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History · Center Moriches

3 of Center Moriches’ places are on the National Register

Most of Center Moriches was built recently: 8% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1978. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 2000.

3on the National Register
8%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Center Moriches’ archive · credits on each photo

What stands out about Center Moriches’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1967. Watch Center Moriches change.
★ What stands out · On the map

Center Moriches on the map, 1904 to 1967

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Center Moriches. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Center Moriches on the 1904 USGS mapCenter Moriches on the 1926 USGS mapCenter Moriches on the 1957 USGS mapCenter Moriches on the 1967 USGS map1904Moriches sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Center Moriches.

The story so far

Center Moriches, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Center Moriches yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Center Moriches ( moh-RITCH-iz) is a hamlet and census-designated place in Suffolk County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Center Moriches had a population of 8,046. Center Moriches is in the town of Brookhaven. It is the location of the historic Masury Estate Ballroom and Terry-Ketcham Inn, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The name Moriches comes from Meritces, a Native American who owned land on Moriches Neck.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 7,580 to 8,046 (+6%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

Timeline

Center Moriches, 1873 to 1987

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archivePart of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I
  3. 1888In the archiveCenter Moriches. (Village)
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 19 (Map bounded by Terrells River, Moriches B…
  6. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1917Born hereWilliam Woolfolk is born here
  8. 1966Born hereSue Wicks is born here
  9. 1986Born hereJeff LeBlanc is born here
  10. 1987Born hereAnthony Leone is born here
By decade

Center Moriches, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1880s5 items
Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I1873Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.IMapCenter Moriches Town of Brookhaven Suffolk Co1873Center Moriches Town of Brookhaven Suffolk CoMapCentre Moriches, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk Co. - East Point, Town of Brookhaven and Southampton, Suffolk Co. - Blue P…1873Centre Moriches, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk Co. - Ea…Center Moriches. (Village)c. 1888Center Moriches. (Village)South Part of Brookhaven. (Township)c. 1888South Part of Brookhaven. (Township)
1900s1 item
Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 19 (Map bounded by Terrells River, Moriches Bay, West Senekes Creek)1902Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 19 (Map b…Map
1910s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Centre Moriches, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk Co. - East Point, Town of Brookhaven and Southampton, Suffolk Co. - Blue P…
Retake this viewCentre Moriches, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk Co. - East Point, Town of Brookhaven and Southampton, Suffolk Co. - Blue P…, 1873

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Center Moriches’ page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

3 historic places in Center Moriches

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Center Moriches, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00020002020Peak: 8,046

Between 6,655 and 8,046 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Center Moriches’ Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Center Moriches

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Sue WicksAmerican basketball player and coach · b. 1966
A
Anthony LeoneAmerican martial artist · b. 1987
W
William WoolfolkAmerican writer · b. 1917
J
Jeff LeBlancAmerican musician · b. 1986
Help out

Finish Center Moriches’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewCentre Moriches, Town of Brookhaven, Su…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

MorichesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast MorichesIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Center Moriches’ history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.