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Holtsville USPS; 11742Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Holtsville

Holtsville’s post office opened in 1860

Most of Holtsville was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1976. Below: maps from 1902 on.

1860first post office
0on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: DanTD · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Holtsville began

When was Holtsville founded?

1860

The Holtsville post office opened in 1860, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 18,937166 years
Founding year: the first Holtsville post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Holtsville’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Holtsville are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19025 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1967. Watch Holtsville change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Holtsville’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Holtsville on the map, 1902 to 1967

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

Holtsville on the 1902 USGS mapHoltsville on the 1919 USGS mapHoltsville on the 1947 USGS mapHoltsville on the 1956 USGS mapHoltsville 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 Holtsville.

The story

How Holtsville came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Holtsville.

Read it all →

The hamlet known today as Holtsville included only a few farmhouses in the late 18th century. In 1843, the Long Island Rail Road opened its Waverly station. Maps from that period label the area as Waverly, and a stagecoach line ran north–south along present day Waverly Avenue. As another post office named Waverly already existed in New York, the name of the hamlet was changed to Holtsville in 1860, in honor of U.S. Postmaster General Joseph Holt. As of 1874, Holtsville consisted of 15 houses, a school, and a general store. The train station retained the name "Waverly" for some time, but was eventually also changed to Holtsville, probably in the 1890s, after farmers complained about their shipments going upstate by mistake. In 1916, the Suffolk County Tuberculosis Sanatorium opened on land that was considered Holtsville at the time, but is now part of the hamlet of Selden. The site later…

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Holtsville, 1902 to 1998

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. 1988Born hereJustin Bonsignore is born here
  4. 1998Born hereStephen Turnbull is born here
By decade

Holtsville, decade by decade

Today6 recent
Holtsville Ecology Center view2009Holtsville Ecology Center viewSuffolk County Route 99 - New York2007Suffolk County Route 99 - New YorkSuffolk County Route 97 (Nicolls Road) - New York2007Suffolk County Route 97 (Nicolls Road) - New YorkSuffolk County Route 19 - New York2007Suffolk County Route 19 - New YorkSuffolk County Route 19 - New York2007Suffolk County Route 19 - New YorkI-495 Exit 62N Attraction Sign2000I-495 Exit 62N Attraction Sign
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Holtsville

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

See all →
Justin BonsignoreRacecar driver · b. 1988
S
Stephen TurnbullAmerican soccer player · b. 1998
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

North PatchogueIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHolbrookIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFarmingville1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMedfordIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCentereachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBrookhaven52 historic placesA−Islip27 historic placesA−

Questions about Holtsville’s history

What year was Holtsville founded?

The Holtsville post office opened in 1860, 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 and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.