The name "Setauket" is derived from the historic Algonquian-speaking Setalcott Indians, who had lived in the area before its colonial period.
In 1655, a handful of land-speculating colonists orchestrated the purchase of the Setauket area from the local natives. The region's first European settlers were English migrants from New England. This was the first settlement in what later became the town of Brookhaven, and both the hamlet and town use the 1655 date as their origin. During the 17th century, Setauket was synonymous with the colonial town of Brookhaven.
Passages that mention Setauket, cut from the printed page as they were published.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 39Read the page →
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the towne's acount." This commission was probably not directly successful. Finally, in 1674, assisted by the favorable influence of Governor Lovelace, Tobacus and his associates gave the town of Setauket a deed for " all the mowable medow land, whether hier land or lower, that lieth betweene a River called conitticut to another River called Mastick," with the privilege of setting up houses and yards for the care of their hay, and "fre
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...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 47Read the page →
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decessor on the same site was the first church of this neighborhood. This early church was erected about the year 1720, and at first seems to have been a preaching station of the church of Setauket. A church organization was formed here September 3d 1760, under the care of the Suffolk Presbytery,, with Rev. Ezra Reeve as pastor, he having been ordained in that capacity over this congregation October loth 1759. He remained until October
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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3 decades in the archive, from the 1830s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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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 (5), the Library of Congress (1), 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.
1902
1908
1909