 of 758 in New York. What drives it
Most of Brookhaven was built recently: 7% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. 52 places in town are on the National Register, among them the William Sydney Mount House, a National Historic Landmark, and ten historic districts with 398 buildings between them. Below: 14 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1790.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1794.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Brookhaven’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Brookhaven is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #419 of 758 in New York. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Brookhaven’s overall grade.
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Brookhaven ranks #122 on History.
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 Brookhaven’s 9.8 sits near the middle of its state (45% of New York towns have fewer) while its 482 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1655.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share (±0.5 points) is firm at this size.
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 Brookhaven’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. One is a National Historic Landmark, the highest tier. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.
Bellport Life Saving StationlocaleBlue Point Life Saving StationlocaleCamp NewcombelocaleCamp UptonmilitaryChristian Avenue SchoolschoolCoram AirportairportCoram Drive-InlocaleCoram PitmineFarmington Post Officepost officeFlowerfield AirportairportForge River Life Saving StationlocaleHough FieldairportLone Hill Life Saving StationlocaleManorville Gap Filler AnnexmilitaryMiddle Island PitmineMiddletown Presbyterian ChurchchurchNike Site NY-25CmilitaryNike Site NY-25Lmilitary
63family graveyards and cemeteries inside Brookhaven
Agudat AchimAlmshouseBarteau FamilyBethel African - AmericanBethelBishop and RobinsonBlue PointBrookfieldBrookfield Presbyterian ChurchBuckingham HomanCaroline Episcopal Churchyard andCedar GroveCedar HillCenacle ConventColonel Josiah Smith and Howell PrivateCorwin PrivateDavid Hawkins PrivateElijah Davis PrivateFloydHawkins FamilyHoly SepulchreLake RonkonkomaLakeviewLaurel HillLongwoodMethodistMethodistMethodistMount PleasantNathaniel HawkinsNew Village CongregationalNewtonNoah HallockOak HillOaklawnOld BellportOld CoramOld MethodistOld Yaphank BaptistOlde BeachfernPatchogueRiceRobinson FamilyRoeSaint Andrew's EpiscopalSaint Francis DeSalesSaint GeorgeSaint JamesSamuel Carman and Nathaniel MillerSetauket Presbyterian ChurchSouth Haven Presbyterian ChurchStony Brook MethodistThe Old CatholicTrinity MethodistUnionUnionWashington Memorial ParkWaverlyWilliam Hawkins and Daniel DownsWines PrivateWoodlandYaphank Presbyterian ChurchYaphank Village
See all 63
Agudat Achim Cemetery · Almshouse Cemetery · Barteau Family Cemetery · Bethel African - American Cemetery · Bethel Cemetery · Bishop and Robinson Cemetery · Blue Point Cemetery · Brookfield Cemetery · Brookfield Presbyterian Church Cemetery · Buckingham Homan Cemetery · Caroline Episcopal Churchyard and Cemetery · Cedar Grove Cemetery · Cedar Hill Cemetery · Cenacle Convent Graveyard · Colonel Josiah Smith and Howell Private Graveyard · Corwin Private Cemetery · David Hawkins Private Cemetery · Elijah Davis Private Cemetery · Floyd Cemetery · Hawkins Family Graveyard · Holy Sepulchre Cemetery · Lake Ronkonkoma Cemetery · Lakeview Cemetery · Laurel Hill Cemetery · Longwood Cemetery · Methodist Cemetery · Methodist Cemetery · Methodist Cemetery · Mount Pleasant Cemetery · Nathaniel Hawkins Cemetery · New Village Congregational Cemetery · Newton Cemetery · Noah Hallock Cemetery · Oak Hill Cemetery · Oaklawn Cemetery · Old Bellport Cemetery · Old Coram Cemetery · Old Methodist Cemetery · Old Yaphank Baptist Cemetery · Olde Beachfern Cemetery · Patchogue Cemetery · Rice Cemetery · Robinson Family Cemetery · Roe Cemetery · Saint Andrew's Episcopal Cemetery · Saint Francis DeSales Cemetery · Saint George Cemetery · Saint James Cemetery · Samuel Carman and Nathaniel Miller Cemetery · Setauket Presbyterian Church Cemetery · South Haven Presbyterian Church Cemetery · Stony Brook Methodist Cemetery · The Old Catholic Cemetery · Trinity Methodist Cemetery · Union Cemetery · Union Cemetery · Washington Memorial Park · Waverly Cemetery · William Hawkins and Daniel Downs Cemetery · Wines Private Graveyard · Woodland Cemetery · Yaphank Presbyterian Church Cemetery · Yaphank Village Cemetery
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
The primary known inhabitants were Algonquian-speaking Native Americans, of the Setauket and Unkechaug tribes. The first English settlers arrived around 1640, and in 1655, several purchased Brookhaven's land from its tribal inhabitants. The latter founding year was recognized in 1976, when the Brookhaven Town Bicentennial Commission proposed setting the date on the seal to 1655 in line with this first deed of settlement of the town of Brookhaven at Setauket on April 14, 1655. Considering this founding year of 1655, Brookhaven is the fifth English township on Long Island following Southampton, Southold, Huntington, and East Hampton.
Passages that mention Brookhaven, cut from the printed page as they were published.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 72Read the page →
Read the text
Charles B. Dayton, Easthampton, 127th; r. Andrew Dayton, Atlanticville, nth cav.; r. George W. Dayton, Patchogue; d c s. Charles Dayton, Patchogue, 12th; r. Smith A. Dayton, town of Brookhaven, navy. George Dayton, town of Brookhaven, 7th. Abraham De Bevoise, captain. Sag Harbor, i27lh; r.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ably broke through the beach during the great storm November 29th 1700, and was known as the Great Gut or NicoU's Gut or Nine-Mile Inlet, and extended nearly that distance west of the west line of Brookhaven patent. The Great South Bay and Beach east from NicoU's Point have by legislative enactment been made a part of the town of Brookhaven. Into this bay flow some sixteen noticeable streams, several of which have their
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Brookhaven, 1655 to 1904
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
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.
In 1655, according to Wikidata. Brookhaven’s post office opened in 1794, and the first U.S. census counted 3,224 people here in 1790.
How does Brookhaven rank for history?
Brookhaven is more historic than 80% of U.S. towns, #419 of 758 in New York. 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.
What is on the National Register in Brookhaven?
52 listings: 39 buildings, among them the William Sydney Mount House (a National Historic Landmark since 1965), 10 historic districts with 398 contributing buildings, 1 site, and 1 structure. 482 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Brookhaven?
7% of Brookhaven’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 27% for a New York town; the median home was built in 1974.
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 (28), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (51), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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