Middle Island’s post office opened in 1821, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
Most of Middle Island was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1979. Below: 3 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 2000.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Middle Island. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1904Moriches 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 Middle Island.
Timeline
Middle Island, 1873 to 1983
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The European-American history of Middle Island goes back at least to 1766, when the first Presbyterian church was built. Rev. David Rose, who was also a doctor and a pastor of the South Haven church, covered his immense parish on horseback. He filled his saddle bags with Bibles and medicines to minister to his frontier congregation. In 1766 the parish opened a cemetery just across from the church.
Passages that mention Middle Island, cut from the printed page as they were published.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 48Read the page →
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It was occupied for several years as a branch of the Presbyterian church at Middle Island, but since 1863 has had connection with Holbrook most of the time. A Presbyterian church was organized here August nth 1868, which by paying a debt that was upon the house gained possession of it.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 34Read the page →
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1827, from the western part of 21 at Blue Point; No. 32, January loth 1833, from parts of 18 and 19; No. 33, March 6th 1835, from the eastern part of 11 and northern part of 12, at Middle Island; No. 34, March 30th 1835, from the northeastern part of 3, at Setauket; No. 35, at Wading River, February 24th 1838.
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.
By decade
Middle Island, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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.
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, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.
2008
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2008