Huntington, New York, United States

🇺🇸 The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in north-western Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan area.

Huntington is the only township in the United States to ban self-service gas stations at the township level and among the few places in the U.S. where full-service gas stations are compulsory and no self-service is allowed; the entire state of New Jersey and the western-Mid Valley portion of Oregon are the only other places in the country with similar laws.

History In 1653, three men from Oyster Bay, Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams and Daniel Whitehead, purchased a parcel of land from the Matinecock tribe. This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered by Cold Spring Harbor on the west, Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known as Old Country Road to the south and Long Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the settlers who had already been living there.

The origin of the name is unknown but the consensus among historians is it was named for the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell who was Lord Protector of England at the time of the town's establishment. From that initial settlement, Huntington grew over subsequent years to include all of the land presently comprising the modern Towns of Huntington and Babylon. The southern part of the town was formally separated to create Babylon in 1872.

Because Huntington was populated largely by English settlers, unlike the rest of the New Amsterdam colony, the town voted in 1660 to become part of the Connecticut colony rather than remain under the authority of New Amsterdam. It was not until the British gained control of New Amsterdam in 1664 (renaming it New York) that Huntington was formally restored to the jurisdiction of New York.

Following the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, British troops used Huntington as their headquarters, and remained encamped there until the end of the war.

The arrival of the Long Island Rail Road in 1867 transformed the economy of Huntington from primarily agriculture and shipping (based on its well protected harbour) to tourism and commuting. Cold Spring Harbor became a popular summer resort.

Villages (incorporated) • Asharoken • Huntington Bay • Lloyd Harbor • Northport.

Hamlets (unincorporated) • Centerport • Cold Spring Harbor • Commack (partly, with the Town of Smithtown) • Dix Hills • East Northport • Eatons Neck • Elwood • Fort Salonga (partly, with the Town of Smithtown) • Greenlawn • Halesite • Huntington • Huntington Station • Melville • South Huntington • Vernon Valley • West Hills • Wincoma.

The end of World War II brought about an explosive growth of population in Huntington, as in the rest of the region. Farms and resorts gave way to homes, and Huntington has transformed into a major bedroom community for nearby New York City.

Economy Sbarro's headquarters were located in Melville in the Town of Huntington until 2015.

Around 2002, Swiss International Air Lines's North American headquarters moved from Melville to Uniondale, Town of Hempstead. The facility, the former Swissair North American headquarter site, was completed in 1995. Swissair intended to own, instead of lease, its headquarters site. It enlisted architect Richard Meier to design the Melville facility.

In 1997, Aer Lingus announced that it was moving its North American headquarters from Manhattan to Melville; James Lyndon, a spokesperson for the airline, said that the company moved to Long Island in an effort to reduce costs, as leasing costs are lower on Long Island than in Manhattan. The move would transfer 75 employees, including administrative personnel, marketing personnel, sales personnel, and telephone reservation agents. The airline planned to move on June 15, 1997. The airline had also considered sites in Boston and in Westchester, New York.

Top employers According to Huntington's 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town are: 1 Huntington Hospital; 2 Northport Veterans Affairs Medical Center; 3 Canon; 4 Estée Lauder; 5 Henry Schein; 6 Western Suffolk BOCES; 7 Newsday; 8 Marchon Eyewear; 9 Town of Huntington; 10 BAE Systems Inc.

Education Huntington is home to two institutions of higher education, including: • Five Towns College in Dix Hills • Seminary of the Immaculate Conception.

Local media Several weekly newspapers cover local news exclusively, including The Long-Islander, since 1838 as well as The Times of Huntington by TBR News Media. The Village Connection Magazine, published by Jim Savalli, is a lifestyle and entertainment magazine dedicated to the town of Huntington. Additionally, Patch, an online-only news website formerly owned by AOL; HuntingtonNow.com, a digital news site owned by a local resident and published since 2018; and the Huntington Buzz, an online-only news website that is independently owned; cover hyper-local news on issues, people and events in Huntington.

Railroad lines The Long Island Rail Road's Port Jefferson Branch serves the town's vicinity, and uses stations between Cold Spring Harbor through Northport. Huntington is the eastern terminus of electrification along the Port Jefferson Branch.

Bus service The Town of Huntington is served primarily by Huntington Area Rapid Transit bus routes, though some routes from Suffolk County Transit also serve the town.

Major roads • Interstate 495 is the Long Island Expressway, and the sole interstate highway in the Town of Huntington, with interchanges from part of Exit 48 in West Hills on the Nassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 52 in Commack. • Northern State Parkway was the sole limited-access highway in the Town of Huntington until the construction of the Long Island Expressway. It has interchanges from Exit 39 in West Hills east of the Nassau-Suffolk County Line to Exit 43 in Commack on the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line. • New York State Route 25A, the northernmost west–east state highway on Long Island including the Town of Huntington. It enters the town from Laurel Hollow in Nassau County, running through historic Cold Spring Harbor, then downtown Huntington, later Centerport, Northport, and Fort Salonga where it crosses the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line. • New York State Route 25, the parent route of NY 25A, which also runs west to east along Jericho Turnpike. It enters the town at West Hills from Woodbury, passes through South Huntington, Elwood, and Commack, where it crosses the Huntington-Smithtown Town Line. • Old Country Road, an extension of a principal west–east thoroughfare in Central Nassau County. It enters Suffolk County in a hidden overlap with Round Swamp Road at Exit 48 on I-495, then branches off to the north-east as it passes through West Hills, Melville, Dix Hills and South Huntington. Unlike in Nassau County, the road has no designation. • New York State Route 108, is the westernmost south–north state route in Suffolk County. It runs from Suffolk CR 11 at Cold Spring Harbor's LIRR station to NY 25A running along the edge of the Nassau County Line. • New York State Route 110, is a major south–north highway in Suffolk County. It enters the town from East Farmingdale near the State University of New York at Farmingdale, and runs through Melville, then South Huntington, Huntington Station, Downtown Huntington, and serves as the main road in Halesite, before finally terminating at Youngs Hill Road, where it becomes the undesignated East Shore Road. • New York State Route 231, has been entirely a four-lane divided highway throughout its existence. It enters the town from Deer Park in the Town of Babylon between Rutland and Kenmore Streets and runs through Dix Hills, where it has interchanges with I-495 and the Northern State Parkway. Immediately after the parkway, the route terminates at a fork in the road for Suffolk CRs 35 to the north-west and 66 to the northeast. • County Route 2 is Straight Path, a south-west to north-east county road running from the Babylon Town Line through Wyandanch as the main road, ending at NY 231 in Dix Hills. • County Route 3 is a south to north county route known as Wellwood Avenue from north of East Farmingdale at the Babylon Town Line to Ruland Road (CR 5) where it becomes Pinelawn Road until it reaches NY 110 in Melville. • County Route 11, includes Woodbury Road in Cold Spring Harbor, and Pulaski Road from Cold Spring Harbor through Fort Salonga. • County Route 35 • County Route 67 includes the remaining drivable portion of the Long Island Motor Parkway. • County Route 92 is the south-to-north route from Oakwood Road from NY 25 in West Hills, Huntington Manor, and Huntington, then turns east onto High Street to end at NY 110.