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History · Mastic

Mastic’s post office opened in 1925

Most of Mastic was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 1 old photo or paper from 1873 on and old-book passages.

1925first post office
0on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Mastic began

When was Mastic founded?

1925

The Mastic post office opened in 1925, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 15,404101 years
Founding year: the first Mastic post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Mastic’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.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Mastic’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Mastic’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
The story so far

Mastic, in brief

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

Mastic is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP) in the southeastern part of the town of Brookhaven in central Suffolk County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Mastic had a population of 15,404. The hamlet was originally called Forge until 1893, when it was changed to the current name of Mastic. The Long Island Rail Road built a station in 1882 and, on July 15, 1960, the stop was moved 7,010 feet (2,140 m) west and renamed Mastic–Shirley. The Poospatuck Indian Reservation of the state-recognized Unkechaug Nation lies entirely within the community, near its southern end and along the Forge River. The northernmost section of the hamlet is unofficially referred to as Manor…

Its first post office opened in 1925. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 15,481 in 2010, 15,404 in 2020.

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Mastic in 1882

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

The tract of land included in the agreement and conveyances above referred to, lying between the north lines from Mastic and Senekes Rivers and the Country road and Dongan's line, covers a part of the present township of Brookhaven of which the records and historical authorities tell us but little.…
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 27Read the page →
Read the text

The tract of land included in the agreement and conveyances above referred to, lying between the north lines from Mastic and Senekes Rivers and the Country road and Dongan's line, covers a part of the present township of Brookhaven of which the records and historical authorities tell us but little. Dongan's line, spoken of, is a line running west from the head of Seatuck River, striking the line north from the head of Mastic Kiver about

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

Mastic, 1752 to 1873

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1752Born hereJohn Smith is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1806Born hereJohn G. Floyd is born here
  5. 1873In the archivePart of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I
By decade

Mastic, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1870s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s1 item
Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I1873Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.IMap
Today5 recent
Forge River, looking south2011Forge River, looking southForge River, looking north2011Forge River, looking northForge River between Montauk Highway and LIRR Montauk Branch2011Forge River between Montauk Highway and LIRR Montauk …Suffolk Transit 10312010Suffolk Transit 1031LIRR Diesel at Former Mastic Station2010LIRR Diesel at Former Mastic Station
Famous people

2 famous people were born in Mastic

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

See all →
John SmithAmerican politician from New York · b. 1752
John G. FloydAmerican politician · b. 1806
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 townShirleyIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townManorvilleIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Mastic’s history

What year was Mastic founded?

The Mastic post office opened in 1925, 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 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.