Calverton, New York
Grumman Memorial Park
Calverton, New York
Coordinates: 40°55′14″N 72°44′11″W / 40.92056, -72.73639
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Suffolk
Area
- Total	28.5 sq mi (73.9 km²)
- Land	28.0 sq mi (72.5 km²)
- Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km²)
Elevation	30 ft (9 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	5,704
- Density	203.7/sq mi (78.6/km²)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code	11933
Area code(s)	631
FIPS code	36-11781
GNIS feature ID	0945505

Calverton is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 5,704 at the 2000 census.

The community is on the border of the Town of Riverhead and the Town of Brookhaven.

History

Calverton's history is tied closely to the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant.

The Navy purhcased 6,000 acres (24 km²) around Calverton in 1953 including the mansion of a grandson of F.W. Woolworth so that Grumman could test and finish jets. A 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway was built and most of Grumman's F-14 Tomcat and E-2C Hawkeye aircraft were to pass through the plant.

In 1965 Nelson Rockefeller proposed using the base as the fourth major airport for the metropolitan New York City area. Grumman and local opposition ended the quest.

In 1978 more than 1,000 acres (4.0 km²) of the base was used to create Calverton National Cemetery which is the largest (in terms of acreage) and busiest (in terms of burials per day) United States National Cemetery.

In 1995 after Northrop acquired Grumman, the new Grumman Northrop pulled out of the base and Navy began liquidating the land.

In 1996 before the base could be turned over the the Town of Riverhead, the base was used to reassemble the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 which had crashed about 20 miles (32 km) south.

Riverhead continues to work on developing the airport. A current proposal calls for it to become a NASCAR race track.

Calverton was first referred to as "Baiting Hollow Station" when the Long Island Railroad arrived in 1844. Its native American Name Conungum or Kanungum, meaning a ``fixed line or ``boundary.

In 1868 its post office opened and was named for Bernard J. Calvert.

It remained a small farming community specializing in cranberries which grew in swampy areas along the Peconic River until the Navy purchase.

Geography

Calverton is located at 40°55′14″N, 72°44′11″W (40.920535, -72.736285)^[1].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 28.5 square miles (73.9 km²), of which, 28.0 square miles (72.5 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (1.82%) is water.

The former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant became the Calverton Executive Airpark (IATA code "CTO") in the late 20th century.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 5,704 people, 2,539 households, and 1,518 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 203.7 per square mile (78.7/km²). There were 2,735 housing units at an average density of 97.7/sq mi (37.7/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.61% White, 7.66% African American, 0.46% Native American, 0.95% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 2.03% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 6.07% of the population.

There were 2,539 households out of which 22.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.88.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 5.6% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 25.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $36,544, and the median income for a family was $44,342. Males had a median income of $40,184 versus $33,047 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $26,609. About 6.5% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

References

1. ^ US Gazetteer files: 2000 and 1990. United States Census Bureau (2005-05-03). Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

• Newsday History

See also

• Calverton National Cemetery

External links

• Calverton, New York is at coordinates 40°55′14″N 72°44′11″W / 40.920535, -72.736285 (Calverton, New York)Coordinates: 40°55′14″N 72°44′11″W / 40.920535, -72.736285 (Calverton, New York)