JAMESPORT, NY

Jamesport is a census-designated place (CDP) and hamlet in the Town of Riverhead in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The CDP's population was 1,710 at the 2010 census.

Jamesport downtown contains antique shops and a handful of fine-dining restaurants. Jamesport has many farms, including sod, pumpkin, flower, and potato farms, and wineries. Hallock State Park Preserve (previously Jamesport State Park) is located north of Jamesport in the adjacent hamlet of Northville.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.60%, is water.

History

Jamesport was first settled in the 1690s and originally was called Aquebogue. It became Lower Aquebogue when another hamlet was established to the west called Upper Aquebogue. The Jamesport Meeting House, built in 1731, is the oldest operating church building in Suffolk County.

The name "Jamesport" refers to James Tuthill, who settled the area south of Lower Aquebogue on the Peconic Bay with his family in 1833. Over time, Lower Aquebogue came to be called Jamesport, while the community to the south, previously called Jamesport, came to be called South Jamesport (and is included in the present-day Jamesport CDP). Upper Aquebogue became just Aquebogue.

James Tuthill's attempt to establish a commercial whaling and shipping wharf on the Peconic Bay in what is now South Jamesport was a failure. The depth of water at low tide was too shallow to accommodate ships. However, soon after this, the Long Island Rail Road established service to Jamesport from New York City, and Jamesport became a popular resort and fishing community with several large bayfront hotels, including the Miamogue Hotel and the Great Peconic Bay House which operated until 1952. Jamesport was a center for the scallop and bunker (menhaden) fisheries. From the 1830s to about 1950 Jamesport was the site of a Camp Meeting Grove operated by the Methodist Episcopal Church and, after 1904, an Epworth League Fresh Air Camp.

During the 1960s, the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO) designated land on the North Shore of Long Island for use as a possible second nuclear power station, in addition to its Shoreham plant, already under construction. However, when LILCO ran into opposition to Shoreham in the 1970s and 1980s, the Jamesport plan was scrapped.

Demographics of the CDP

As of the census of 2020, there were 1,609 people, 469 households, and 1,126 housing units. The population density was 216.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the CDP was 88.6% White, 1.5% African American, 0.4% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races, and 0.48% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 11% of the population.

There were 469 households, out of which 56.7% were married couples living together, 29.4% had a female householder with no spouse present, and 3.2% had a male householder with no spouse present.

The population had 10.2% residents under the age of 18. 9.9% of the population was under the poverty line.

Schools