Huntington (town), New York

Huntington, New York
Town
Town of Huntington
Oheka Castle, Heckscher Park, Walt Whitman's Birthplace, sunset at Centerport Harbor, the historic former Huntington Sewing & Trade School, the Heckscher Museum of Art.
Location of Huntington in Suffolk County, New York
Coordinates: 40°51′36″N 73°21′8″W / 40.86000°N 73.35222°W / 40.86000; -73.35222Coordinates: 40°51′36″N 73°21′8″W / 40.86000°N 73.35222°W / 40.86000; -73.35222
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Government
• Town Supervisor	Frank P. Petrone (D)
Area
• Total	137.1 sq mi (355 km2)
• Land	94.0 sq mi (243 km2)
• Water	43.1 sq mi (112 km2)
Elevation	135 ft (41 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	203,264
• Density	2,162/sq mi (835/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC−5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−4)
ZIP codes	11721, 11724, 11731, 11740, 11743, 11746, 11747, 11750, 11768
Area code(s)	631
FIPS code	36-68000
GNIS feature ID	0979498
Website	huntingtonny.gov

The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. Huntington is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the United States 2010 Census, the town population was 203,264.

In 1653, three men from Oyster Bay, Richard Holbrook, Robert Williams and Daniel Whitehead, purchased a parcel of land from the Matinecock tribe. This parcel has since come to be known as the "First Purchase" and included land bordered by Cold Spring Harbor on the west, Northport Harbor on the east, what is now known as Old Country Road to the south and Long Island Sound to the north. The three men immediately turned the land over to the settlers who had already been living there.

From that initial settlement, Huntington grew over subsequent years to include all of the land presently comprising the modern Towns of Huntington and Babylon. The southern part of the town was formally separated to create Babylon in 1872.

Because Huntington was populated largely by English settlers, unlike the rest of the New Amsterdam colony, the town voted in 1660 to become part of the Connecticut colony rather than remain under the authority of New Amsterdam. It was not until the British gained control of New Amsterdam in 1664 (renaming it New York) that Huntington was formally restored to the jurisdiction of New York.

Following the Battle of Long Island during the American Revolutionary War, British troops used Huntington as their headquarters, and remained encamped there until the end of the war.