Southampton, New York, United States

🇺🇸 Southampton, officially the Town of Southampton, is a town in south-eastern Suffolk County, New York, partly on the South Fork of Long Island. Southampton is included in the stretch of shoreline prominently known as The Hamptons.

Stony Brook University has a campus in Southampton.

History The town was founded in 1640, when settlers from Lynn, Massachusetts established residence on lands obtained from local Shinnecock Indian Nation. The first settlers included eight men, one woman, and a boy who came ashore at Conscience Point. These men were Thomas Halsey, Edward Howell, Edmond Farrington, Allen Bread, Edmund Needham, Abraham Pierson the Elder, Thomas Sayre, Josiah Stanborough, George Welbe, Henry Walton and Job Sayre. By July 7, 1640, they had determined the town boundaries. During the next few years (1640–43), Southampton gained another 43 families; there are now thousands of people in Southampton.

From 1644, the colonists established an organised whale fishery, significant in the history of whaling as the first in New England. They chased pilot whales ("blackfish") onto the shelving beaches for slaughter, a sort of dolphin drive hunting. They also processed drift whales they found on shore. They observed the Native Americans' hunting techniques, improved on their weapons and boats, and then went out to ocean hunting.

The first meeting house was on a hill that is the site of the current Southampton Hospital. The town's oldest existent house is the Halsey House at 249 Main Street, which was built by Thomas Halsey, one of the first Englishmen to trade with the Shinnecocks.

Southampton has 47 public and private cemeteries, not including Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, which is claimed as an Indian burial ground that is no longer in active use. Southampton is named after the port city of Southampton in Hampshire, England.

Southampton operates an official historical web site. The site shows the locations of over 100 points of interest, historic markers, and historic districts as well as over 1500 photos.

Native American land claim In 2005, the Shinnecock Indian Nation filed a lawsuit against the state seeking the return of 3,500 acres (14 km²) in Southampton near the tribe's reservation, and billions of dollars in reparations for damages suffered by colonial land grabs. The disputed property includes the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, which Shinnecock say is the location of tribe burial grounds. The tribe challenged the state legislatures' approval of an 1859 sale of the 3,500 acres of tribal land. The tribe alleged this broke the terms of a 1,000-year-lease signed by Southampton colonial officials and the tribe in 1703. The suit charged that in 1859, a group of powerful New York investors conspired to break the lease by sending the state Legislature a fraudulent petition from a number of Shinnecock tribal members. Although other tribal members immediately protested that the petition was a forgery, the legislature approved the sale of 3,500 acres (14 km²) of tribal land. In 2006, the court ruled against the tribe finding the lawsuit was barred by laches.

Geography Southampton is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the south, the Peconic Bay to the north, East Hampton to the east, and Brookhaven to the west. It also shares a small border with Riverhead to the northwest.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of 293.4 square miles (760 km²), of which 138.8 square miles (359 km²) is land and 154.6 square miles (400 km²) (52.69%) is water.

Southampton contains seven incorporated villages and 16 unincorporated areas, which are called hamlets in New York state.

Villages (incorporated): • North Haven • Quogue • Sag Harbor – partially, with the Town of East Hampton • Sagaponack • Southampton (village) • Westhampton Beach • West Hampton Dunes.

Hamlets (unincorporated): • Bridgehampton • Eastport – partially, with the Town of Brookhaven • East Quogue • Flanders • Hampton Bays • Northampton • North Sea • Noyack – also spelled Noyac • Quiogue • Remsenburg – also see Remsenburg-Speonk. • Riverside • Shinnecock Hills • Speonk – also see Remsenburg-Speonk • Tuckahoe • Water Mill • Westhampton

Economy Major employers in Southampton include: Southampton Hospital; Stop & Shop; Village of Southampton; Southampton Union Free School District; Meadow Club of Southampton; Hardy Fuel,Shinnecock Hills; The Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing; Hampton Jitney, North Sea; Bathing Corporation of Southampton.

Media: Print • The Southampton Press.

Media: Radio • Bridgehampton - WBAZ (102.5 FM) • Hampton Bays - WLIR (107.1 FM) • Sag Harbor - WLNG (92.1 FM) • Southampton - WHFM (95.3 FM), WLIW (88.3 FM), WRLI (91.3 FM) • Westhampton - WBON (98.5 FM).

**Transportation

**Railroad lines The Long Island Rail Road's sole line in the Town of Southampton is the Montauk Branch, which includes stations in Speonk, Westhampton, Hampton Bays, Southampton and Bridgehampton. Quogue and Southampton Campus also had their own stations until 1998.

Bus service The Town of Southampton is served primarily by Suffolk County Transit bus routes, although Hampton Jitney buses are available for trips to and from New York City.

Major roads • New York State Route 24 • New York State Route 27 • New York State Route 114 • County Route 38 (Suffolk County, New York) • County Route 51 (Suffolk County, New York) • County Route 79 (Suffolk County, New York) • Montauk Highway, including County Route 80 (Suffolk County, New York) • County Route 104 (Suffolk County, New York) • County Route 105 (Suffolk County, New York).

Transport: Air The town of Southampton contains the Francis S. Gabreski Airport north of Westhampton, and East Hampton Airport along the Southampton-East Hampton Town Line. The Southampton Heliport can also be found on the east side of the Shinnecock Inlet.

Ferries The sole ferry in the Town of Southampton takes NY 114 drivers across the Shelter Island Sound between North Haven and Shelter Island.