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History · Shoreham

Shoreham dates to 1913, and 44% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1904 on, and the census since 1920.

1913founded
0on the National Register
44%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Shoreham’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Shoreham began

When was Shoreham founded?

1913

Shoreham dates its founding to 1913 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1920.

First census: 11 in 19202020 census: 561113 years
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓

What stands out about Shoreham’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 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1940, then grew more than tenfold.On the map since 19045 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1967. Watch Shoreham change.Old housesHalf of Shoreham’s homes were built before 1951.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Shoreham’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewBelle Terre Estates; Shoreham (Incorpor…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Shoreham, census by census

0100200300400500600192019401960198020002020135 in 1930Low: 25

Lost two-thirds of its people between 1930 and 1940, then grew more than tenfold.

11 censuses, 1920–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Shoreham’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Shoreham on the map, 1904 to 1967

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

Shoreham on the 1904 USGS mapShoreham on the 1926 USGS mapShoreham on the 1947 USGS mapShoreham on the 1956 USGS mapShoreham 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 Shoreham.

The story

How Shoreham came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Shoreham.

Read it all →

In 1901, Nikola Tesla built a laboratory and began constructing the Wardenclyffe Tower at Shoreham, with the intent of using it to wirelessly transmit communications and electricity. The tower was dismantled in 1917, and today a nearby static inverter plant receives electricity via the HVDC Cross Sound Cable. The nonprofit Tesla Science Center at Wardenclyffe is in the process of restoring Tesla's last remaining laboratory, building an educational center, and establishing a museum honoring his life and work on the property where the tower was once located.

Shoreham was served by the Shoreham LIRR station from 1900 to 1938. It was located near the intersection of North Country Road and Randall Road.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Shoreham in 1861

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

condition, ho returned to Castleton and reported what he had seen and heard. Allen immediately despatched Maj. Beach as a messenger to collect men, to meet his party at a place since known as Hand's Point, in the town of Shoreham. Beach went on foot to Butland, Pittsford, Brandon, Middlebury, Whiti…
History of the town of Shoreham, Vermont1861 · page 13Read the page →
Read the text

condition, ho returned to Castleton and reported what he had seen and heard. Allen immediately despatched Maj. Beach as a messenger to collect men, to meet his party at a place since known as Hand's Point, in the town of Shoreham. Beach went on foot to Butland, Pittsford, Brandon, Middlebury, Whiting and Shoreham, making a circuit of sixty miies in twenty-four hours. "While in Castleton, Allen was joined by Arnold, who claimed the command of the party by a commission, as he said, from Massachusetts ; but

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Voted, To lay out a fourth division of one hundred acres to each right or share of land in the township of Shoreham. to be laid out in parallel lines with the lines of the first and third divisions, and adjoining the same.
History of the town of Shoreham, Vermont1861 · page 46Read the page →
Read the text

Voted, To lay out a fourth division of one hundred acres to each right or share of land in the township of Shoreham. to be laid out in parallel lines with the lines of the first and third divisions, and adjoining the same.

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

Shoreham, 1873 to 2020

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archivePart of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I
  3. 20th century
  4. 1902In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 6 (Map bounded by Long Island Sound, Ridgevil…
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1913
    FoundingShoreham is established
  7. 1915In the archiveBelle Terre Estates; Shoreham (Incorporated) and Shoreham Estates
  8. 1961Born hereD. B. Sweeney is born here
  9. 21st century
  10. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 561
By decade

Shoreham, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1870s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1870s–1910s4 items
Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.I1873Part of Brookhaven, Sufffolk Co. L.IMapSuffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 6 (Map bounded by Long Island Sound, Ridgeville, Middle Island)1902Suffolk County, V. 2, Double Page Plate No. 6 (Map bo…MapBelle Terre Estates; Shoreham (Incorporated) and Shoreham Estates1915Belle Terre Estates; Shoreham (Incorporated) and Shor…Index 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–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
Today2 recent
Woodville Road old LIRR Bridge in2015Woodville Road old LIRR Bridge inWelcome to Shoreham Sign at Woodcliffe and Circle2015Welcome to Shoreham Sign at Woodcliffe and Circle
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.

Belle Terre Estates; Shoreham (Incorporated) and Shoreham Estates
Retake this viewBelle Terre Estates; Shoreham (Incorporated) and Shoreham Estates, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

East Shoreham2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townRocky Point1 historic placenot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Shoreham’s history

What year was Shoreham founded?

In 1913, according to Wikidata. the census of 1920 counted 11 people here.

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, 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.