Ridge, New York

Ridge, New York
Hamlet and census-designated place
Welcome to Ridge sign on NY 25 and Ridge Road.
U.S. Census map
Ridge Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 40°54′26″N 72°52′58″W / 40.90722°N 72.88278°W / 40.90722; -72.88278Coordinates: 40°54′26″N 72°52′58″W / 40.90722°N 72.88278°W / 40.90722; -72.88278
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Area
• Total	13.3 sq mi (34.5 km2)
• Land	13.2 sq mi (34.2 km2)
• Water	0.08 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	92 ft (28 m)
Population  (2010)
• Total	13,336
• Density	1,000/sq mi (390/km2)
Time zone	UTC−05:00 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−04:00 (EDT)
ZIP Code	11961
Area code(s)	631, 934
FIPS code	36-61665
GNIS feature ID	0962492

Ridge is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 13,336 at the 2010 census.^[1]

Ridge is served by the Longwood Central School District, Ridge Fire Department, Suffolk County Police Department, Longwood Public Library, Suffolk County Water Authority, PSEG.

Geography[]

Ridge is located at

 WikiMiniAtlas

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 13.3 square miles (34.5 km²), of which 13.2 square miles (34.2 km²) is land and 0.077 square miles (0.2 km²), or 0.70%, is water.^[1]

Ridge is located at the northwestern end of the Long Island Pine Barrens Region and is referred to by a sign in the center of the hamlet as the "Gateway to the Pine Barrens".

History[]

The Longwood Estate[]

In 1693, William "Tangier" Smith, who owned a homestead in Setauket, 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 Carmans River (then called the Connecticut River) in the west to the edge of Town of Southampton in the east with a northern border around present-day New York State Route 25, as much as 81,000 acres (330 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 areas becoming increasingly populated. Longwood's 750 acres (300 ha) 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 (21 ha) to the school board for the construction of Longwood High School and 6 acres (2.4 ha) 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 (14 ha) of land given to the Town of Brookhaven in 1974. The Smith Estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.^[3]

Randallville[]

In 1738, northern Ridge was settled by widower Samuel Randall of North Stonington, Connecticut; his only son Stephen Randall and his descendants farmed a 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) 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 (1736–1818), patriot of the American Revolution and a Suffolk County Militia veteran of the Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776, as part of a company of Suffolk County Minutemen commanded by Captain Daniel Mulford. Graves of Randall's wife Elizabeth Swezey (1747–1834) and several descendants are also within the plot.

2012 brush fire[]

Around 2:30 PM on April 9, 2012, a brush fire was reported in the northeast area of Brookhaven National Lab. With the help of gusty winds the fire got out of control and started burning east into Manorville, where it met up with another brush fire that had broken out around the same time, as well as into part of the town of Riverhead. All of the 109 volunteer fire departments in Suffolk County were activated, along with 15 from Nassau County, although only 90 departments were sent to the scene. By evening, the fire started burning in a southeast direction. Three firefighters from the Manorville Fire Department were injured when the stump jumper they were riding in became encircled by fire. One firefighter was admitted to Stony Brook University Hospital with first- and second-degree burns; the other two were treated and released with smoke inhalation. The fire was brought under control the afternoon of the April 10. The fire destroyed two houses and one business, and burned 1,000 acres (400 ha). The fire is said by Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone to be "The biggest fire incident in Suffolk since the 1995 Sunrise Fire" and as "Serious as it gets". New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a State of Emergency for the area.

Demographics of the CDP[]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 13,380 people, 5,545 households, and 3,476 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 993.6 per square mile (383.5/km²). There were 5,922 housing units at an average density of 439.8/sq mi (169.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.99% White, 3.45% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.90% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 1.59% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.51% of the population.

There were 5,545 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 34.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 28.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.09.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 24.5% from 25 to 44, 17.8% from 45 to 64, and 29.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 82.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.9 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $44,140, and the median income for a family was $60,039. Males had a median income of $49,539 versus $31,384 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,387. About 4.4% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

References[]

• Lauer, Jean C. "The Longwood Estate." 1980.
• Lanyon, Genevieve Randall and Wells, Hazel Randall. "A Randall Family of Long Island, NY", 1989.

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ridge, New York.

• Longwood's Journey (Longwood Public Library):
  • Ridge general history
  • "The Elusive Legend of Icy Hollow", by Phil Mintz (Originally published in Newsday)
  • Lake Panamoka history and Sales Brochure
• Lake Panamoka History (Lake Panamoka Civic Association)