Babylon (village), New York
| Babylon, New York | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
| Incorporated Village of Babylon | |
| Nickname(s): Babylon Village | |
 |
|
 Babylon, New York
|
|
| Coordinates: 40°41′40″N 73°19′46″W / 40.69444°N 73.32944°WCoordinates: 40°41′40″N 73°19′46″W / 40.69444°N 73.32944°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| County | Suffolk |
| Incorporated | 1893 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.8 sq mi (7.1 km2) |
| • Land | 2.4 sq mi (6.3 km2) |
| • Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.9 km2) |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 12,166 |
| • Density | 4,300/sq mi (1,700/km2) |
| Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Area code(s) | 631 |
| FIPS code | 36-03408 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0942756 |
| Website | www |
Babylon is a village in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 12,166 at the 2010 census. Its location is approximately 25 miles (40 km) from New York City at the Queens border, and approximately 33 miles (53 km) from Manhattan.
Its official name is The Incorporated Village of Babylon. It is commonly referred to as Babylon Village, to distinguish it from the Town of Babylon, of which it is a part.
What is now Babylon Town and Village was originally part of Huntington Town and known as Huntington South. Lightly settled from 1689, its main industry, in common with much of the area along Great South Bay and South Oyster Bay (both actually lagoons), was the harvesting of salt hay, which was used as cattle feed and bedding.
When a coherent community grew up in the area by 1803, prominent local citizens sought to adopt a new name. An influential local lady, Mrs. Conklin, was used to living inland in what is now considered Dix Hills and was at unease with the home site that her grandchildren would be raised in. The bible-reading Mrs. Conklin compared the new hamlet to the biblical city of Babylon and proposed that name in apparent defiance of the area's rather bawdy reputation as a stop-over place for travelers on Long Island's south shore. Her son Nat was appalled by the use of an "unholy" name. The family legend states she replied: "But it will be a new Babylon." The name stuck, despite some effort to change it. The adjacent part of Islip town, an effective extension of Babylon, was originally considered as part of Babylon, or as East Babylon, but today is the hamlet of West Islip.
...
Wikipedia