BRIGHTWATERS, LONG ISLAND

Brightwaters, Long Island

Brightwaters is a village located in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. It is in the southwest part of the Town of Islip. The village is appropriately named with frontage on Long Island's Great South Bay, a nearly mile-long yacht basin, and five beautiful lakes. As of the 2000 census, there were 3,248 people, 1,127 households, and 912 families residing in the area. The median income for a household in the village was $88,556, and the median income for a family was $102,986. Males had a median income of $60,035 and only $49,107 for females. The latitude of Brightwaters is 40.720N. The longitude is -73.267W. It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 23 feet.

The Secatogues and Marsapeagues Indian tribes were the first inhabitants of the Brightwaters area. They lived around the local area in the years before 1700. In the early years of the twentieth century, a developer named Thomas Benton Ackerson purchased hundreds of acres of land including the chain of five spring-fed lakes, a white sandy beach on the Bay, the almost mile-long yacht harbor, and large stands of oak, pine, and shade trees. He also constructed several bungalows and mansions on large estates in his model community around a 4000 foot canal that he dug. It extended from Great South Bay to Montauk highway. The community was named for a translation of the Indian name, "Wohseepee". On November 30, 1916, Brightwaters became incorporated as a village by an announcement of Islip Town Clerk Charles Suydam, Jr.

Brightwaters resident’s ancestries are mostly Irish, Italian, German, English, and Polish. The village is considered an affluent community with a median income per family greater than $100,000 per year. Brightwaters has two lovely parks namely the Walker Park, with its beach on the Bay for fishing, sailing, and swimming as well as Wohseepee Park. The park has its own tennis courts, playing field, children’s playgrounds, and clubhouse. There are four lakes next to Montauk Highway and many businesses are located at the intersection of Windsor Avenue and Orinoco Drive. Several small triangular parks enhance the villages many streets. Brightwaters is a perfect place to live as it's near the gateway to Fire Island and the Atlantic Ocean beaches and surrounds the LI Railroad, a short ride to New York City that makes it very convenient to travel. Brightwaters of often mistaken as areas of Bay Shore as it seems somehwat in the center of it. The village is served mostly by Bay Shore Union Free School District consisting of five elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. The district provides opportunities to all their students to learn, to grow, and to achieve their maximum potential. Bay Shore Brightwaters Public Library is rich in resources of books audio and video materials. There are about 1,000 homes in Brightwaters that normally range from about $400,000 to $1M.