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History · Miller Place

Miller Place’s post office opened in 1825, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

Most of Miller Place was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: 6 old photos and papers and maps from 1904 on.

1825first post office
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
5famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Miller Place’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Miller Place began

When was Miller Place founded?

1825

The Miller Place post office opened in 1825, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 11,723201 years
Founding year: the first Miller Place post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Miller Place’s past

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

On the map since 19044 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1967. Watch Miller Place change.Deep rootsA post office since 1825: 201 years of Miller Place.
★ What stands out · On the map

Miller Place on the map, 1904 to 1967

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

Miller Place on the 1904 USGS mapMiller Place on the 1947 USGS mapMiller Place on the 1956 USGS mapMiller Place on the 1967 USGS map1904Moriches 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 Miller Place.

Timeline

Miller Place, 1792 to 1989

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

  1. 18th century
  2. 1792Born hereCaleb Smith Woodhull is born here
  3. 19th century
  4. 1873In the archivePart of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveIndian Rock on Miller Place Beach
  7. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  8. 1915In the archiveIndex Map No. 2 of a part of Suffolk County. North Side - Sound Shore, Long Island. Brook…
  9. 1962Born hereRick Donnelly is born here
  10. 1966Born hereMatthew Ryan is born here
  11. 1971Born hereWill Brown is born here
  12. 1989In the archiveChristmas Decorations
The story

How Miller Place came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Miller Place.

Read it all →

Miller Place has been inhabited since the 17th century and is named for the Miller family that included many of its initial settlers. For most of its history, the community functioned as an agriculture-based society.

The land that Miller Place occupies was purchased from the native Setalcott tribe in 1664 by settlers of Setauket. The parcel also included what would become Mount Sinai, an adjacent community of similar character with which Miller Place would share a variety of functions throughout its history.

ChaptersAgricultural hamletResort townModern development

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Miller Place, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s5 items
Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I1873Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.IMap1873 Beers Map of Yaphank, Millers Place, Brook Haven and East Patchogue, Long Island, New York - Geographicus - Yaphan…18731873 Beers Map of Yaphank, Millers Place, Brook Haven…MapIndian Rock on Miller Place Beach1900sIndian Rock on Miller Place BeachSuffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 4 (Map bounded by East Beach, Stony Brook, Setauket, Eaast Setauket)1902Suffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 4 (Map bo…MapIndex Map No. 2 of a part of Suffolk County. North Side - Sound Shore, Long Island. Brookhaven. Published by E. Belcher…1915Index Map No. 2 of a part of Suffolk County. North Si…Map
1920s–1970snothing 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
1980s1 item
Christmas Decorations1989Christmas Decorations
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
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.

Indian Rock on Miller Place Beach
Retake this viewIndian Rock on Miller Place Beach, 1900s

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 listing protects 27 historic buildings

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
27
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

5 famous people were born in Miller Place

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

See all →
Caleb Smith WoodhullAmerican politician · b. 1792
M
Matthew RyanAmerican handball player · b. 1966
R
Rick DonnellyAmerican football player · b. 1962
W
Will BrownAmerican basketball player-coach · b. 1971
C
Captain Robert RobinsonQueen Anne's War veteran and founder of Yaphank… · b. 1680
Help out

Finish Miller Place’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewIndian Rock on Miller Place Beach: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Mount SinaiIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townSound BeachIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRocky Point1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMiddle Island1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townCoram2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Miller Place’s history

What year was Miller Place founded?

The Miller Place post office opened in 1825, 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.