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History · Westhampton

Westhampton’s post office opened in 1802, and 12% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1903 on, and the census since 2000.

1802first post office
1on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
4famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Westhampton’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Westhampton began

When was Westhampton founded?

1802

The Westhampton post office opened in 1802, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 2,689 in 20002020 census: 3,621224 years
Founding year: the first Westhampton post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).

What stands out about Westhampton’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.On the map since 19033 editions of the USGS map, 1903 to 1956. Watch Westhampton change.Deep rootsA post office since 1802: 224 years of Westhampton.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Westhampton’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Westhampton’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 viewPart of Town of Southampton: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Westhampton on the map, 1903 to 1956

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

Westhampton on the 1903 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1947 USGS mapWesthampton on the 1956 USGS map1903Riverhead 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 Westhampton.

Timeline

Westhampton, 1873 to 1999

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1873In the archiveSouthampton
  3. 1877Born hereEdward Coleman Delafield is born here
  4. 20th century
  5. 1902In the archiveSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 21 (Map bounded by Atlantic Ocean, Moriches B…
  6. 1903On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  7. 1915In the archivePart of Town of Southampton
  8. 1925Born hereRod Steiger is born here
  9. 1937Born hereMartin West is born here
  10. 1999Born hereDylan Laube is born here
The story so far

Westhampton, in brief

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

Westhampton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Westhampton had a population of 3,621. Westhampton is in the Town of Southampton.

Its first post office opened in 1802. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 3,079 to 3,621 (+18%).

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

From the old history books

What they wrote about Westhampton in 1882

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

The Patchogue tribe extended its jurisdiction east from Patchogue to Westhampton, and as some think to Canoe Place. The main settlements were at Patchogue, Fire Place, Mastic, Moriches and Westhampton. Tobacus was sachem in 1666.
...History of Suffolk county, New York1882 · page 19Read the page →
Read the text

The Patchogue tribe extended its jurisdiction east from Patchogue to Westhampton, and as some think to Canoe Place. The main settlements were at Patchogue, Fire Place, Mastic, Moriches and Westhampton. Tobacus was sachem in 1666.

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

Westhampton, 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
Southampton1873SouthamptonMapSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 21 (Map bounded by Atlantic Ocean, Moriches Bay, Beaver Dam Creek)1902Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 21 (Map b…MapSuffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 5 (Map bounded by Town of Riverhead, Great Peconic Bay, Atlantic Ocean, Mor…1902Suffolk County, V. 1, Double Page Plate No. 5 (Map bo…MapPart of Town of Southampton1915Part of Town of Southampton
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
Pine-barrens-fire2010Pine-barrens-fireWesthamptonInnerWaterway2007WesthamptonInnerWaterway
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.

Part of Town of Southampton
Retake this viewPart of Town of Southampton, 1915

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

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Westhampton

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Westhampton, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,00020002020Peak: 3,621

Between 2,689 and 3,621 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

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

Famous people

4 famous people were born in Westhampton

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

See all →
Rod SteigerAmerican actor · b. 1925
Martin WestAmerican actor · b. 1937
E
Edward Coleman DelafieldAmerican banker · b. 1877
D
Dylan LaubeAmerican football player · b. 1999
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Westhampton Beach3 historic placesB−Remsenburg-SpeonkIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townEast QuogueIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townNorthamptonIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Westhampton’s history

What year was Westhampton founded?

The Westhampton post office opened in 1802, 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, 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.