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History · East Islip

East Islip’s post office opened in 1890, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1902 on, and the census since 2000.

1890first post office
0on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
3old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From East Islip’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How East Islip began

When was East Islip founded?

1890

The East Islip post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 14,078 in 20002020 census: 13,931136 years
Founding year: the first East Islip post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about East Islip’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 3 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1979. Watch East Islip change.Old housesHalf of East Islip’s homes were built before 1956.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Islip’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how East Islip’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewEast Islip and Connetquot Park; Central…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

East Islip on the map, 1902 to 1979

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

East Islip on the 1902 USGS mapEast Islip on the 1944 USGS mapEast Islip on the 1955 USGS mapEast Islip on the 1967 USGS mapEast Islip on the 1979 USGS map1902Fire Island 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 East Islip.

The story

How East Islip came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of East Islip.

Read it all →

Originally referred to as "East of Islip", the name was acquired in 1890 from the estate of William Nicoll, an English aristocrat who purchased the surrounding land in 1683 to erect a family residence. Nicoll's purchase comprised 51,000 acres (210 km2) from the Secatogue Indians, reaching as far as Bayport to the east, Babylon to the west and Ronkonkoma to the north. His mansion, Islip Grange, named after his family's ancestral estate at Northampshire, England, stood near the shoreline of what is now Heckscher State Park.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

East Islip, 1902 to 1995

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 13 (Map bounded by Great River, Bohemia, East…
  3. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  4. 1915In the archiveEast Islip and Connetquot Park; Central Islip
  5. 1961Born hereFrank Bianchini is born here
  6. 1976Born hereBobby Muuss is born here
  7. 1994Born hereCari Roccaro is born here
  8. 1995Born hereBear Bronson is born here
By decade

East Islip, decade by decade

2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s–1910s3 items
Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 13 (Map bounded by Great River, Bohemia, East Lslip and Connetquot Park)1902Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 13 (Map b…MapEast Islip and Connetquot Park; Central Islip1915East Islip and Connetquot Park; Central IslipPart of Town of Islip1915Part of Town of Islip
1920s–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
Today3 recent
East Islip, NY, USA2012East Islip, NY, USAEast-islip-map2007East-islip-mapMapMooringsmap2006Mooringsmap
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.

East Islip and Connetquot Park; Central Islip
Retake this viewEast Islip and Connetquot Park; Central Islip, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
People over time

East Islip, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00020002020Peak: 14,475

Between 13,931 and 14,475 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on East Islip’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

4 famous people were born in East Islip

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

See all →
Cari RoccaroAmerican soccer player · b. 1994
Bear BronsonAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1995
B
Bobby MuussAmerican college soccer coach · b. 1976
F
Frank BianchiniAmerican football running back · b. 1961
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Great River1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townIslip TerraceIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about East Islip’s history

What year was East Islip founded?

The East Islip post office opened in 1890, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), Wikipedia, 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.