Sayville, New York
Sayville is a census-designated place located in Suffolk County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 16,735.
History
Sayville was founded by John Edward (b. 1738, East Hampton, New York). He built his home, the first in Sayvile, in 1761. Another man, John Greene, settled what's now known as East Sayville in 1767.
The community had no formal name until 1836 when residents gathered to choose a formal name. Until that time, Sayville was known informally as "over south." According to legend, Edwardsville and Greensville tied in a vote, and one resident suggested "Seaville." Supposedly, a clerk misspelled the name "Sayville." Another legend is that Sayville is a contraction of "Salem Village" which is where the founding family came from in Masachusettes. Salem=say, Village=ville, Salem Village=Sayville.
Sayville became important for it's timber, oysters, and beginning in 1868 when the South Side Rail Road arrived, tourism. Sayville is ideally positioned as a vacation community for New Yorkers.
In 1912 a German Telefunken wireless transmitter was built in Sayville to transmit to Germany. In 1915, the transmitter allegedly relied a message from the German Embassy to "get Lucy" referring to the RMS Lusitania which was sunk on May 15. Whether the signals coming from the transmitter in Sayville authorized the attack or not, they caused concern for the US government which dispatched Marines to ensure encrypted messages were not sent. The station was seized by the government outright after war was declared in 1917. President Wilson sent a contingent of Marines to take the wireless station, thus the first hostile action taken by the United States against Germany during WWI was in Sayville.
From 1919 to May 1932 Sayville was home to Father Divine, a controversial African American religious leader who claimed to be God. His religious movement, which came to be called the International Peace Mission movement, managed a commune-like house on 72 Baker Street which was the first black-owned residence in Sayville. At that time Sayville was predominantly a seasonal vacation community, and Father Divine's followers made good livings as native house sitters. Because followers turned over all of their profits to Father Divine, he was able to build several expansions on the house. He even bought a pricey Cadillac automobile when neighbors complained about his noisy Hudson.
Father Divine's apparent flaunting of wealth annoyed the middle class town. Street-clogging traffic that Father Divine attracked made him unpopular even to businesses he patronized with large cash purchases. Following a June, 1932 trail and prison sentence for disturbing the peace, Father Divine moved to Harlem, New York claiming that Sayville was bigoted. However, the commune remained on Baker Street for many years. Father Divine occasionally preached in Sayville afterward, but the home was only an outpost of his movement, not its center stake.
Sayville is the hometown of Melissa Joan Hart whose show is "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" is partially based on her school in Sayville, using the colors of Sayville, purple and gold.
Geography
Sayville is located at 40°44'47" North, 73°4'52" West (40.746282, -73.081112)1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.5 km² (5.6 mi²). 14.3 km² (5.5 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.07% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 16,735 people, 5,603 households, and 4,353 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 1,168.4/km² (3,028.4/mi²). There are 5,721 housing units at an average density of 399.4/km² (1,035.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 95.81% White, 0.72% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.03% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.48% from other races, and 0.92% from two or more races. 3.02% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 5,603 households out of which 40.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% are married couples living together, 9.5% have a female householder with no husband present, and 22.3% are non-families. 17.5% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.92 and the average family size is 3.34.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 37 years. For every 100 females there are 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $75,236, and the median income for a family is $85,229. Males have a median income of $57,055 versus $35,091 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $28,723. 4.1% of the population and 2.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 3.6% of those under the age of 18 and 4.6% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.