Where did your town get its name????? (New York, Brookhaven: house, purchase)

[nancy thereader]

I noticed that some people were interested in history & so I wondered if most people knew how their towns came to be so called.

Babylon actually got its name in the 1700s [it used to be South Huntington] . There were so many taverns in the village and the men so rowdy that the mother of one of the founders Mrs. Conklin told her son that the town was like the shameful bibical place of Babylon & strangely enough , the name stuck and , as you know, that's what it is called even today .

[ClarkStreetKid]

That's the story that I heard also.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

Babylon actually got its name in the 1700s [it used to be South Huntington]

Yes, the area that would become the Town of Babylon was called South Huntington and was part of the Town of Huntington until it seceded and became an independent town in 1872.

The Hamlet of Babylon, in the southeast part of the Town of Babylon, in the southwest part of Suffolk County (along the Babylon/Islip town line), incorporated as a village in 1893.

The Village of Babylon has a different border than does the "Babylon, NY 11702" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a Babylon mailing address and not be in Babylon and a place can have other than a Babylon mailing address and be in Babylon): those places that have a "Babylon, NY" mailing address that are not in the Village of Babylon are in the Hamlet of North Babylon and in the Hamlet of West Babylon; and, at the same time, there are places in the Village of Babylon with a "West Babylon, NY 11704" mailing address.

[TomMoser]

The original Northport train station was west of what is now Elwood Road. A new station was later built at what is now Larkfield Road. They called this station East Northport. Eventually, the original station was demolished, but the name East Northport stuck for the hamlet. Today, what is called the "Northport" train station is, in fact, in East Northport.

[nancy thereader]

How about a place called Lonelyville? Where did that get its name?

[KellyFG]

I had to look mine up because I had no idea, Ridge

"Randallville"
In 1738, northern Ridge was settled by widower Samuel Randall of North Stonington, CT; his only son Stephen Randall and his descendants farmed a 4,000 acre (16 km²) farm on a plot of ground that Samuel had always referred to as "the Ridge" based on the geographical terrain. First called "Randallville," Ridge was the name selected by its residents for postal delivery and remains the name for this hamlet to this day. The Randall burial plot near the William Floyd Parkway includes the grave of Lt. Stephen Randall, patriot of the American Revolution and a Suffolk County Militia veteran of the Battle of Long Island, August 26, 1776.

Also interesting-
The Longwood Estate
In 1693, William "Tangier" Smith, who owned a homestead in Setauket, NY, was allowed to purchase a large tract of land on the South Shore of Long Island in recognition of his being mayor of Tangier in Africa. The land, called St. George's Manor, stretched from the Carman's River (then called the Connecticut River) in the west to the edge of Southampton Town in the east with a northern border around present-day New York State Route 25, as much as 81,000 acres (328 km²) of land. He made his manor seat on the south shore in present-day Mastic, and the northern part, now the south side of Ridge, was called "The Swamp" or "Longswamp." A house wasn't built at Longswamp until after the American Revolution. In 1817, William Sydney Smith inhabited the house and changed the name to Longwood.

In 1955, what then remained of William Smith's original manor was primarily located in Ridge and was surrounded by the world growing up around it, in the form of the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the surrounding towns becoming increasingly populated. Longwood's 750 acres (3.04 km²) fell into the hands of Elbert Clayton Smith, who immediately moved his family from California to live there. He seems to have been very generous to his new community; his donations included 51 acres (0.21 km²) to the school board for the construction of Longwood High School and six acres (0.02 km²) to Middle Island Presbyterian Church. In 1967, Elbert Smith died, and the Longwood Estate was carved into housing developments and nearly destroyed until enough noise was made about preservation to have the house and 35 acres (0.14 km²) of land given to the Town of Brookhaven in 1974.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

I had to look mine up because I had no idea, Ridge

"Randallville"
In 1738, northern Ridge was settled by widower Samuel Randall of North Stonington, CT; his only son Stephen Randall and his descendants farmed a 4,000 acre (16 km²) farm on a plot of ground that Samuel had always referred to as "the Ridge" based on the geographical terrain. First called "Randallville," Ridge was the name selected by its residents for postal delivery and remains the name for this hamlet to this day. The Randall burial plot near the William Floyd Parkway includes the grave of Lt. Stephen Randall, patriot of the American Revolution and a Suffolk County Militia veteran of the Battle of Long Island, August 26, 1776.

Also interesting-
The Longwood Estate
In 1693, William "Tangier" Smith, who owned a homestead in Setauket, NY, was allowed to purchase a large tract of land on the South Shore of Long Island in recognition of his being mayor of Tangier in Africa. The land, called St. George's Manor, stretched from the Carman's River (then called the Connecticut River) in the west to the edge of Southampton Town in the east with a northern border around present-day New York State Route 25, as much as 81,000 acres (328 km²) of land. He made his manor seat on the south shore in present-day Mastic, and the northern part, now the south side of Ridge, was called "The Swamp" or "Longswamp." A house wasn't built at Longswamp until after the American Revolution. In 1817, William Sydney Smith inhabited the house and changed the name to Longwood.

In 1955, what then remained of William Smith's original manor was primarily located in Ridge and was surrounded by the world growing up around it, in the form of the Brookhaven National Laboratory and the surrounding towns becoming increasingly populated. Longwood's 750 acres (3.04 km²) fell into the hands of Elbert Clayton Smith, who immediately moved his family from California to live there. He seems to have been very generous to his new community; his donations included 51 acres (0.21 km²) to the school board for the construction of Longwood High School and six acres (0.02 km²) to Middle Island Presbyterian Church. In 1967, Elbert Smith died, and the Longwood Estate was carved into housing developments and nearly destroyed until enough noise was made about preservation to have the house and 35 acres (0.14 km²) of land given to the Town of Brookhaven in 1974.

Im pretty sure you guys were Ridgeway or Ridgefield.
( I saw it on an old map once)

Not sure why it was shortened

I always thought Ridge seemed a little weird

It would be like naming us just Rocky

C

[clamboy]

Rocky Point -- Newsday.com

Beginnings: The rocky terrain of this hilly hamlet was acknowledged at the start: The first mention of the place in Brookhaven Town records was Rocky Hollow in November, 1714. An entry in 1755 called it ``Rocky poynt hollow.'' Noah Hallock, from Southold, is said to have been the first white settler, in 1721. He built a house that year near what is now called Hallock Landing, and it's still there, with the family cemetery. A large boulder, one of Long Island's biggest, once stood in full splendor behind the Hallock house, but is now surrounded by house

[OhBeeHave]

Stony Brook:

Stony Brook is believed to have been settled in 1660, second to Setauket (1655) in Brookhaven Town history. The Setalcott Indians called the place Wopowog, for ``land at the narrows,'' characterizing the narrow inlet from Long Island Sound into Stony Brook Harbor that is the dividing line between Brookhaven and Smithtown. The first road approved - now Main Street - was mentioned in town records on May 25, 1685.

In 1699, Adam Smith, a son of Smithtown founder Richard (Bull) Smith, built the first grist mill, which was destroyed in a storm in 1751, rebuilt nearby and stands today - still working. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The first school, no longer in existence, was built about 1750 on what is now Christian Avenue. Beneath a large oak tree in the front yard on April 23, 1790, the whole school stood to wave to President George Washington as he rode through after an overnight stay in Setauket.

On March 24, 1807, a post office was established at Stoney Brook, the spelling of which was changed to Stony Brook in 1884.

[rockypointny]

Originally Posted by clamboy

Rocky Point -- Newsday.com

Beginnings: The rocky terrain of this hilly hamlet was acknowledged at the start: The first mention of the place in Brookhaven Town records was Rocky Hollow in November, 1714. An entry in 1755 called it ``Rocky poynt hollow.'' Noah Hallock, from Southold, is said to have been the first white settler, in 1721. He built a house that year near what is now called Hallock Landing, and it's still there, with the family cemetery. A large boulder, one of Long Island's biggest, once stood in full splendor behind the Hallock house, but is now surrounded by house

They should have kept it as Rocky Point Hollow, it sounds cooler. Then again, I'm probably just thinking of Sleepy Hollow.