Southold, New York

Southold, New York
Town
Town of Southold
Southold Free Library
Southold, New York
Coordinates: 41°4′N 72°26′W / 41.067°N 72.433°W / 41.067; -72.433
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Government
• Type	Civil Township
• Supervisor	Scott Russell (R)
Area
• Total	404.5 sq mi (1,047.6 km2)
• Land	53.7 sq mi (139.1 km2)
• Water	350.8 sq mi (908.5 km2)
Elevation	0 ft (0 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	21,968
• Density	410/sq mi (158/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	11971
Area code(s)	631
FIPS code	36-69463
GNIS feature ID	0979508
Website	southoldtownny.gov

The Town of Southold is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is located in the northeastern tip of the county, on the North Fork of Long Island. The population was 21,968 at the 2010 census. The town also contains a hamlet named Southold, which was settled in 1640.

The Algonquian-speaking Shinnecock tribes lived in eastern Long Island before European colonization.

Southold was settled by English colonists in 1640, and in most histories is reported as the first English settlement on Long Island in the future New York State. Lion Gardiner established a manor on Gardiners Island in East Hampton a year earlier in 1639. The Dutch colonists, who had arrived in the region earlier, had settlements to the west- Fort Orange (later renamed Albany by the English) in 1615 and New Amsterdam (later renamed Manhattan) in 1625.

English Puritans from New Haven Colony in Connecticut settled in Southold on October 21, 1640. Under the leadership of the Reverend John Youngs, with Peter Hallock, the settlement consisted of the families of Barnabas Horton, John Budd, John Conklin, John Swazy, William Wells and John Tuthill. They had purchased the land in the summer of 1640 from the group of Indians related to the Pequot of New England, who lived in the territory they called Corchaug (now Cutchogue). Settlers spelled the Indian name of what became Southold as Yennicott.