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Brewster House, SetauketPhoto: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0
–Not graded
History · East Setauket

East Setauket’s post office opened in 1863, and 2 of its places are on the National Register

Most of East Setauket was built recently: 10% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1971. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1902 on, and old-book passages.

1863first post office
2on the National Register
10%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Iracaz · CC BY-SA 3.0
Quick answers

How East Setauket began

When was East Setauket founded?

1863

The East Setauket post office opened in 1863, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 10,998163 years
Founding year: the first East Setauket post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about East Setauket’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1967. Watch East Setauket change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start East Setauket’s collection

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

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

East Setauket on the map, 1902 to 1967

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

East Setauket on the 1902 USGS mapEast Setauket on the 1919 USGS mapEast Setauket on the 1947 USGS mapEast Setauket on the 1955 USGS mapEast Setauket on the 1967 USGS map1902Setauket 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 Setauket.

The story so far

East Setauket, in brief

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

East Setauket is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Brookhaven, in Suffolk County, on Long Island, New York, United States. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census, at which time it had a population of 10,998. Before that, it was part of the Setauket–East Setauket CDP.

Its first post office opened in 1863.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about East Setauket in 1882

Passages that mention East Setauket, cut from the printed page as they were published.

Howell, was from Suffolk Station past Eugene Piatt's and Blydenburgh's mills to the Head of the River, or Smithtown post-office; then to Smithtown Branch, then to Stony Brook and Setauket, terminating at East Setauket. The people of this town made many efforts to bring the railroad here. Negotiatio…
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 31Read the page →
Read the text

Howell, was from Suffolk Station past Eugene Piatt's and Blydenburgh's mills to the Head of the River, or Smithtown post-office; then to Smithtown Branch, then to Stony Brook and Setauket, terminating at East Setauket. The people of this town made many efforts to bring the railroad here. Negotiations were had with Charlick, Poppenhusen and Stewart, representing different interests in the Long Island Railroad, the north shore road, and

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

East Setauket, 1902 to 1999

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1902On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  3. 1915In the archiveEast Setauket
  4. 1970Born hereLoren Falsone is born here
  5. 1999Born hereBen Brown is born here
By decade

East Setauket, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1910s1 item
East Setauket1915East Setauket
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
Today5 recent
East Setauket (NY) Automotive2019East Setauket (NY) AutomotiveRoe Tavern Historical Marker;2013Roe Tavern Historical Marker;Roe Tavern Historical Marker; East Setauket, NY (cropped)2013Roe Tavern Historical Marker; East Setauket, NY (crop…Setauketpark2008SetauketparkEast Setauket Pond Park2007East Setauket Pond Park
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 Setauket
Retake this viewEast Setauket, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

2 historic places in East Setauket

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

places listed
2
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.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in East Setauket

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

See all →
B
Ben BrownAmerican baseball player · b. 1999
L
Loren FalsoneAmerican chef and restaurateur · b. 1970
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Port Jefferson StationIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStony Brook UniversityIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPort Jefferson3 historic placesASetauket5 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townStony Brook7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPoquott1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about East Setauket’s history

What year was East Setauket founded?

The East Setauket post office opened in 1863, 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), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps 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.