STONY BROOK, LONG ISLAND

Stony Brook, Long Island

Stony Brook is a hamlet and census-designated place located in Suffolk County in the town of Brookhaven, Long Island, New York. As of 2000 census, there were 13,727 people, 4,758 households, and 3,787 families residing in the CDP. The median income for a household in the CDP was $90,009, and the median income for a family was $95,567. Males had a median income of $68,400 and only $41,770 for females.

The history of Stony Brook has been closely linked to that of Ward Melville, a local businessman who at one point owned most of what is now sometimes called the "Three Villages" such as Stony Brook, the hamlet of Setauket, and the incorporated village of Old Field. The Three Village Central School District serves all three communities. The community's centerpiece, its historic district north of Route 25A known as Old Stony Brook displays an old-fashioned crescent-shaped village center with views of Stony Brook Harbor and winding pathways dotted with old-fashioned street lamps.

The schools of the town are generally considered to be above average. In fact, the Stony Brook University or the State University of New York at Stony Brook (SUNYSB) is a public research university and known to be one of the best schools in North America. It is the second highest ranked of the four university centers in the State University of New York system and has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university was founded in 1957 as the State University College on Long Island with about 100 students enrolled. Stony Brook is the second highest ranked University Center in the 64-school SUNY system. In the recent US News and World Report, Stony Brook Computer Science graduate program has been ranked 34th, tied with Ohio State University, University of California–Santa Barbara, University of Chicago , University of Colorado–Boulder , and the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities.

Aside from academic excellence, the town has also many attractions that everyone must see. The Sand Street Beach, a duck pond, a historic grist mill (c. 1751), as well as the newly created Avalon Park which has a tremendous boardwalk, trails, landscaping, and a year-round groundskeeper. The mill is certainly essential to Stony Brook's past because it marks a watershed and a big help to farm produce. In addition, the Carriage Museum is known as one of the largest of its type in America. This unique collection presents a broad scope of two- and four-wheeled vehicles and sleighs. Elegant carriages and coaches, manufactured by widely recognized companies such as The Brewster Company of New York and Rochester's James Cunningham Company, also are well represented at the Carriage Museum.

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